MYSTICISM

 

MYSTICISM

As the seasons change, so do the stages of life. The thoughts I write here about the subject of mysticism are mine alone. I have no special authority on the subject. In this stage of my life, in retirement from work and busy family life, I find I have more time being rather than doing. So it is that contemplation is more an important part of my life, and that it reaps great rewards for me.

I have recently been thinking about mystery, and the general subject of mysticism, and in particular how mysticism has impacted my life. As i say, I have no authority to teach anyone on this subject. I can only relate my experiences. My bedrock is Christianity - what some would call a liberal Christianity which is inclusive, and drawing wisdom first from God, and then the Bible, and the many other places where one encounters those who are seeking what I will call The DIvine Presence.

Mysticim. The dictionary definition:

1. belief that union with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect, may be attained through contemplation and self-surrender. 2. belief characterized by self-delusion or dreamy confusion of thought, especially when based on the assumption of occult qualities or mysterious agencies.

 

The dictionary, I find, doesn't have the final word on the subject. Experience often defies definition.

We can safely say we are 'spiritual'. Spiritual is a slippery term. Spiritual but not religious. Acronym: SBNR. Being spiritual may mean that one appreciates a beautiful sunset, the aurora borealis,  the full moon, conjunction of planets- beauty in nature. Hopefully we translate our love of the world and the creatures thereupon into action for the betterment of all life. Being spiritual is a rational response to the wonder of Creartion.

Judging from postings on the Internet, there is an increasing awareness of the need for action on our planet to help all those in need of help. I believe this comes out of some rational spiritual awareness of and care for life on our planet. 

It's all good. This is the fruit of the spiritual life.

But, Mysticism? Oh now, that's different thing.  It seems to go deeper than spirituality which has the self as center. Mysticism has as its center Divine Presence. Diety. God. It is a place where one gives up the ego. Your 'You' surrenders. "If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it" Luke 17:33 New Living Translation. The Mystic seeks Self in unity with God.

 The Church regards itself as the guardian of Church doctrine. As such the Church since at least the Middle Ages has in effect corralled what is acceptable as 'mystic' and roped off that which is regarded as unacceptable. One wonders how some of the Prophets statements would be regarded if spoken today.

The mystical experiences, however, seems not to have to do with defy doctrine, reason, systems, religion per se. They seem to come unbidden. The Bible records the mystical experience of Divine intervention in lives which we can regard as Truth of God's working in lives in the past, and our lives today. Jonah, Job, Hagar, Isaiah, Jesus, the Disciples, including the doubting Thomas, and those of us today like Thomas. The Bible should be read with this in mind: The Bible written in a certain time and place in history speaks to us personally today as we contemplate the meanings conveyed therein. The mystical meaning, God's action in the world in all ages. The experience of God's action in the world may come, unbidden by our reason, as a mystical experience.

It is of note that Pope Francis is undergoing some rather extreme criticism for his efforts to reform the Vatican. Francis fits the pattern of a mystic. His council seems to come from a deep place of the soul - a unity he feels with Christ.

An interview with Eugenio Scalfari, atheist founder of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, was published Oct.1. Scalfari’s interview took place at the Pope’s request on Sept. 24 at the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence, where Pope Francis lives.

When Scalfari asked the Holy Father if he had ever had a mystical experience, Pope Francis replied that he “rarely” has. However, he shared that one such experience did take place during the conclave, shortly before he accepted his election as pope.

“Before the acceptance, I asked to be able to retire for some minutes in the room next to that with the balcony on the square,” he said. “My head was completely empty, and a great anxiety invaded me.”

“To make it pass and to relax, I close my eyes and every thought disappeared, also that of refusing to accept the charge, as, after all, the liturgical procedure consents,” he said.

Pope Francis shared that, once he closed his eyes, he did not feel any more “anxiety or emotion,” but that, at “a certain point, a great light invaded me; it lasted for a second, but it seemed really long.”

“Then the light dissipated, and I stood straight up and headed to the room where the cardinals were waiting for me and the table on which rested the act of acceptance,” he said. “I signed it ... and then on the balcony came the ‘Habemus Papam!’”

