c. 1998 Religion News Service
UNDATED _ Simply put, a mystical experience is a direct inner realization of the Divine. This may be manifest as powerful feelings of a sacred, invisible presence; visions of light and otherworldly figures such as angels or saints; voices of wisdom, or sublime emotions of love, peace and bliss.
As the philosopher William James wrote in”The Varieties of Religious Experience,”published at the turn of this century, mystical experiences are moments of”illuminations, revelations, full of significance”whose after-effects are long-lasting and leave a person with a profound sense of fully understanding life’s meaning.
Eastern traditions focus more on transcendent states of consciousness _ such as experiences of all-pervading unity _ but Christian mysticism centers around the sense of having an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, and the spiritual states of devotion that flow from that.
As scholar and writer Andrew Harvey defines it, a mystical relationship to Jesus is”a living, constant experience of the burning of love in the core of the heart. That isn’t poetry or metaphysics _ it is an ache of the soul, and if you let that ache of longing and love for all beings grow within you, it takes over your whole being and makes you one with it.” To begin cultivating a mystical intimacy with Jesus, Harvey advises contemplating the thought that we are all one with God, and that each of us has a direct relationship to God. This provides the foundation for a regimen of contemplation Harvey regards as crucial to nurturing the mystical impulse.
A person”cannot follow the Christ path without daily periods spent in calm, steady, discipline of practice and prayer,”said Harvey.
Harvey also recommends supplementing Christian contemplations with meditations from other traditions on”timelessness and eternity.”And finally, said Harvey, the culmination of prayers and practices is a commitment to”acts of service to everyone around us in our private life and in our community”that flow from a heart filled with love.
DEA END PEAY
