How Many Mystics are there in the World?

[Sunstone]

Please Note: This is a discussion thread in the Mysticism DIR. Remember...this is not a debate thread.​

How many mystics are there in the world? What's your best guess?

In most ways, not a very important question, but perhaps an interesting one.

......

I've been thinking about it on and off for a few days now. It seems to me that -- near as I can count/recall -- about 20% of the people I get to know well enough to talk about these things with turn out to be mystics. That is, they have had a mystical experience, which is what in my book makes them a mystic.

Of course, most of the people I meet are not people I end up talking about mysticism with. So, to be on the safe side, let's say that somewhere between 2% and 4% of humans have had a mystical experience.

Two to four percent is 1:50 to 1:25. This October, the UN estimates there are 7.7 billion people in the world. So, if al these assumptions hold true, then about 154 to 308 million people would be my guess of the number of mystics in the world.

......

The closest estimate I have seen to my estimate is Sam Harris' "off the cuff guess" (his words) of 100 million.
I have never heard of a rigorous study of the number or proportion of mystics in the world, although I have heard of related studies. For instance, a British study some years ago found about a third of Brits reported feeling overwhelming "awe" at some point in their lives, but overwhelming awe seems like it could include a number of experiences that were not actually mystical -- as I define the term.


________________
Just for fun...

 

[crossfire]

Well, if there are 7.7 billion people in the world, then there are 7.7 billion mystics in the world, as I believe we are all inherently mystical. The number of people who are consciously aware of their mysticism is another matter entirely, as you pointed out in an earlier thread that a person having a mystical experience probably won't recognize it as such during the mystical experience.

An analogy would be: we all are inherent dreamers. However, not everyone is a lucid dreamer--being aware of dreaming at the time and able to actively guide the dream.

 

[SalixIncendium]

After such an experience? My guess would be one.

 

[sun rise]

That is, they have had a mystical experience, which is what in my book makes them a mystic.

I fast skimmed your Wikipedia link to try to understand what you're classifying as a "mystical experience". My take-away is a feeling of oneness, a sense of ultimate reality, peace, a feeling of holiness and ineffability.

The Pew Survey I found was not narrow enough to give me an easy answer to point to. But I did note something interesting:

I think we can assume that true mystical experiences are also following that trend and conjecture that the trend is continuing.

If that's so, then we enter the "something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones" territory. Because the obvious question is "why are more people having that experience now"?

 

[crossfire]

I fast skimmed your Wikipedia link to try to understand what you're classifying as a "mystical experience". My take-away is a feeling of oneness, a sense of ultimate reality, peace, a feeling of holiness and ineffability.

The Pew Survey I found was not narrow enough to give me an easy answer to point to. But I did note something interesting:

I think we can assume that true mystical experiences are also following that trend and conjecture that the trend is continuing.

If that's so, then we enter the "something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones" territory. Because the obvious question is "why are more people having that experience now"?

The Pew study was only with Americans, and focusing on those who mix multiple faiths, no? It's much easier to recognize and understand something if you have multiple perspectives/ examples of it no? (Such as an analogy, etc, where you can get both the logical part of your mind and the intuitive part of the mind working together.) By the particular study you site, wouldn't it follow that "stepping outside the box" makes it easier to recognize mystical experiences?

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I define a "mystic" in a couple of different ways. Some mystics are folks who seek the ultimate reality, attempting to peer into the shadows and peel the layers of the mystic onion. Some mystics are those who have mystical experiences, as Sunstone defines them.

I suspect that despite most people's outward appearance of wanting to simply share in the shared reality, they are curious or at least have thought beyond the routine models their lives have built up. At least having new experiences further exposes people to other parts of themselves. So in a way we have always been mystics.

I also suspect that most people experience that awe that connects them with the wonder of the Universe, as Sunstone also suggests. To me, this is important. That awe is often a psychological trigger that places the person into some sort of altered awareness of how the self relates to everything else.

 

[crossfire]

I define a "mystic" in a couple of different ways. Some mystics are folks who seek the ultimate reality, attempting to peer into the shadows and peel the layers of the mystic onion. Some mystics are those who have mystical experiences, as Sunstone defines them.

I suspect that despite most people's outward appearance of wanting to simply share in the shared reality, they are curious or at least have thought beyond the routine models their lives have built up. At least having new experiences further exposes people to other parts of themselves. So in a way we have always been mystics.

I could go along with this.

I also suspect that most people experience that awe that connects them with the wonder of the Universe, as Sunstone also suggests. To me, this is important. That awe is often a psychological trigger that places the person into some sort of altered awareness of how the self relates to everything else.

This seems to be plugging into what Jung calls eros, or relational consciousness. (As contrasted with Jungian logos, discriminating awareness.) Is this correct?

 

[Guitar's Cry]

This seems to be plugging into what Jung calls eros, or relational consciousness. (As contrasted with Jungian logos, discriminating awareness.) Is this correct?

Yes! Where eros is the drive to connection with other subjects and logos is the drive to objectivity, right? If I remember right, Jung saw the balancing of the two as imperative in the journey to individuation.

 

[crossfire]

Yes! Where eros is the drive to connection with other subjects and logos is the drive to objectivity, right? If I remember right, Jung saw the balancing of the two as imperative in the journey to individuation.

Yes, beware of The Devouring Mother.