What type of mystic are you?

[beenherebeforeagain]

Or phrased differently, what type of route to mysticism appeals to you?

Experienced all three at various times, don't "favor" one over another necessarily.

 

[Vouthon]

Experienced all three at various times, don't "favor" one over another necessarily.

Thank you for the contribution friend! I agree, I don't favour any one over another it is simply down to different people :yes:

 

[Shiranui117]

Thank you brother Shiranui, for participating in the thread! :bow:

And thank you for starting it, brother Vouthon! I was very glad to see you pop up on this site

 

[Vouthon]

And thank you for starting it, brother Vouthon! I was very glad to see you pop up on this site

Bless you brother :candle:

For that I want to go off-topic for one moment just to give you this:

"...Catholics and Orthodox are not enemies, but brothers. We have the same faith; we share the same sacraments, and especially the Eucharist. We are divided by some disagreements concerning the divine constitution of the Church of Jesus Christ. The persons who were the cause of these disagreements have been dead for centuries. Let us abandon the old disputes and, each in his own domain, let us work to make our brothers good, by giving them good example. Later on, though traveling along different paths, we shall achieve union among the churches to form together the true and unique Church of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

- Angelo Roncalli (Blessed Pope John XXIII) 1926, Letter to Young Bulgarian Orthodox Christian

"...Catholics are sometimes lacking in a right appreciation of their separated brethren, and are even wanting in brotherly love, because they do not know enough about them. People do not realize how much faith, goodness, and Christianity there is in these bodies...The ancient Christian bodies of the East keep so venerable a holiness that they deserve not merely respect but complete sympathy..."

- Pope Pius XI, 1927 (cf. Radio Replies, Volume 2, pp. 76).

And a huge cyber hug

 

[NIX]

The inspired kind or the tired kind.

Sometimes both kinds at once.

 

[Open_Minded]

I answered direct - but before my direct experiences there were "triggers" of sorts.

Sometimes nature triggers it ...

Once ... a 12 hour black-out ... and afterwards the most intense (and longest - months) direct experience I ever had.

I only use the word "black-out" because I can't think of another word that comes close. It wasn't a "black-out" in the ordinary sense of the word. ....

 

[DreadFish]

I answered "a combination of 2 or more" with the two being "ordinary" and "other", but it could really be any of them depending on the situation. I think that is what is great about "mysticism", its not boxed in.

I dont have visions or experience apparently transcendent states of consciousness and have, only once in my life, ever actually experienced such a state without using the training wheels of entheogens.

Rather, I have a sort of unconscious experience. In the light of the sun, all things are plain and mundane, and in the dim reflected light of the moon there are lots of shapes and silhouettes that are seen. Anyway, I would roughly box it in by calling it a sort of empathic mysticism, but I hate when New-Agey people come up with neat little names for psychic and mystical things and then make it into an actual term, so im only casually referring to it as that for the sake of explanation.

There's nothing mystical or special about it, in that way. It is what it is.

EDIT: I dont know, while I wouldn't call mystic stuff "special" or anything like that, it is amazing and far out and cool, yet its natural, not supernatural. I just dont like the tone and connotation that I get from new age explanations, so I really avoid using words that I perceive could come across that way.

I like dry explanations of things because I have a dry personality You know, in the arid, empty spacious desert lies all the possibilities

 

[Vouthon]

I answered "a combination of 2 or more" with the two being "ordinary" and "other", but it could really be any of them depending on the situation. I think that is what is great about "mysticism", its not boxed in.

...

Rather, I have a sort of unconscious experience. In the light of the sun, all things are plain and mundane, and in the dim reflected light of the moon there are lots of shapes and silhouettes that are seen. Anyway, I would roughly box it in by calling it a sort of empathic mysticism, but I hate when New-Agey people come up with neat little names for psychic and mystical things and then make it into an actual term, so im only casually referring to it as that for the sake of explanation.

There's nothing mysticaland special about it in that way. It is what it is.

Thank you very much Deadfish for that deeply thought-provoking post :bow: I agree with you that mysticism is not "boxed". Meister Eckhart described it as a "wayless way" which appeals to me very much.

Very interesting post. Much to ponder.

 

[Jainarayan]

Ordinary. I'm being drawn to certain authors and works: Thich Nhat Hanh, Alan Watts, the Tao Te Ching and Hua Hu Ching, the Gospel of Thomas, and others, which are opening my eyes and mind ala Brother Lawrence.

 

[Vouthon]

Ordinary. I'm being drawn to certain authors and works: Thich Nhat Hanh, Alan Watts, the Tao Te Ching and Hua Hu Ching, the Gospel of Thomas, and others, which are opening my eyes and mind ala Brother Lawrence.

Dear Jain :bow:

Bless you.

Thank you for participating in the thread (and I presume the poll too).

You know, I've ordered the Hua hu Ching. I'm looking forward to reading it

Like you, the Tao te Ching and the Gospel of Thomas are important to me. They were two of the first religious texts after the Bible that I studied in any depth.

