A common understanding of mysticism is that it is experiential — it’s not so much about theories or ideas, but rather about embodied experience. Whether you call it the experience of God, or of Spirit, or of Divine Union, Divine Love, the “Absolute” or whatever — Evelyn Underhill once described mysticism as “the art of union with Reality” — the life of the mystic is the life of real, embodied, encounter.
But what exactly are we encountering or experiencing? Is it only the gee-whiz, extraordinary (miraculous) experiences that count? Or is mysticism the heart of even the most mundane and ordinary of spiritual experiences, that anyone can experience, at any place and any time?
There are no tidy answers to these questions. Mysticism is a big topic, so embarking upon a mystical journey cannot be easily summed up in a special feeling or remarkable shift in consciousness. And if we take seriously the idea that God (Spirit, the Divine, however you name the Mystery) is at the heart of mystical experience, then we also have to acknowledge that this Sacred Mystery just might come to us in the most ordinary and down-to-earth of experiences, perhaps in a way that many people might not intuitively call “mystical.”
In your meditation, I invite you to dare to be radically open to the Mystery that cannot be put into words or neatly captured in a box or some similar container. You carry within you the seeds of a radical, eye-popping, jaw-dropping mystical experience. And you also carry within you the capacity to discover intimacy with the Spirit in the middle of the most down-to-earth and “ordinary” of moments in your life.
This is to say: mysticism is just as much about the attentiveness, the mindfulness, the paying-attention and watching, as it is about dramatic phenomenon which may or may not shape or dramatically transform one’s own spiritual understanding.
Meditate on love. Meditate on justice and serenity and healing. Meditate on the Mystery that you might call God or Spirit or some other name. Meditate on the fact that falling in love with Love will sooner or later take you beyond the functionality of words (or images or concepts). Be open to the Mystery. Be open to being surprised: whether in big or small ways. Your openness will be your best guide.
I am currently traveling to speak with contemplative communities in Virginia and Maryland. While I am on the road, I am reposting articles from the AnamChara archive. Today’s article was first published on November 17, 2024. I’m reposting it especially to share with new readers, while trusting that longtime subscribers will enjoy revisiting it.
