What does it mean to say you're a mystic?

YmirGF said:

What map?

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Yeah, they are best left in the glove box really, keep your eyes on the road ahead.

Spiny Norman said:

Yeah, they are best left in the glove box really, keep your eyes on the road ahead.

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Whew, I was worried that I was missing something...

YmirGF said:

Whew, I was worried that I was missing something...

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I used to do quite a lot of orienteering when hill walking, you quickly realise that knowing where you're starting from is more important than knowing where you want to go.

Spiny Norman said:

I used to do quite a lot of orienteering when hill walking, you quickly realize that knowing where you're starting from is more important than knowing where you want to go.

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The simplicity of this is almost staggering. I love it.

Orbit said:

What does it mean to say you're a mystic? Is your experience in relation to a monotheistic, polytheistic, or panentheistic conception of God? What is your spiritual practice?

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I once wrote this in one of my notebooks:- A mystic is someone spending more time in religious/mystic practice than is average, have a different view of God than is traditional, cannot adequately describe what happened to them, there is a sense of mysteriousness, they get to a point where they realize silence is better.

That said, for me to be mystic means that I can experience the divine whether I'm sitting in meditation, listen to music, walking, talking or even working. What makes a mystic a mystic is that they love that experience so much that they want more and become obsessive about it. 'Normal' people around them do not understand it. My spiritual practice to focus more and more on God everyday studying the Scriptures, praying, meditating and then focusing even when I am not sitting in stillness.

Vouthon said:

Mysticism: Part One: The Mystic Fact: I. The Point of Departure

"...The most highly developed branches of the human family have in common one peculiar characteristic. They tend to produce—sporadically it is true, and often in the teeth of adverse external circumstances—a curious and definite type of personality; a type which refuses to be satisfied with that which other men call experience, and is inclined, in the words of its enemies, to “deny the world in order that it may find reality.” We meet these persons in the east and the west; in the ancient, mediaeval, and modern worlds. Their one passion appears to be the prosecution of a certain spiritual and intangible quest: the finding of a “way out” or a “way back” to some desirable state in which alone they can satisfy their craving for absolute truth. This quest, for them, has constituted the whole meaning of life. They have made for it without effort sacrifices which have appeared enormous to other men: and it is an indirect testimony to its objective actuality, that whatever the place or period in which they have arisen, their aims, doctrines and methods have been substantially the same. Their experience, therefore, forms a body of evidence, curiously self-consistent and often mutually explanatory, which must be taken into account before we can add up the sum of the energies and potentialities of the human spirit, or reasonably speculate on its relations to the unknown world which lies outside the boundaries of sense..."

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I loved this so much I had to quote it. I've been feeling like this for a long while now especially - 'Their one passion appears to be the prosecution of a certain spiritual and intangible quest: the finding of a “way out” or a “way back” to some desirable state in which alone they can satisfy their craving for absolute truth. This quest, for them, has constituted the whole meaning of life. They have made for it without effort sacrifices which have appeared enormous to other men'. This is why I am planning to go on a spiritual journey, literally giving everything away and leaving everything behind

The mystic seeks to unite with the Absolute but awakens to themselves in the process. Through various means and ways of pursuit the mystic simply awakens and becomes perfectly normal, freed from all pursuits to either seek or to avoid that which was pursuing you all along.

Windwalker said:

The mystic seeks to unite with the Absolute but awakens to themselves in the process. Through various means and ways of pursuit the mystic simply awakens and becomes perfectly normal, freed from all pursuits to either seek or to avoid that which was pursuing you all along.

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Very well said Windwalker! That is the whole thing in a nutshell .

I've had a person, an old Greek fellow, tell me the the author of the gospel of John was a mystic. I guess Revelations as well.

This ended up with trying to understand the "true" meaning of John and Revelations. John and the Logos seemed to have some elements I could relate to.

Revelations, so many folks offering so many interpretations hardly any constancy. When I read Revelations for myself I'd just end up trying to fit in to what I though the truth could be. From my own experiences however, there was just nothing I could relate it to. Just a bunch of symbolism I couldn't fathom any deeper meaning from.

Before when I thought of Mystics I thought of older Englishmen siting in a parlor surrounding by ancient artifacts. Delving into Tarot cards, Runes, crystals some ancient text, Seeking mystical powers. An image that whenever I heard the word which was conjured up.

Nakosis said:

I've had a person, an old Greek fellow, tell me the the author of the gospel of John was a mystic. I guess Revelations as well.

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The author of John does appear to part of a Wisdom school tradition, and it is much more mystical in nature than the other synoptic Gospels are. It is of course my favorite of the canonical Gospels. I would not say the book of Revelation however is. It is not the same John as Gospel John, but is rather someone else, call him John of Patmos. He was an apocalyptic Christian Jew.

Nakosis said:

This ended up with trying to understand the "true" meaning of John and Revelations. John and the Logos seemed to have some elements I could relate to.

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I find great truth in G. John's Logos. The Bible would not suffer if book of Revelation had never been included, which it almost was not. Many fought against its inclusion. John's Logos is full of depth and meaning. If you would like to read some of my thoughts on that you can look at this thread: Logos and Aum | ReligiousForums.com

Nakosis said:

Before when I thought of Mystics I thought of older Englishmen siting in a parlor surrounding by ancient artifacts. Delving into Tarot cards, Runes, crystals some ancient text, Seeking mystical powers. An image that whenever I heard the word which was conjured up.

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Yes, this is something I seem to run up against quite often. People imagine mystics as some sort of secret society or something.

Windwalker said:

People imagine mystics as some sort of secret society or something.

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well, we are; just don't show them the secret handshake!

beenherebeforeagain said:

well, we are; just don't show them the secret handshake!

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Just don't make me do it without the fez on.

Windwalker said:

The mystic seeks to unite with the Absolute but awakens to themselves in the process. Through various means and ways of pursuit the mystic simply awakens and becomes perfectly normal, freed from all pursuits to either seek or to avoid that which was pursuing you all along.

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Wow. Very cool. Thanks. That actually did explain things for me.

Windwalker said:

Just don't make me do it without the fez on.

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Part of the silly hat society.


If you're hat isn't silly enough, we'll reject you!!!

Windwalker said:

Just don't make me do it without the fez on.

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I would pay to see you in the fez.