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Christian Mysticism
What do we learn from the Christians mystics of the past and present?
We believe the wisdom these mystics offer can literally unite us with God Or at the very least, mysticism gives us such a powerful experience of Gods presence that it can revolutionize our lives.
The purpose of such transformed lives is not primarily to achieve a goal (like enlightenment or spiritual bliss), but rather to participate in the Holy Spirits ongoing activity embodying the flowing love of Christ, love that we in turn give back to God as well as to our neighbors as ourselves.
Christian mysticism invites you to do more than just know about God or Christ or spiritual transformation. It invites you into God, into Christ, and into the experience of transformation that can come about only through the love and grace of God.
12/30/2011
Quick definitions:
Mysticism is the art of union with God. Mysticism is the experiential core of spirituality, contrasted with religion, which is an organized assembly of rituals, beliefs, and codes of conduct that are derived from spirituality. Mysticism is the heart of spirituality where all religious differences are resolved and we find unity in the Sacred.
Evelyn Underhill
Mysticism, according to its historical and psychological definitions, is the direct intuition or experience of God; and a mystic is a person who has, to a greater or lesser degree, such a direct experience one whose religion and life are centered, not merely on an accepted belief or practice, but on that which he regards as first-hand personal knowledge.
Margaret Smith
The word Mysticism itself comes down to us from the Greeks and is derived from a root meaning to close. The mystic was one who had been initiated into the esoteric knowledge of Divine things, and upon whom was laid the necessity of keeping silence concerning his sacred knowledge. The term :mystical, then might be applied to any secret cult revealed only to the initiated.
12/30/2011
Harvey D. Egan, SJ
Christian mysticism is a way of life that involves the perfect fulfilment of loving God, neighbour, all Gods creation, and oneself It is an ordered movement toward ever higher levels of reality by which the self awakens to, is purified and illuminated by, and is eventually fully united with, the love of God.
Swami Abhayananda
Mysticism is that point of view which claims as its basis an intimate knowledge of the one source and substratum of all existence, a knowledge which is obtained through a revelatory experience during a rare moment of clarity in contemplation. Those who claim to have actually experienced this direct revelation constitute an elite tradition which transcends the boundary lines of individual religions, cultures and languages, and which has existed, uninterrupted, since the beginning of time.
F. C. Happold
Mysticism is the manifestation of something which is at the root of all religion and all higher religions have their mystical experiences.
Andrew Harvey
Mystical experience is the direct, unmediated experience of what Bede Griffiths beautifully describes as the presence of an almost unfathomable mystery This mystery is beyond name and beyond form; no name or form, no dogma, philosophy, or set of rituals can ever express it fully. It always transcends anything that can be said of it and remains always unstained by any of our human attempts to limit or exploit it.
12/30/2011
Even when experts cannot agree on something, their perspectives may have enough commonality that orienting generalizations can be drawn from their differing viewpoints. Wilber identifies some orienting generalizations about mysticism in his book Integral Spirituality
This suggests that a mystically gifted person has an innate ability, not only to experience the presence of God, but also to manifest extraordinary spiritual abilities to heal, to prophesy, to teach or influence others through a deep spiritual charisma, to live a holy or sanctified life. Such mystical ability, like all other aptitudes, exists on a continuum. You do not have to be a mystical genius to have some capacity for the mystical.
12/30/2011
4. A mystical attitude
Mysticism refers to a particular attitude that has more to do with values than with experience, consciousness, or ability. In this sense, being a mystical person may mean nothing more than being serious about your belief that God is real and at work in your life, or having a clear conviction of the world as operating in harmony with Gods plan, or consistently being more forgiving than judgmental about others failings.
Whereas the previous generalization all seem to indicate that mysticism is something largely outside of your control, a mystical attitude rests more on choices and intentions you make. If you immerse yourself in mystical literature, if you are deeply engaged in the life of faith, if you choose to pray and meditate on a daily basis, you are cultivating an attitude of mysticism even if you never have an extraordinary experience, or a sense of heightened consciousness, or display any supernatural ability.
However, religious practices do not necessarily lead to mystical experiences. But religious practices might help you be more open to mystical experience than if you never bother with religious exercises at all.
The key to making sense of these differing perspectives is to remember that, to some extent, they are mutually exclusive.
We are more likely to encounter the mystery at the heart of mysticism if we remain open to all its paradoxes and possibilities.