mysticism
mĭs′tĭ-sĭz″əm
noun
- Belief in direct experience of transcendent reality or God, especially by means of contemplation and asceticism instead of rational thought.
- Such experience had by an individual. (as opposed to a door knob?)
- Belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual or intellectual apprehension that are directly accessible by subjective experience.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
What this definition is speaking of is the faculty of "Intuition," but without mentioning it.
When I read a dictionary definition, the left-hemisphere of my brain tends to feel like a clogged sinus... all stuffed up. It is as though the writer is trying to avoid lending credence to those elements of Man that the brain can neither control nor perceive. The esoteric parts of Man.
Mysticism is the practice of using one's faculty of Intuition to receive bits of Knowledge provided by and stored "Within" one's Conscious Awareness. The faculty of Man capable of this is one's "Intuition"... which is an aspect of one's Soul.
I use the phrase "Conscious Awareness" as another name for what philosophy refers to as the "Self". For me, Conscious Awareness, or "C-Awar," is a part of one's Consciousness where bits of Truth are stored by one's Soul as one's Soul slowly accumulates such bits of Truth by Completing Karma. And when one is "ready" to awaken to a bit of Knowledge [Truth], one's faculty of Intuition picks up that bit of Truth stored in one's C-Awar (assuming one's faculty of Intuition is active), then one suddenly KNOWS something one did not Know previously... and one now views life a bit differently than prior to awakening to this bit of Intuition. Another name for this process is "Enlightenment".
In the East, Enlightenment is neither denied, nor seen as peculiar, but is encouraged by almost everyone... since people are educated to the fact that Spiritual Enlightenment is a desired goal for every human being to pursue. Therefore, the principles of Mysticism are not only well known, but children are encouraged to become members of religious sects. But then, people in the East tend to believe in reincarnation and in God... by whatever name they call God, or means used to seek God.
The difference between East and West is, in actuality, a difference between how people view life? The people in the East tend to view life as an Illusion, and Spirituality as Reality; While in the West, people tend to view the Illusion as reality, and Spirituality as an Illusion.
How an individual views life depends upon the level of Consciousness a person's Soul has acquired? And in the East, the study of Spirituality is called Mysticism. And one of the best books regarding Mysticism or Spirituality is The Path of the Masters, by Julian Johnson: Available in most libraries.
Christianity, for the most part, rests upon the words contained in the Bible, and specifically upon various interpretations of the words used in the Bible. The problem with doing this is that we do not know the level of Enlightenment possessed by those doing the interpretation?
Unfortunately, Truth cannot be conveyed in words. If it could be, then anyone reading the word TRUTH... would become enlightened upon reading the term TRUTH. The word truth is an abstract word. That is, the word truth is composed of letters forming the word truth... that we agree "stands for" whatever TRUTH is. But to actually experience a bit of Truth, one can only do so via one's faculty of Intuition... which must visit one's Conscious Awareness [an aspect of one's Soul] and by use of one's faculty of Intuition, awaken to the Energy of Truth. But having done this, that person is unable to convey what he or she has just awakened to from "Within" him or herself.
The best one can do is to "hint" at some bit of Truth by using words that, if another is in possession of that particular bit of Truth, then the "hint" words can be used to awaken that bit of Truth from "Within" that person. But, only if that person already possesses that bit of Truth.
No teacher, in other words, can convey bits of Truth to students. If a teacher actually possesses a bit of Truth, then those students who already possess that bit of Truth "Within" themselves will resonate to what that teacher is saying by using the "hint" words the teacher is using to try and convey that bit of Truth.
Mysticism is the same as Truth. No one can experience what the Mystic is talking about unless... that person has already awakened to a particular bit of Truth from "Within" him or herself. Spiritual Truth cannot be "taught" in other words. It can only be "caught" by those "Within" whom certain bits of Truth already exist. Awakening that which already exists "Within" people is what the Mystic is about. Such Truth that is active "Within" the Mystic can subtly stimulate a bit of Truth that a person is "ready" to awaken to from "Within" him or herself. But that bit of Truth must already be "Within" a person, and that bit of Truth must also be "ready" to be awakened to!
So, Mysticism is not a matter of teaching... it is rather a matter of awakening that which is already "Within" a person. Therefore, many people heard Christ speak. But few of those people awakened to the Mystical bits of Truth hidden "Within" (or behind) the words that Christ spoke. "Many are called, but few are chosen" is another way of saying what I am talking about.
So, Mysticism is like a sign one can see, but what the sign stands for is not discernible by one's intellect.
Peace, 1 Brother James
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