Mysticism

1. Mysticism

2. I. Definition of Mysticism (Evelyn Underwood, Practical Mysticism: Mysticism is the art of union with Reality, The mystic is a person who has attained that union in greater or less degree; or who aims at and believes in such attainment But

3. A. What is Reality? From this definition only a mystic can answer and in terms which only other mystics can understand B. What is Union? From the mystic’s perspective it is not an “operation” but an activity which is being done, every conscious moment of time with great intensity and thoroughness—we can know a thing by unity with it

4. “Marks” of Mysticism(James, Varieties of Religious Experience)

5. I. Ineffability—a negative A. Mysticism defies expression—no words are adequate its content B. It must be directly “experienced” C. It cannot be imparted or transferred to others

6. II. Noetic Quality A. Mysticism is a state of insight into depths of truth unknown through discursive intellect B. The areas of knowledge are “illuminations” or “revelations”

7. III. Transiency A. Mystical states cannot be sustained for any great amount of time B. At times, when faded, their quality can be imperfectly reproduced in memory

8. IV. Passivity A. The mystic will feel that his/her own will were in abeyance, sometimes as if grasped and controlled by a superior power B. The “control” factor will lead at times to secondary phenemena 1. prophetic speech 2. automatic writing 3. mediumistic trance

9. Characteristics(Underwood, Mysticism)

10. I. Mysticism is practical, not theoretical II. Mysticism is an entirely spiritual activity III. The business and method of mysticism is love—love is: A. The active, connotative, expression of one’s will and desire for the Absolute B. One’s innate tendency to that Absolute, one’s spiritual weight

11. IV. Mysticism entails a definite psychological experience V. As a corollary to the four rules, emphasis should be made that true mysticism is never self-seeking

12. Generic Experiences(O’Brien, Varieties of Mystical Experiences)

13. I. The object confronted in mystic experience is thought by the mystic to be somehow ultimate A. A belief that a mystical experience is the ultimate experience one can have on earth 1. Richard Rolle--the object is the “fire of divine consolation” 2. St. Bernard--comparable to the “Beatific Vision in Heaven”

14. B. It is asserted that the object is the ultimate experienced possible to human awareness because it is the ultimate reality--the deity 1. St. Catherine of Siena--the “Sea Pacific” in which she felt herself immersed in God 2. Origen-It is the Word; the second person of the Trinity

15. II. The manner of confrontation is always immediate and direct A. It can an intuitive one-to-one cognitive relation between subject and object, as found in St. Augustine B. It can an “insight”--the unmediated perception of a higher coherence--St. Ignatius Loyola or St. Teresa of Avila

16. III. The confrontation is always different from the familiar exercises of either sense perception or of reasoning A. Differing backgrounds of mystics will cause the mystical experience to be explained in different terms B. Yet, there are similarities which go beyond religious beliefs, for example, the self, itself, becomes awareness

17. Three Rules for Determining the “Truth” of an Experience

18. I. The reputed experience does not follow as a doctrinal conclusion from a person’s basic philosophic or theological position, but is counter to it. A. In writings of Pseudo-Dionysius or Meister Eckhart, the experience which is so highly extolled is the last logical step in a rigid speculative system

19. B. Either of them may have been authentic mystics, but one cannot come to that conclusion from their writings only C. When the experience does not fit in at all with the person’s speculative suppositions, the chances are that it was a genuine experience

20. II. The reputed experience is not an instance of wish fulfillment, but is counter to one’s wishes III. The reputed experience alone gives consistency to the speculation A. In Gregory, the experiences will be seen to be to the “luminous” center in the light of which Bible and philosophy and current theological controversies are understood B. In St. John of the Cross, everything takes its coloring from the experience

21. Three Phrases of Life Agreed On By Mystics

22. I. Life as it concerns God II. Life as it concerns the creature III. An intermediate life, a mixture of the former two IV. Examples A. Plotinus—3 descending phases or principles of Divine Reality 1. The Godhead, the Absolute, and Unconditioned One 2. God’s manifestation as the nous, the Divine Mind or Spirit which inspires the “intelligible” and eternal world 3. Psyche, the Life or Soul of the physical universe

23. B. The Upanishads 1. Brahma is the “heart of reality”; other then the known, and above the unknown 2. Ananda, (being) that spiritual world which is the true object of aesethetic passion and religious contemplation 3. The world-process as we know it, which represents Ananda taking form

24. C. Richard of St. Victor 1. “Dilation of mind”—enlarging and deepening our vision of the world 2. The “elevation of the mind”— in which we behold the realities which are above ourselves 3. “Ecstasy,” in which the mind is carried up to contrast with truth in its pure simplicity

25. D. Jacopone da Todi—uses symbolism of three heavens 1. When the mind has achieved self- conquest, the “starry heaven” of multiplicity is revealed to it; its darkness is lit by scattered lights (points of reality which pierce the sky 2. The “crystalline heaven” of lucid contemplation, where the soul is conformed to the rhythm of the divine life—by its loving intuition it apprehends God under veils 3. The “hidden heaven” or “ecstasy”—lifted up that ineffable state where it enjoys a vision of imageless reality and “enters into possession of all that is God”