Thomas teaches us to see the world from a different perspective, that of the Kingdom. One can see the world from the dualistic manner in which mankind has since the "fall" (in Thomas a fall from non-dualistic consciousness) or in light of the kingdom in which "male is not male nor female female" and the "two are one".

Its a wonderful text. I'm so happy that Egyptian shepherd boy uncovered it in 1945 (in a clay jar!!!)!

 

[Astravalon]

I'm a combination of two - ordinary and Other.

Ordinary: Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God was a life-changer for me; I've lost count as to how many times I've read that book. The practice of doing everyday things as an act of worship seemed to transform everything and gave me an enthusiasm for life I haven't since been able to acquire any other way. I fall out of it from time to time, but I'm still a fan of it, even when I'm not practicing it very well.

Other: Namely, bridal mysticism. Hadewijch of Antwerp's feelings for God as Lover sound like this form of mysticism, which has been the 'flavor' of my relationship with God over the past 2-3 years now (without the visions in my case ). In Hinduism, Saint Mirabai expressed similar feelings for God (in His Vishnu form), where God is seen as one's lover or spouse. Discovering God in His Krishnaic form (though not so much the traditions attached thereto) is what helped kick-start this particular phase of my relationship with Him.

 

[Sha'irullah]

So many believe mysticism is about rituals and fancy materialistic displays of worship and divine revelation.

Mysticism is only compatible to gnosis. Without knowing there is no mysticism. Knowledge is key to this and true mystical experiences are found within the obtainment of knowledge through understanding and learning. It is not found in ritualism or dogmatism.

Being a Gnostic Deist the primary method of mysticism for me is the acquirement of pure wisdom in relation to all things of God.

 

[crossfire]

So many believe mysticism is about rituals and fancy materialistic displays of worship and divine revelation.

Mysticism is only compatible to gnosis. Without knowing there is no mysticism. Knowledge is key to this and true mystical experiences are found within the obtainment of knowledge through understanding and learning.

You might want to reconsider:
The Cucumber Sage

It is not found in ritualism or dogmatism.

I agree regarding the dogmatism. I'm still trying to figure out ritualism, so I can't comment on that.

 

[Sha'irullah]

You might want to reconsider:
The Cucumber Sage

So you are saying the recession of knowledge is key to mysticism? This is like saying ignorance is the key to being successful in school .

I agree regarding the dogmatism. I'm still trying to figure out ritualism, so I can't comment on that.

Ritualism or materialistic emphasis is what I am referring to. If you think inhaling smoke and swinging pendulums is mysticism then I am afraid that person falls under the "Spooky Language" category.

 

[crossfire]

So you are saying the recession of knowledge is key to mysticism? This is like saying ignorance is the key to being successful in school .

Nope. However, recognizing that you are ignorant is a key part to being open to gain knowledge. (If you think you know it all, you have a closed mind, which is antithetical to mysticism, imo.)

Ritualism or materialistic emphasis is what I am referring to. If you think inhaling smoke and swinging pendulums is mysticism then I am afraid that person falls under the "Spooky Language" category.

LOL

 

[SpentaMaynu]

Ordinary and direct leaning to direct. Ive found that there are three ways in obtaining knowledge namely observation, reading and contemplation. With these three ive started my personal spiritual journey. There may be more and deeper realities, but this were my experience thus far.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Definitely ordinary mystic

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

A combination of visionary and direct.

I just found out today that I am psychic (which goes a long way towards explaining a lot of things).

I have always been the 'victim of circumstance' and a lot of experiences are just too coincidental to be 'coincidence' and not to mention how I can mentally 'will' things into existence (often with very negative consequences).

I was (am still) a bit of a skeptic. I always thought if the same 'coincidence' kept happening many times over, it is still a 'coincidence' and that our thoughts cannot influence or predict future events before they happen...I always believed I was either possessed by a demonic entity or I just lived on a different plane of existence.

All that came to a head today, when I went to research why these things keep on happening to me and the very first sentence that I read made mention of a book I am currently reading...I read on, then I came to the part where it said; '.....you may be psychic'...I was like "what do you mean, I may be psychic?"

So, now I have figured that out and can stop fighting/hating the universe for this 'cruel joke', what do I actually do with this new-found awareness?

 

[Ablaze]

Ordinary Mystic

Like Brother Lawrence, I see the sacred in the mundane. Nature inspires my spirit and moves through me during meditative absorption. I often find that the ordinary becomes profoundly extraordinary. Engaging with everyday, commonplace activities is incredibly enlightening, in my experience.

 

[EverChanging]

I would say a combination of 2 or more, mainly Ordinary and maybe Visionary but I relate to all three. (It's still kind of hard to say as I consider myself a mystic in embryo if at all - I have a long way to go!) Reading the experience of the Direct Mystic was interesting as I had a similar experience, but it was in a dream.