Mystery, Mystic, Mysticism: It’s for Us All
Lighting the Chalice: Modified from the words of Eric A Heller-Wagner
Blessed is the fire that burns deep in the soul.
(For us) It is the flame of the human spirit touched into being by the Mystery of life.
Let it be the fire of reason; the fire of compassion; the fire of community; the fire of justice; the fire of faith.
It is the fire of love burning deep in the human heart;
the inner ecstasy that fuels all that we do and are.
Readings:
I want to invite you to sit with a question as we meander through the words of several authors that make up this mornings READING. It is this:
Where lies Mystery, the Mysterious, that which enthralls you so fully that it might entice you to enter into your own experience of the truly Mystical?
The infinite dependability of math and science?
The wind in your hair and your feet on the good Earth?
The multi-colored, expansion of mind offered through magic of plant medicine?
The radiant heart of Jesus? Ego dissipation into the Unity of Beingness?
The laughter of children? Simple stillness within. . .?
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The Reverend Fred (best known as Mr.) Rogers, said:
“I’m very concerned that our society is much more concerned with information than wonder…”
The next words I will share of those of Doreen Valiente, a Wiccan. If her words do not resonate exactly for you, feel welcome to shift them in your heart and mind to those that support you. See if something here allows you a gateway into Mr. Roger’s sense of WONDER. . .
The Charge of The Goddess
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven; whose body encircles the Universe;
I, who am the beauty of the green Earth, and the white Moon among the stars, and the mysteries of the waters, I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.
For I am the Soul of Nature, who gives life to the universe; from Me all things proceed, and unto Me they must return. Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices, for behold: all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery:
For if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.
For behold, I have been with you from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical.
It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.”
-- Albert Einstien
And from Hafiz, 14th century Persian Mystic and Poet[i]
If your knees have not buckled in ecstasy while standing when a veil parts.
If a cherished tear of gratitude has not sprung leaping from your eye.
If anything your palm does touch cannot help reveal the Beloved.
My words are full of golden secrets that are not too hard to crack,
and will remedy one hundred fears and ills.
Prayer:
Whatever our individual Mysteries may be, my prayer for us today is that they may find us, and we have the courage to engage in the openings they offer - -
Mystery, that lies at the center of all things and at who’s center all things lie, open us to your presence within and all around us, that our unfolding wonder may make us better versions of ourselves, better lovers, better friends, better neighbors, better citizens. And may it be so, oh Mystery, that each soul here, and around our Earth this morning – May every one of us – of you - access something deeply moving, something that calms or opens or empassions or expands your sense of self or non-self, enlivens your being, enriches your understanding, releases you from what has kept you bound, connects you to that which you most authentically are, and those you love, and to what is most sacred to you. . . and that your Mystery blesses you with the courage to embrace and enter fully into whatever possibility your heart finds here.
Amen /May It Be So.
Musical Interlude For those who found the images went by too fast (thank you to those who let me know!), you may re-watch the slide show here: https://vimeo.com/809864456
Sermon:
Mystic, Mystery, Mysticism; It’s For Us All
Most of us are familiar with renowned Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, Carl G Jung, founder of analytic psychology, introvert and extrovert personality archetypes and the concept of the collective unconscious. But what many do not know about Jung is that he was also something of a mystic. In some of the work he did in the middle of his life, he embarked on deep study, which, among other things, pointed him toward a discernment between what he called “the spirit of this time” and “the spirit of the depths”. “The Red Book”, as the works are collectively called, is a fascinating exploration of himself, humanity and how we fit into a larger picture[ii]:
“I have learned that in addition to the spirit of this time there is still another spirit at work, namely that which rules the depths of everything (contemporary). The spirit of this time would like to hear of use and value. I also thought this way, and my humanity still thinks this way. But that other spirit forces me nevertheless to speak, beyond justification, use and meaning. I long sought to hold that other spirit away from me. But I did not consider that the sprit of the depths possesses a greater power than the spirit of this time, who changes with the generations.
The spirit of the depths forced me down to the last and simplest things.”
- C.G. Jung, The Red Book
That “last and simplest of things” that The Spirit of The Depths revealed to Jung energized and inspired him (and if you are interested in such things, I urge you to take a look at Jung’s wild, otherworldly paintings from The Red Book). What was that, for him?
AND…What might the last and simplest of things be for each of us?
I recently had a bit of an existential crisis, as they say.