26. E. Ruysbroeck 1. The natural world, theatre of our moral struggle 2. The essential world, where God and Eternity are indeed known by intermediaries 3. The super-essential world, where without immediary, and beyond all separation, “above reason and without reason,” the soul is united to “the glorious and absolute One”

27. F. Jacob Boehme 1. The “deepest Deity, without and beyond Nature” 2. The Eternal Light-world, the manifestation of Deity 3. The outer world in which we dwell according to the body, which is manifestation, image or similitude of the Eternal

28. G. Dionysius the Areopagite 1. The way of purification, in which the mind is inclined to learn true wisdom 2. The way of illumination, in which the mind by contemplation is kindled to the burning of love 3. The way of union, in which the mind by understanding, reason, and spirit is led up by God alone

29. Forms of Mystical Literature

30. I. Pastoral Homilies--the writings of the mystic’s intimate communion with the Divine, sometimes the writings are written from sermons preached II. Theological Treaties--directed to an analysis of the mystical experience

31. III. Personal Advice--written to meet the need for instruction in the mystical of some definite person or persons A. The advice is personal in two ways at once B. Author-mystic, in the light of personal experience C. Reader-mystic, counseling for personal need

32. D. This category has many anonymous works which are considered to be “classical” 1. The Book of the Poor in Spirit 2. Theologia Germanica 3. The Cloud of Unknowing

33. IV. Confessions A. Most famous practioner of this type is Augustine of Hippo in his Confessions B. William of St. Thierry, in his On Contemplating God

34. V. Spiritual Accounts--direct and to the point; purpose is simply to tell what occurred A. St. Ignatius Loyola B. Marie of the Incarnation C. St. Paul of the Cross

35. Sampling of Mystics

36. I. Meister Eckhart (1260-1329 CE) A. The process of reality is a series of emanations 1. From the Godhead to the Unspoken Word (the Father) 2. From the Unspoken Word to the Spoken Word (the Son) 3. The Spoken Word to Love (the Spirit) 4. From Love to ideal creation

37. B. Humans return to the Godhead in a reverse order C. The practical spirit of Eckhart 1. The first stage of the soul’s return is regression from phenomenon, that is, from creatures in their actual state because they are not merely nothing, they are annihilating 2. The second stage is the beholding of the uncreaturely in creatures; that is, of creatures in the ideal state 3. The third stage is introspective; that is, one meditates upon the purely spiritual faculties of the soul, the trinity of memory, understanding, and will

38. D. The soul’s ultimate destiny is not the Trinity, but what is beyond the Trinity—The Godhead itself 1. Thus, there is a fourth stage 2. It consists in passing beyond memory-understanding-will to the delicate simplicity of the soul’s pure nature, to a oneness so rarefied that it is almost as though it were not in man at all

39. II. The Sufi Rabi’a of Basra (d. 185/801) A. Unlike many other Sufis, she did not pay heed to the beauty of nature B. She was marked by an extremely other-worldliness

40. C. An important aspect of her thought is her concept of pure or disinterested love—the Love of God for Himself—O my Lord, if I worship thee from fear of Hell, burn me in hell; and if I worship thee from hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise, but if I worship thee for Thy own sake, then withhold not from me Thy Eternal Breathe D. Her doctrine of disinterested love would influence not only later Sufis but traditional Islamic teahing

41. III. The “Intoxicated” Sufi Abu Yazid (d. 261/875) A. Regarded as the first of the “intoxicated” Sufis who would find God within his own soul B. He scandalized the orthodox Muslim by ejaculating, Glory to Me C. He was also the first to take the Prophet’s Ascension as a theme for expressing his own mystical experience D. He developed the doctrine of Fana (“absorption” or “annihilation” which would play an important role in later Sufi teaching

42. Hermiticism and Kabbalistic Mysticism

43. Neo-platonic and Neo-Pythagorean Influences I. All of Plato’s works were preserved during the Christian destruction of Greek literature II. Plato’s “Academy” continued from the time of Plato until it was closed in 529 CE

44. . III. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, Platonism underwent a revival—this revival is referred to as Neo-Platonism IV. The nature of Plato’s philosophy is positive toward syncretism; other systems could be easily added—especially true of Neo-platonism which included neo-pythagorean and Hermetic concepts

45. Hermes Trismegistus

47. I. Tradition states that he lived around 2670 BCE II. Hermes Trismegistus is the Greek equivalent for Thoth and means “The Thrice Great” III. Legend claims he was an Egyptian priest, legislator, and philosopher and was to have written 36 books on theology and philosophy and six books on medicine

48. IV. The 46 books are divided as follows: A. Ten books of laws, deities, and the education of priests B. Ten books of sacrifices, offerings, prayers, hymns, and festive processions C. Ten books of cosmographi and geographical information

49. D. Four books devoted to astronomy and astrology E. Two books containing a collection of songs in honor of the gods and a description of royal life and its duties F. Six books known collectively as the “Pastophorous” and deals with medical subjects

50. G. These writings were imparted, according to tradition, to Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and Herodotus