What does "Mysticism" Mean to You? [Mysticism DIR]

[Sunstone]

What does mysticism mean to you?

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

 

[Terese]

Pranam Sunstone ji

What does mysticism mean to you?

Mysticism to me is the seeking of the truth, where tangible evidence can't, or is considered inadequate to explain the 'full truth' of reality.

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Astral projection, meditation, the experience of an entity, and perhaps to a lesser extent, drugs.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

The Ultimate Reality is not ineffable to me, in fact 'He' has an innumerable amount of qualities; Neti Neti; Not this, not this. One cannot describe this Ultimate Reality fully. Many things can be said of Him. From being the beginning and end all beings, to being merciful.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Through God-consciousness one can capture the Lord's lotus-like eyes. What is God-consciousness you say? It's many things

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

Theistic.

 

[Windwalker]

What does mysticism mean to you?

The experience and apprehension of the Absolute.

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Subtle, causal, and nondual experience.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

Yes, it's ineffable, but of course we can say things about the experience of such. Rather, we attempt to express the experience using words, or dance, or song, or poetry, or philosophy, etc. The difference is the words are not definitions. They do not define God, so to speak where one mistakes the fingers pointing at the moon with the moon itself.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Mostly no, but in a sense yes. The positive effort is to teach ourselves to not try to achieve, attain, or otherwise produce it through our efforts. The effort is to simply allow what is to simply be, without interference by us. It is an effort at no-effort. The effort is to overcome our tendency to achieve something, imagining its outside ourselves.

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

I believe it's both and neither. It does not exclude anything. I see "God" as both embracing theism and atheism, and being neither.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I've just discussed that elsewhere, so I shall just link
http://www.religiousforums.com/thre...e-in-your-religion.190878/page-3#post-4893451

 

[Treasure Hunter]

What does mysticism mean to you?

Mysticism is the expanded awareness that is attained as a result of following "the path". Mysticism can only be an after-effect. If it becomes a philosophy or religion, then it's dead.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

Ultimate reality can only be experienced or felt. Whatever is said about it is an interpretation by the human intellect of a trans-human(?) experience.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Yes, but we are naturally resistant toward walking the path or get constantly side-tracked. We have to feel for guidance rather than think our way through it.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

The effort is to simply allow what is to simply be, without interference by us. It is an effort at no-effort.

The question is does it take effort to not be interfered with? Yes, because our innate, protective guard that interferes operates beyond our conscious control. Interference is the default that continues if we give no effort. We don't have to actively guard ourselves - it happens automatically. However, we do have to actively surrender to that which we are automatically shielding ourselves from.

I know I've discussed this with you in the past, but I'm able to better articulate it now.

 

[Windwalker]

The question is does it take effort to not be interfered with? Yes, because our innate, protective guard that interferes operates beyond our conscious control. Interference is the default that continues if we give no effort. We don't have to actively guard ourselves - it happens automatically. However, we do have to actively surrender to that which we are automatically shielding ourselves from.

I know I've discussed this with you in the past, but I'm able to better articulate it now.

Hmmm... interesting. Can you elaborate? Are you talking about our subconscious? Are you talking about our innate existential dread, our fear of ultimate death and that we cling to self-preserve, we pull back from death which is total surrender? Yes, that I understand. It becomes a dual striving. We strive to "let go", to not "achieve" Enlightenment, yet we also have to overcome fear of surrendering into death. It all really boils down to complete release, in all our strivings.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

Hmmm... interesting. Can you elaborate? Are you talking about our subconscious? Are you talking about our innate existential dread, our fear of ultimate death and that we cling to self-preserve, we pull back from death which is total surrender? Yes, that I understand. It becomes a dual striving. We strive to "let go", to not "achieve" Enlightenment, yet we also have to overcome fear of surrendering into death. It all really boils down to complete release, in all our strivings.

Yeah, if we give no effort consciously, we are still being interfered with by our subconscious.

I think of it with the imagery of a sword and a shield. When we suffer, we pick up our sword and we either attack others or forge a path with our sword in search of the answer. The first step is to put down the sword. That is more what acceptance and letting go addresses.

However, even though we have learned not to pick up the sword, we still have to give up the shield. This is where effort is necessary. It takes effort of faith and courage to expose ourselves. We cannot consciously control our subconscious to stop shielding (interfering) ourselves; all we can consciously do is to expose ourselves to that which we are being shielded from by consciously feeling it.

Behind the darkness, behind what we are being shielded from, is the light.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I dont know if anyone who experience mysticism can post on this DIR or only those who are Mysticists. I dont know. Here are my thoughts.

What does mysticism mean to you?