I had been swinging, for far too long (a lifetime, it seemed), from my rather passionate love of all I do – to a colorless despair and marrow-deep fatigue. What shifted everything for me (a longish story for another time) was a re-connection to what I have – since as far back as I can recall – held most dear, healing and regenerative: Something that can only be described as the Mystical aspects of myself.
Not that I lost my mystical self altogether, but in my case, I had forgotten that Mysticism is what is, and has always been, most central to who I am and to where I find regeneration. (This is sometimes a surprise to people who have known me as practical and down-to-earth.) Both my over-stuffed, hyper joyful work life and my despair, I realized, were catalyzed by the fact that I had become too busy to recall and replenish my own nourishment; Connection to the Mystical. While my life has always contained more magic than many, the recognition that Mysticism must not be a “side dish” in my life was pivotal for me.
Re-finding this did not, of course, mean I could immediately jump out of the too-many-things-I-love-and-do (though I do intend over the coming years to do just that), but - - a subtle mindset change – simply seeing through eyes that ongoingly remember that Mysticism is my right and nature, and WONDER is a state of grace I need – this slight side step has changed everything for me.
I share this not to highlight my story, but as a way in, of sorts, to an invitation: It is my belief, that while Mysticism may not be so central to everyone’s path and purpose as it is to mine, that it is an innate and central part of being human – and it is certainly the part of our humanity most uninvited in our current world. A part, I believe, from which each of us might receive immeasurable sustenance, inspiration and direction in these often jarring and jagged times.
But let’s backtrack for a moment - WHAT IS MYSTICISM?
Oxford offers two definitions:
-
Belief characterized by self-delusion or dreamy confusion of thought, especially when based on the assumption of occult qualities or mysterious agencies. (Clearly not written my a Mystic!)
-
Belief that union with or absorption into Deity or the absolute, or the spiritual absorption of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect, which may be attained through contemplation and self-surrender (or other rituals or practices).
While we – as practical minded Unitarian Universalists - may be inclined to side with the first, I will invite a suspension of that view, at least for the duration of our journey together this morning.
Wikipedia, slightly more poetically says: Mysticism is a “constellation of distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions, traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation, (variously defined in different traditions).”
From the somewhat under-tended website, UUMystics.org:
“One of the most misunderstood concepts, often mistaken (as) esoteric and far out spiritual paths, is mysticism. Some believe it is the opposite of rationalism, or that mystics are isolated beings disconnected from reality.”[iii]
While many Mystics – historical and present day - do separate themselves from the mundane functions of society, I would propose that Mysticism does not require disconnection from reality, but rather it can – usually in a singular and very personal manner - expand and enhance our experience and understanding of – and interaction with - reality.
In this tidbit of his description, Thomas Merton, (Mystic, Trappist monk, poet, and social activist), describes a moment of his experience of Mystical enlightenment:
“In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers.. .”
It was like waking from a dream of separateness, and self-isolation …
This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud… now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”[iv]
One of the side effects of mysticism, it seems, is ECSTACY.
Lets look at a Google definition of that: (Aside from being an amphetamine-based recreational drug) Ecstasy is defined an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement. An emotional or religious frenzy or trance-like state, involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence or union with the Divine.
Or, the one I like best: Intense exaltation of mind, feelings and spirit.
ECSTACY is another one of those words that may make some of us UU’s feel a little cringy, yet Mystics toss it around like it was an everyday occurrence - -
What if it was?
How many days out of a year do you suppose you have truly felt ecstatic about something?
In Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology (1963), Educator and decorated British army officer, F.C. Happold, suggests that we can divide mysticism into two types:
1. The mysticism of love and union stems, he says, from a longing to escape from loneliness and the feeling of being ‘separate’. Happold believes that there are two urges that govern all of us. The first is to be an individual. The second is to be accepted in some way. And that, despite our need to be individuals, we are always trying to get back to God/the One – hence the desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
2. In the mysticism of knowledge and understanding
Happold says that people have another ‘urge’ which is to try to find out the ‘secret of the universe’ or the meaning of life. Importantly, he says that we do not seek this in sections, but want to know ‘the whole story’. The way that we can look for answers to such an ultimate question is through experience of God/the Divine/communion or union with Beingness Itself.
