Mysticism

Mysticism is a type of religious experience or altered state of consciousness in which a person senses intimacy or union with the source or ground of ultimate reality. Mystical states or experiences are qualitatively different from normal, everyday consciousness. They can be experienced variously as a vision, an ecstatic state, an emptying or silencing of the self, union with God, or absorption into God.

For the monotheistic Western religions, mysticism exists as a movement or school of thought within the religious tradition. For the Eastern world religions, mysticism is the central practice and goal. Mysticism is also a central aspect of primal religions such as shamanism. Some people without an explicit religious attachment also testify to personal mystical experiences; these include Aldous Huxley, Walt Whitman, Carl Jung, and Simone Weil.

Eastern forms of mysticism are directly related to the concept of time. For example, Hindus believe in an endless cycle of death and rebirth called samsara. Through the discipline of yoga, one can obtain Samadhi, the highest level of spiritual perfection. Through the resulting union of Atman (the essential self) with Brahman (that which is truly real), one experiences liberation (moksa) from samsara

[Page 892]The Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not share the Eastern view of the reincarnation or transmigration of the soul, so they do not seek release from this cycle into a state of existence outside of space and time. However, many thinkers in these religions view God as existing outside of space and time. Therefore, when devotees experience mystical union with God, they often report sensations of the absence of space and time.

The adjective “mystical” (mustikos) was used by Christians from the 2nd century onward, but the noun “mysticism” was first used in French (la mystique) in the 17th century. Because it is a relatively new term, attempts to define it have varied greatly. The term can be defined broadly as consciousness of the immediate or direct presence of God (which many have claimed to experience). This broad definition would identify mysticism with spirituality or religion in general. It can also be defined narrowly as a union of the self with God or absorption of the self in the Absolute (which few have claimed to experience).

One of the most notable attempts to describe mysticism was William James's list of four characteristics of mystical experiences. First, they are ineffable: Mystics struggle to put their experience into words. Second, they are noetic: Insights gained from the experience inform a person's knowledge and understanding. Third, they are passive: They are experienced as an undeserved gift. Fourth, they are transient: Mystical experiences usually last for a short period of time. The last characteristic has proved to be less convincing to students of mysticism than the first three.

Religious traditions of mysticism have developed practices and disciplines that enable a person to achieve a state of mystical union. They provide systems of initiation and apprenticeship to inculcate mystical values and disciplines. Central to most mystical systems are the practices of meditation and contemplation, which are distinguished from each other in most traditions. In meditation, a person focuses attention and imagination on a religious idea or image. In contemplation, a person suspends the activity of the body and the thought processes of the mind in order to center the spirit on the presence of God. Meditation would be more closely associated with kataphatic mysticism, which utilizes images in order to experience intimacy with God. Contemplation is associated more closely with apophatic mysticism in which the union of the self with God is experienced as negation or absence. The terms extrovertive and introvertive mysticism are sometimes used to describe similar phenomena.

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