The Wisdom of the Mystics
Richard Rohr shares how studying the mystics can transform us and help us meet the needs of our times:
We live in a time of both crisis and opportunity. While there are many reasons to be anxious, I still have hope. Westerners, including Christians, are rediscovering the value of nonduality: a way of thinking, acting, reconciling, boundary-crossing, and bridge-building based on inner experience of God and God’s Spirit moving in the world. We’re not throwing out our rational mind, but we’re adding nondual, mystical, contemplative consciousness. When we have both, we’re able to see more broadly, deeply, wisely, and lovingly. We can collaborate on creative solutions to today’s injustices. [1] ….
…. Studying the mystics, and hopefully identifying with them in at least some small way, allows us into the seemingly simple yet always profound realm of those who have found their way close to God and all of creation. The path of the mystic is within our reach. [2]
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGxRfBTndQntfCNKwZbTkZJvJvX
Sunday, February 11, 2024
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Mystery.
For some of us, this word draws us closer, evokes a softening of mental focus and an opening of the deep heart. For others, it suggests inaccessible or invalid information, and perhaps even a waste of time!
But today, I want to leap whole-heartedly into the depths and gifts of Mystery, which ultimately leads us into the territory of spirituality. This is not about religion. Let me draw from my attempt at definitions in my book, The Interplay of Psychology and Spirituality. There I associate the modern meaning of “religion” with “collective traditions and traditional forms, such as an organized system of beliefs, institutions, texts, worship, rules, rituals, authorities and holy figures.” (p.7)
Spirituality? Mysticism?
Definitions of spirituality are much more challenging: one version is “a subjective orientation towards or valuing of the sacred, which may be “associated with a Supreme Being, ultimate reality, the essence of our being, or simply what has the deepest value and meaning for us” (my book, p.7). Spirituality is experienced subjectively. A spiritual orientation may be personal and private or shared and collective. Spiritual meaning is rooted in personal experience, and often embraces the deep, vast, and – the Mysterious. While “spirituality” does not necessarily involve mysticism, by any means, this will be the focus of our brief exploration here.
Richard Rohr, the author of the opening quote, is a Franciscan priest who, when asked, describes himself as a panentheist, which suggests that the Divine lies within all things but also transcends them. Words can only point and suggest: The Divine . the Holy, the Tao, the Beloved, Ever-present Origin, Great Spirit, Allah, the Tao, the Ultimate, Brahman, Jehovah, the Light, YHWH, Adonai, Ein Sof, Source, the Ground of Being, the One…the Mystery.
The root of the word: The term mystic is derived from the Greek noun mystes, ,which originally designated an initiate of a secret cult or mystery religion. In Classical Greece (5th–4th century bce) and during the Hellenistic Age (323 bce–330 ce), the rites of the mystery religions were largely or wholly secret. is a term that is more often used in relation to Western traditions than Eastern. (Britannica definition)
There are widely recognized Christian mystics (usually acknowledged by Catholic authority): St. John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart come to mind. In Islam, the mystics tend to be found in Sufism (Rumi!); in Judaism, the Kabbalah is the primary path. The notion of mysticism is sometimes seen as redundant in Hinduism and Buddhism, but some branches (such as Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism and Dzogchen in Buddhism) are sometimes considered more mystically-oriented than others.
The common thread is the emphasis on the “nondual,” “not-two,” our non-separation from the Ultimate Reality or Mystery. Mysticism suggests direct experience of the Deep/Transcendent – but in my view, it may also embrace a profound Longing for this experience.
The rational mind tends to collapse and retreat from this mystic territory. (And also to protest!)
But here, the invitation is to dive in and explore.
Exploring the Mystery
Have you ever found yourself experiencing a melting of personal boundaries? Even for a few moments, perhaps – a sense of melting into a natural scene, losing all sense of a separate body, a vastness that is also stunningly intimate with each leaf and bird and stone? Words are insufficient. “I” am one with everything – sky, clouds, space, ground, growing things, creatures. (This sense of no-separation may also accompany the birth of/initial experience of a child…)
Nature mysticism may be the most widely experienced form of mystical experience in our times. (If you search online, you will find many examples to explore…)
The disappearance of boundaries can also extend beyond sensory experience. When this happens (perhaps unexpectedly, perhaps in meditation or prayer), there is no more “me,” no body, no place. Every possible separateness is dissolved, disappears. What is present is an indescribable Vastness that is sometimes, nevertheless, described as the Ground of Being – and even beyond, deeper, into Total Mystery. Unbounded Presence. There are no words, again – and yet, one may feel impelled to search for ways of conveying the flavor of this.
The experience may last a few moments, a few hours or days (or longer). The “afterwards” can vary – life is changed, one can never forget this taste of Reality. Sometimes there is a fading away, often accompanied by a deep longing. And so many variations. Direct experience of Mystery, dissolving, sometimes ecstasy, sometimes pure Silence, disappearance of identification with a separate self. Or brief but powerful glimpses which serve as unrelenting invitations.
Living into the Mystery
This is a brief invitation to acknowledge the reality of these tastes, these openings. Often it is challenging to find someone to share with, someone who can appreciate or glimpse the enormity of this gift. But we are not in control of any of this – and the repeated teaching is to surrender to the present moment, as it is. If we keep returning to Awareness, Presence, and the Deep Heart, here may be small glimpses and tastes, each of which is precious.
Some mystics (from different traditions) point the way to practices that open the doorway to mystical experience – not simply because the experience is so stunningly profound and beautiful, but because it ultimately points to/reflects the Deepest Realities of both Truth and Love. The mysteries.
It may be helpful just to know that these tastes are available, and that many have experienced them. There is more to life than most of us have even imagined….
(I share the following song because it is passionate, and because it is associated with memories of years ago. You are invited to find your own music that reflects or invites the Mystery.)
“Mystery” Missa Gaia Earth Mass Paul Winter (uploaded 9 years ago)