Holistic connection and bond within life (reality) itself. An interconnection and awareness that you are alive and gratefulness. It is an experience as "now I know that I dont know anything" type of thing. Holistic because it isnt dependent on an object or person but interconnection that can happen anywhere with nothing.

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Silent fasting is a good way to find that experience. Isolated prayer. In other cases, helping others. I teach so I give knowledge and that experience between teacher and student is mystia to me. Its part of my identity. Writing is another way to experience it. Things that define youe identity and passion usually brings one to mystical experiences where they go "ah ha!"

I read a book called Writng Down the Bones. A writing student was still trying to find the "mystic experience" of writing. One day she wrote X amount of pages, had a big smile, and said "ah ha!" Writing is a new religion. That was her mystical experience.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

Follow your passion, be aware of yourself, others, and your surroundings, love what you do, and express a healthy release of things you hate or what bothers you into depression.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Yes. See above.

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

You can make life theistic. Many know life takes care of them but to identify with it, its natural to make the other a noun. Makes for better connection.

Id see it as non-theistic. Not because reality cant be used as a noun to connect, but to see things as they are,athough uncomfortable, defining yourself in the middle of an empty space by calling that space god doesnt make sense. Instead, like a blind person, be comfortable that you dont know. You dont always have barriers to touch.

Thats a non theistic view. Unless there is another?

 

[Windwalker]

I think of it with the imagery of a sword and a shield. When we suffer, we pick up our sword and we either attack others or forge a path with our sword in search of the answer. The first step is to put down the sword. That is more what acceptance and letting go addresses.

However, even though we have learned not to pick up the sword, we still have to give up the shield. This is where effort is necessary. It takes effort of faith and courage to expose ourselves. We cannot consciously control our subconscious to stop shielding (interfering) ourselves; all we can consciously do is to expose ourselves to that which we are being shielded from by consciously feeling it.

Behind the darkness, behind what we are being shielded from, is the light.

I like your analogy. There's something in it to talk about and explore a little further. Both the act of being on the offense with the sword and being on the defense with the shield is part of the same thing which is centered around the ego. They are both tools that are part of the same action occurring on different fronts. When we try to forge ahead cutting a path with the sword of our efforts, it is to build a new home for ourselves to live in, or to find something for ourselves at the end. This has our own self and our desires and needs as the end goal. It has our self as the focus.

On the other side of it, the shield is protecting us from the demons we have imprisoned within ourselves. The subconscious is essentially where we have thrown our perceived enemies of our own self-identification and self-acceptance, whom we then empowered down there in the dark through our fear of them. They continue to hold sway over all our actions because of the energies we expend in order to continue to restrain and suppress them within this dark fortress. We create all manner of coping strategies to try to ignore the sounds in the quiet of the night from reaching our ears, distracting ourselves with activities creating all manner of static "white noise" in order to not hear them.

This is why people are scared to death to go into those quiet places in meditation, for instance. To simply meditate to relax for stress relief momentarily quieting the busy mind is great, but not going further is not fixing the source of the problem. There will be a certain door you reach at some point if you are seeking a full Release from this suffering where you will confront all those your 'society of self' has chosen to lock away at some point for various reasons in your history. They are faces of ourselves we do not want to accept and embrace into our society of self, to give a term to it. We label them as "other", not-us. We fear them, and our fear creates inhuman monsters out of them, demons, dark forces. They are symbols of our own self-rejections. This is where the Devil lives. This is who the Devil is.

And so in order to pass through that gate that bars our way before us, we have to confront these demons. But to "defeat" them, we cannot take a defensive posture against them, as our energy spent to control them, only serves to make them stronger and empower them more, sending us running further in fright away from them, locking them deeper in that prison with even higher and thicker walls, making you even more and more removed from your own Freedom hiding safely behind the walls. It makes me think of what Jesus said about counting the costs before putting your hand to plow. Once you've begun this path, you'd better be willing to go all the way unless your new state will be worse than the first. I honestly believe one should not begin this path unless you are willing to meet and confront what lies within. It will cost you everything.

So in this latter case of the subconscious, it too is all about self-preservation. We have an idea of ourselves that we construct that we feel we can accept. But it is not a whole image. It's a constructed image that only reflects the ideals we have chosen to include while rejecting the others. The first, with the sword forging ahead is an effort to build the ego, the second with the shield is an effort to defend the ego. And both are what creates our own inability to simply Realize Freedom. Letting go of seeking to build, and letting go seeking to protect opens us to that Freedom. It is in that sense, truly a release into death where we give up both seeking to build and seeking to defend. We simply let it all go. And then we meet God.

 

[YmirGF]

What does mysticism mean to you?

