This blog will showcase spirituality
and mysticism from around the web, sharing the interesting
discoveries I've made in articles, websites, audios and videos. I
will use this as a platform to explore the deep and rich meaning and
value within Christian mysticism, atheist mysticism, and Eastern
mysticism (Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Yoga, etc.).
What is “mysticism”? Wikipedia
defines mysticism as “the knowledge of, and especially the personal
experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond
normal human perception, including experience of and even communion
with a supreme being.”
As a pantheist I take “supreme being”
to mean the oneness of the Cosmos. A worldview maintaining that all
things are united together on a material and spiritual (energy)
level. This worldview can be found in Taoism, in Zen, in Yoga, in
certain sects of Christianity, and especially in physics.
This does not maintain a belief in the
supernatural: Gods, angels, devils, miracles, evil. But a belief in
the supernatural does not exclude one from mysticism. I personally do
not believe in the supernatural, but believe reality is up for any
interpretation.
Mysticism is a “personal”
experience. It is not objective, but subject. Those who have tried to
make mysticism objective have often only ended up ruining the
experience or making a vast religion out of the event.
Judaism is an example of a religion
formed from Abraham's mystical experience with God, Christianity
formed from followers' mystical experience with Jesus Christ, Islam
formed from Mohammed's mystical experience with God, and Buddhism
formed from Buddha's mystical experience with meditation. On and on
it goes, each religion losing much of the essence held in the
original experience.
Spirituality is a bit harder for me to
define. It's even more subjective, yet maintains at least some
objective laws. Compassion and wholeness are premises of
spirituality.
Wikipedia defines spirituality as: “an
ultimate or alleged immaterial reality, an inner path enabling a
person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the 'deepest
values by which people live.'”
Spirituality, in my opinion, does not
mean “spirit” in the sense of a soul, a supernatural phenomenon
within the body. To me it means “self” in that the self is a
being of energy, as well as a physical manifestation. On a scientific
level, I'm speaking of the electric impulses and chemical reactions
within the human body which propel us to life.
Spirituality is often more of an ideal
than an experience, as mysticism is. Both are important and
compliment one another. It is the way in which we reach out and touch
the self, and the selves of others, and the Cosmos as a whole. If
mysticism is a personal practice, spirituality is the personal law
which guides the practice.
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, atheism,
agnosticism, pantheism, paganism, Buddhism, Yoga, Hinduism, and
Taoism all have deep levels of spirituality other than their usual
religious or secular natures.
In coming posts I will discuss
different examples of both mysticism and spirituality, showing
differences and commonalities of various belief systems and personal
experiences.
I will look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas here, J.R. This was such an interesting "hook" post!
ReplyDeleteAn update: Went to open Man Hunter from my downloads and Windows refused to cooperate :(, but I started reading The Rising on my kindle. You are drawing me right in!!!
Kudos to you!
I think this can be a really good blog, Martha. A blog with a purpose. I was watching Youtube last night and came across some very interesting things, and it would be very neat to have a place to sit and shout out all of the wonderful ideas people are discussing, past, present, and future :)
DeleteThank you.
great beginning, I am excited to read more....<3
ReplyDeleteThere will be much more! :)
DeleteSounds like an interesting blog! Look forward to future posts and some interesting discussions! Take care!
ReplyDelete