Mysticism from the Greek (mystikos) "an initiate" (of
the Eleusinian Mysteries, (mysteria) meaning "initiation"[1])
is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with,
or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine,
spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition,
or insight; and the belief that such experience is an
important source of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
Traditions may include a belief in the literal existence
of realities beyond empirical perception, or a belief
that a true human perception of the world trancends
logical reasoning or intellectual comprehension.
The term "mysticism" is often used to refer to beliefs
which go beyond the purely exoteric practices of mainstream
religions, while still being related to or based in
a mainstream religious doctrine. For example, Kabballah
is a significant mystical movement within Judaism, Sufism
is a significant mystical movement within Islam, however
Gnosticism can refer to either a mystical movement within
Christianity or as various mystical sects which arose
out of Christianity. Some have argued that Christianity
itself was a mystical sect that arose out of Judaism.
While Eastern religion tend to find the concept of mysticism
redundant, non-traditional knowledge and ritual are
considered as Esotericism, for example Buddhism's Vajrayana.
Vedanta is considered the mystical branch of Hinduism.
Mystics generally hold that there is a deeper, more
fundamental state of existence hidden beneath the appearances
of day–to–day living (which may become, to the mystic,
superficial or epiphenomenal). For the mystic, the intangible
is the focus, and may be perceived in any of various
ways — as God, ultimate reality, a universal presence,
a force or principle, psychological emancipation — and
be experienced or realized directly. Such experiences
are spoken of, variously, as ecstatic revelation, theosis,
direct experience of the divine or of universal principles,
nirvana, enlightenment, satori, samadhi, etc. They are
sometimes characterized by a fading or loss of self,
or a perceived interconnection with all existence, and
are often accompanied by feelings of peace, joy or bliss,
as well as severe cultural alienation.
This is a belief in or the pursuit in the unification
with the One or some other principle; the immediate
consciousness of God; or the direct experience of religious
truth. Mysticism is nearly universal and unites most
religions in the quest for divinity. It can also be
a sense of mystical knowledge. Dionysius the Areopagite
was the first to introduce the concept "unknown knowing"
to the Western World. In areas of the occult and psychic
it denotes an additional domain of esoteric knowledge
and paranormal communication. Even though it is thought
that just monks and ascetics can become mystics, mysticism
usually touches all people at least once in their lives.
Apart from religious mysticism, but not entirely separated
from it, is nonreligious mysticism. This is more of
an experiencing mysticism through, or from, Nature,
although some have discovered God or the Absolute of
Nature through such experiences. An authentic experience
of mysticism derive from Nature is essentially the unity
of the subject and the object. In other words, the person
becomes one with Nature; all boundaries or separation
between the person and Nature disappears. The person
becomes part of nature and is not separate from it.
This is clearly seen in the Goddess religion, which
includes neo-Paganism and neo-Pagan Witchcraft, which
worships Nature. Such worship includes love where the
separation between the subject and object vanishes.
Starhawk, in The Spiral Dance, defines it as immanence.
Immanence is one of the three core principles of the
Goddess religion, the other two being interconnection
and community. "Immanence means that the Goddess, the
Gods, are embodied, that we are each a manifestation
of the living being of the earth, that nature, culture,
and life in all their diversity are sacred. Immanence
calls us to live our spirituality here in the world,
to take action to preserve the life of the earth, to
live with integrity and responsibility."