I use the term only for convenience, as it is less shrouded in religious gobbledygook than so many other words. For me, it is about adventures in consciousness that take one well beyond the safe shores of normal identity into the deeper waters of unknown reality. Those adventures result in a permanent change in focus that greatly expands the sense of self, being, identity, personality and reality itself.

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Many, many things can be written here, but all will rise out of the expansion of consciousness that include realms previously unperceived. The dissolution of the subject/object divide is one of the first hurdles. An inherent sense of Oneness with All That is (that morphs over time and understanding catches up with the experience). Experience of a non-physical aspect of reality that are highly enjoyable and unimaginably interactive. Experience of timelessness or perhaps of the stopping of time as we know it.

Though something not shared by all mystics - the possibility of what are known as out-of-body episodes or excursions.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

I do not believe in an "Ultimate Reality". I am a big fan of Reality, however. Genuine experiences of inner reality should always have a positive unifying effect on the individual as these experiences can be decidedly humbling.

Here I am meaning that they should be almost therapeutic by promoting a holistic psychology of a balanced psyche wherein the ego (outer self) is in harmony and at peace with other aspects of personality, of which, it was formerly unaware. I refer to this as the "civilization of the psyche" wherein all parts recognize their worth and work together as one. It is extremely complex, takes time to appreciate and to an extent cannot be expressed in verbal terms. The real problem here is not all who will experience this different side of personal reality are skilled communicators and the experiences themselves will not automatically make them so. That is a serious problem.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

There are no guarantees, Sunstone. Experience of inner reality is cloaked behind the clouds of conscious belief held by the individual. Those beliefs can and often will hold them back from gaining any kind of meaningful experience. Part of the problem is that inner reality is so startlingly different than the warm and cozy reality we have come to know that there is almost no way to prepare for it as the individual simply cannot imagine what awaits behind the "I" and is right there, all the while, right behind their eyes.

That said, there are ways to promote the experience of inner reality, some more dangerous and risky than others. One if the easiest ways to uncover the unknown reality is through dreams and specifically though what is called Lucid dreaming techniques. I say easy, but even with lucid dreaming it takes some time to get the hang of it. Again though, the individual's beliefs about dreams and the dream state will figure prominently in how successful such an endeavor will be. If one believes dreams are the rubbish of the mind, the meaningless clutter of consciousness, then they should not expect a lot, as their memory of dreams will reflect their beliefs.

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

It can be either and neither. I depends on the individual and what they believe about the ultimate nature of reality to begin with. Those who believe in a god will experience that belief. Those who do not will detect a reality without any divine overtones. Fortunately, reality is a bit larger than what we expect and that's part of what makes the whole adventure so endlessly thrilling and worthwhile as the smart traveler quickly learns that things are not what they seem and the more they learn, the more they understand that they have only begun to scratch the surface of a very large ball of wax. It's all part of the art of learning to leave no footprints in the snow....

 

[YmirGF]

I like your analogy. There's something in it to talk about and explore a little further. Both the act of being on the offense with the sword and being on the defense with the shield is part of the same thing which is centered around the ego. They are both tools that are part of the same action occurring on different fronts. When we try to forge ahead cutting a path with the sword of our efforts, it is to build a new home for ourselves to live in, or to find something for ourselves at the end. This has our own self and our desires and needs as the end goal. It has our self as the focus.

On the other side of it, the shield is protecting us from the demons we have imprisoned within ourselves. The subconscious is essentially where we have thrown our perceived enemies of our own self-identification and self-acceptance, whom we then empowered down there in the dark through our fear of them. They continue to hold sway over all our actions because of the energies we expend in order to continue to restrain and suppress them within this dark fortress. We create all manner of coping strategies to try to ignore the sounds in the quiet of the night from reaching our ears, distracting ourselves with activities creating all manner of static "white noise" in order to not hear them.

This is why people are scared to death to go into those quiet places in meditation, for instance. To simply meditate to relax for stress relief momentarily quieting the busy mind is great, but not going further is not fixing the source of the problem. There will be a certain door you reach at some point if you are seeking a full Release from this suffering where you will confront all those your 'society of self' has chosen to lock away at some point for various reasons in your history. They are faces of ourselves we do not want to accept and embrace into our society of self, to give a term to it. We label them as "other", not-us. We fear them, and our fear creates inhuman monsters out of them, demons, dark forces. They are symbols of our own self-rejections. This is where the Devil lives. This is who the Devil is.