 Our pastor affirmed in his sermon several months ago to the effect that mysticism was not a scary word. That on the contrary, mystical experiences should be accepted and embraced. This, I thought, was a courageous sermon in a northeastern Protestant church, where there is nary a hand raised in praise, or a shouted AMEN. As a congregation we are not given to outward expression of our interior lives. I have no doubt there mystics among us, but who are uncomfortable sharing or even being able to express the mystical experiences they've had.

So, here goes. I'm not at all comfortable calling myself a Mystic. The word seems to heavy with human definition. In addition, mysticism is not a static state. One doesn't  always feel that union with, or absorption into, God. What I can say is that I have experienced the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect through contemplation and self-surrender. I have felt in the Presence of the Divine. Not always. It is a rare occurrence. There is too much reason and rational thought to overcome. And surrender? The ego is a powerful master. To put it in Scriptural terms, one has to come down from the mountain.

The mountain is a dizzying place. Recently, I experience these which do not adequately describe the whole experience as it is impossible to put a mystical experience into words.

 It may happen at a memorial service for a nephew, who was born gay into a family that never accepted his reality. The air seems suddenly alive as the pastor speaks a homily about the man, telling the truth of his life in an unaccepting family - a family with a host of ongoing problems, weeping now in memory of a departed son. One suddenly sees a great Unity of pain and joy. A love which passes all understanding. It feels like an unloosening, a freedom, a unity.  All the hurts, bitterness and separation fades away absorbed by calm and peace. A mystical thing, that. And it stays with you and changes you in the depths of your being.

Or a person with a troubled life you've been praying for years for who has had multiple divorces, children shuffled from one place to another, upsetment from birth a way of life.  Some no longer speaking to each other. Others through God's ineffable Grace finding that they are beloved by God from before they were born. The mother's house burns. She and her youngest son by her second husband are not hurt. Her dog and cat get out alive and safe. Amazingly the cabinet where she stored her mother's china was untouched. The mystical vision is that there will come changes, better choices, greater love for life and children. And it may come to you that God is present in this too. The pain of the past burned. The joy saved in a cabinet of china. A miraculous gift of God's unity of pain and joy as blow by blow by blow we "get it."  There is a calm and peace in the rightness of all dawns. How else to explain it except to say that life itself is mystical beyond all imagining.

 We are all looking for peace of mind, perhaps transcendence in some form. That 'Is that all there is?' feeling. The needing to be in union with something bigger than ourselves. What will alleviate the unbearable stresses of life? Too many are looking in all the wrong places. Drugs for depression are used more than ever before and the market is growing.  Heroin use has reached literally critical numbers. Kids are dying here.  Alcohol abuse. You name it abuse. 

And church attendance is dropping. Projectors, new hymns, book clubs, hayrides, spaghetti dinners. Good charitable work is being done. For that I'm grateful. So very grateful. Work for the homeless and jobless, food for the hungry, donations for the needs of the building in which we meet for services. And church attendance continues to decline. Some need isn't being met. Christ is the Center. How do we pass on the Good News?

So, let's visit mysticism again.  Do we feel the Divine presence in our churches? Taking Communion once a month are we taking Christ into our bodies, our very cells? Are we good disciples, spreading the Good News outside of our walls?  Are we communicating God's love?

Human reason has limits. One cannot reach the Grace of God by natural reason. If that were true, stresses would be reasoned away. Many religions accept that by faith and Grace alone can one be renewed. God has provided humankind with the ability to receive a direct vision of God. That is mysticism in a nutshell - that God becomes intimately present to the created mind and this, enlightened by special illuminations, contemplates fills one with ineffable joy the Divine essence. And lives are changed.

This is spirituality with a Center. It has little to do with 'religion'. Spirituality and deep mystical experience is about much more than going to church and agreeing or disagreeing with church doctrines. Spirituality is the shorthand term we use in our society to talk about a person’s relationship with God. For many people, how they think about it is certainly guided by what they see and do in their congregations, or in those sent to us as models of God's gift of Grace.  God bless us as we receive You into our being and pass on the Love.

Here is a film a friend of mine, C W Seper, made about a mystic in whose books we have found great truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjLc4FVhwWw

I pray that all of us accept and experience God into our lives and pass on the Love.

 Ann Ahnemann

November 13, 2015