And so in order to pass through that gate that bars our way before us, we have to confront these demons. But to "defeat" them, we cannot take a defensive posture against them, as our energy spent to control them, only serves to make them stronger and empower them more, sending us running further in fright away from them, locking them deeper in that prison with even higher and thicker walls, making you even more and more removed from your own Freedom hiding safely behind the walls. It makes me think of what Jesus said about counting the costs before putting your hand to plow. Once you've begun this path, you'd better be willing to go all the way unless your new state will be worse than the first. I honestly believe one should not begin this path unless you are willing to meet and confront what lies within. It will cost you everything.

So in this latter case of the subconscious, it too is all about self-preservation. We have an idea of ourselves that we construct that we feel we can accept. But it is not a whole image. It's a constructed image that only reflects the ideals we have chosen to include while rejecting the others. The first, with the sword forging ahead is an effort to build the ego, the second with the shield is an effort to defend the ego. And both are what creates our own inability to simply Realize Freedom. Letting go of seeking to build, and letting go seeking to protect opens us to that Freedom. It is in that sense, truly a release into death where we give up both seeking to build and seeking to defend. We simply let it all go. And then we meet God.

I really like the way you have expressed yourself here. So true, on so many levels. This is quite similar to how I attempted to explain that a lot of inner experience is governed by the beliefs held by the individual and will necessarily colour said experiences in order to maintain psychological equilibrium.

 

[Windwalker]

The real problem here is not all who will experience this different side of personal reality are skilled communicators and the experiences themselves will not automatically make them so. That is a serious problem.

Yes, it is a bit of a specialization. I know plenty who know these things, but are not communicators about it. We have to be careful just because someone doesn't have a developed vocabulary to create all these wonderful metaphors, it doesn't mean they don't know what it looks like.

That said, there are ways to promote the experience of inner reality, some more dangerous and risky than others. One if the easiest ways to uncover the unknown reality is through dreams and specifically though what is called Lucid dreaming techniques. I say easy, but even with lucid dreaming it takes some time to get the hang of it.

For me I see that certain types of meditation are what lucid dreaming does. This is the "subtle level" of meditation, where one encounters light and love and subtle forms such as deities and bodhisattvas, or demons if one is entering into their inner repressed images of self in their subconscious, which I just talked about this morning. Much can be learned by encountering and interfacing with these images of our Self and self. This is why I advocate for those with the proclivity towards archetypal forms to encounter God in its many Faces, whether masculine or feminine, divine Light, and so forth. It opens us to what is within us and lets us know "this is who you are", when you're ready to fully accept that into yourself.

Again though, the individual's beliefs about dreams and the dream state will figure prominently in how successful such an endeavor will be. If one believes dreams are the rubbish of the mind, the meaningless clutter of consciousness, then they should not expect a lot, as their memory of dreams will reflect their beliefs.

Well, yes and what you touch on here is touching on some very deep truths behind it. This is where "faith" comes in. I hesitate to talk about that right now as I see myself typing for another 20 minutes minimum, and I am supposed to be working right now.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

It is in that sense, truly a release into death where we give up both seeking tobuild and seeking to defend. We simply let it all go. And then we meet God.

This is what it's all about. You get it, I thought you might.

 

[Vouthon]

What does mysticism mean to you?

Clearing away the cataract of ordinary, discursive thinking that obstructs our mind from seeing higher truths about the human condition, like dust motes would do to a human eye.

The goal is to breakthrough the veil of discursive thinking - which is distorted by our cravings and conditioned by our subjective biases - and to stop endlessly grasping after the pleasurable and fleeing from the unpleasurable, so that we can develop a state of mindfulness in which we are free from all disturbances, like a clear blue sky.

Perfect clarity, peace of mind, freedom. The breakthrough experience.

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

How long is a piece of string?

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

In essence, as God is in Himself, we can know nothing about Him. The more we grasp, the less we know. The beginning of true insight is to realize that you don't know and simply rest in that unknowing, embrace it so to speak.

Experience is more important than discursive "knowledge". Sometimes the highest truths transcend the syntax and logical constructs of limited human speech.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Yes, there is acquired contemplation and infused contemplation. Acquired contemplation is the first "phase" of the prayer, which one would naturally enter into following meditation. It can be attained through human effort aided by grace. Infused contemplation, is the most perfect and it cannot be attained by human effort, rather only God when He finds us ready (normally through meditation and acquired contemplation).

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

Theism and Non-Theism are mental constructions of human thought. Mystical experiences are not discursive. A mystic will interpret his experience according to his own beliefs - whether theistically or non-theistically - but the experience itself is incapable of rationalization or analysis according to human categories of thought. I am a Theist, so to me it is union with my Deity but another person could interpret the experience through an entirely different lens, without reference to God.

 

[Windwalker]

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Yes, there is acquired contemplation and infused contemplation. Acquired contemplation is the first "phase" of the prayer, which one would naturally enter into following meditation. It can be attained through human effort aided by grace. Infused contemplation, is the most perfect and it cannot be attained by human effort, rather only God when He finds us ready (normally through meditation and acquired contemplation).

This is interesting. I didn't realize they had different categories like this, but it does fit with my own experience and understanding. The way I state this is that the effort is to get ourselves to quit trying to make an effort. The effort part is where we are so busy trying to do things, to achieve or attain or control things the assumption is we will arrive at God through our efforts the same as we do most other things in life. But to try to attain God is like saying we have to achieve our lungs. So the effort we make it to learn how to remove the obstacles we place in the path of this in order to allow the air to freely move in our lungs.

We learn to unlearn what we've learned. We strive to not strive. We desire to not desire. We seek to not seek. And so forth. It is a new skill, that is no skill at all. That's the effort and the work, to learn it's all not anywhere but everywhere and everything. It's to unlearn ourselves. I tend to think this infused contemplation is the realization of that. There is nothing but God.

 

[Willamena]

What does mysticism mean to you?

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Mystical experiences have in common a profound sense of wonder about the world, as if something was actually learned. Often later realized as only food for thought (yum).

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

It can be said about it that it's ineffable.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

I do believe that the Buddists, with their straight sitting and their right behavior, are on to something.

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

It can be theistic. There is no harm in thinking or believing that the greater body does not differ from the lesser body.

 

[SpentaMaynu]

What does mysticism mean to you?
What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?
Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?
Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?
Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

Mysticism to me means the experience of Ultimate Reality/God specifically through certain spiritual acts but also in everyday life.
Things can be said about the Ultimate Reality but what can be said is free and open to the specific experience of each mystic. What is true or false about what is said can only be known by that mystic. If Moses said he seen God in the burning bush then that is specific to his experience. The rest of us might belief it to be true or false.
Yes I belief that if the mystic spent a lot of time in spiritual practices he can bring about an experience of unity. This might also enhance the possibility of an experience in everyday life. It can also happen without any effort from the mystic, but in my opinion this is rare.
Ultimate Reality is neither theistic nor non-theistic.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

What does mysticism mean to you?

It is the search for or experience of the true basis of "reality" or "God."

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Everyday life. Non-everyday life. Experiencing oneness. Experiencing dissociation. Meditation. Death. Birth. Ritual and ceremony. Creative endeavors. Sex. Relaxation. Pizza and a good brew.

I've had this experience since I can remember where (often when thinking of the fact that I am experiencing life) I get the odd sensation of suddenly coming into myself (which is the best way I can describe it). It is like seeing things from the point of view of a character in a story. As if I have been looking at myself from above and then experiencing what I have been watching.

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

In true mystic terms, I think it is and it isn't. Because we are finite beings with limited sensory information, there are part of the ultimate reality we can never know. But through art and ritual it can be expressed and experienced.

I always think of Alan Watts when I think of what can be said about it. "You didn't come into this world, you came out of it. Like a wave on the ocean." We are all the universe experiencing itself through being conscious, model-making beings.

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Yes. Relaxing and letting the world be as it is.

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

I think it is both, depending on perspective and your emotional involvement with reality.

 

[Orbit]

What does mysticism mean to you?

What sort of things are included under the category of mystical experiences?

Do you believe Ultimate Reality is ineffable? Or can at least some things be said about it? If so, what can be said about it?

Do you believe that an experience of unity with Ultimate Reality can be brought about through some positive effort or behavior on the part of the mystic?

Do you believe that Ultimate Reality is theistic? Or do you believe that Ultimate Reality is non-theistic?

I think the ultimate reality is ineffable, that is to say uncomprehendable, because our brains can only conceive of that which we have experience with. We can't make sense of our spiritual feelings in any concrete way, we understand them through myth and metaphor. When we have mystic experiences, we take away a meaning from them, and the meaning is shaped by our cultural experiences and beliefs. The mystic experiences are shaped by culture, but you can't reduce it to culture. Culture is the language through which we express it, in stories, mythology, and religions that grow up around the experiences and attempt to explain them. This thing our brain, which makes us human, gives us these experiences and we make meaning from them. You can't do a MRI and see meaning, so it's beyond the physical, but is dependent on the physical. If your brain doesn't work, you won't have the experience in the first place, but it's not ALL about your physical brain. Meaning is epiphenomenal, it rides above the physical, can't be objectively measured but is nonetheless real.

So for me mysticism is a series of metaphors that are employed to describe an experience that we have that can't be described in any other way. What we experience can't be known, but we sure have fun trying to explain it.