Similarly, Einstein said, the individual feels "the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves in nature ... and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole."[v]
Happold also lists three aspects of mystical experience:
- Soul-mysticism - finding the soul and, therefore, completing self-fulfilment (individuation)
2. Nature-mysticism - found in the belief that God is immanent/in all things and therefore can be united-with by anyone.
3. God-mysticism – the idea that humans want to, and theoretically the rare human can, experience a return to Oneness – though the journey may be extremely difficult and require great sacrifices, yet lead to unfathomably ecstacy.
Ecstasy in the context of Mysticism, and Mysticism in general is often viewed as rare. And yet, we find it in every religion:
Charismatic Christianity practices being “Slain in the Spirit”, for some speaking in tongues is an ecstatic and mystical experience
Mysticism is found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Daoism itself is seen as mystical,
Shamanic spiritualities are mystically based.
Modern Witchcraft access the Mystical through dance, chanting and ritual.
Judaism has Kabbala
Islam has Sufism
(St. Constantine is invited by a group of Greek Fire Walkers to move their spirits
Pali Buddhism – 8 stages of absorption
Greek Dionysian Mysteries used ecstatic dance, intoxicants and music to access Mystically altered states of freedom from social constraints
Sacred plant medicine rituals open gateways to Mystical worlds of healing . . .
And many regularly experience transcendent Mystical wonder when walking in nature).
Meher Baba describes Sufi mystics, known as Masts, as being “desperately in love with God – or consumed by their love for God”. He says “They are overcome by an agonizing love for God and are drowned in their ecstasy” He calls this state “God-intoxication”[vi]
For some cultures or religions, mystical or ecstatic experiences take place in solitude – as for Christian monks or nuns on retreat, or Native American’s on solo vision quests. In other cases, as with many Shamanic or so-called Pagan religions, rituals are designed in such a manner as to invite participants to join one another in Mystical experiences.
However, both have in common that each individual’s experience is their own; Whether on mountain top or worship hall, whether in silent meditation or ecstatic group dance - - when the moment of communion and union with what one holds most sacred occurs, the experience leaves nothing between receiver and their Divine. However one communes with that “Something Greater”, Mysticism, by nature is a solitary – and in some form, usually, an ecstatic - experience.
If yours is a soul who’s core is Mystically based, than these worlds so rich in Mysticism are likely of interest to you.
But what about the rest of us?
Of what was I speaking when I said, earlier, that Mysticism is for us ALL?
How can something that is both an extremely solitary experience, and seemingly highly impractical, serve we for whom the connecting-with and caring-for OTHERS is so central to our works as individuals and a community? What does MYSTICISM have to offer to, say, Unitarian Universalists?
Let me share words from some of our own, with a decidedly less “woo-woo” spin:
Unitarian Universalist, Sam Berliner, III, (who described himself as a “Technical and Historical Writer, Oral Historian, Popularizer of Science and Technology”, among other things) says delightfully bluntly:
“Mysticism is quite simply the frank acknowledgement that there is far more to existence than we know and can ever know.”
_______
“Why should we not also enjoy an original relationship to the universe?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, an early UU Mystic
Educator, philosopher and author Howard Thurman, famously says:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
I venture, that it is easy to look outward and assess what we think the world needs – yet truly, it is Mystical connection from within us that is often exactly what will make us come most alive.
And in case you are wondering if mysticism is within you, specifically, from the book blurb on Amazon.com:
Drawing on his years of research as a psychologist and on his own experiences, Steve Taylor, the author of LEAP: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening, provides what is perhaps the clearest psychological study of the state of wakefulness ever published. Above all, Taylor reminds us that – indeed - it is our most natural state ― accessible to us all, anytime, anyplace.”
I WILL ALWAYS LEAD US BACK TO our WORKS. Because no matter how “magical” or “otherworldly” or “mind expanding” a thing is, that thing is worth little if it does not change us - and the way we are able to live our lives - for the better.
Deeply personal experience of true merging with what is most sacred to us, and allowing this to move us into new awareness – and action in our world – is our birthright.
My brother, a diagnosed/tested genius and dyed-in-the-wool anti-mainstream, off-the-grid-er, many years before it became common and popular to do so, shared with me his concept of human beings as “Earth’s Cancer”. While we certainly can – and possibly should - see ourselves as a harmful part of Earth’s living system, I want for the moment to dump the “cancer” part and focus on the idea of each of us as a part of a larger system.
Based in Berlin but rapidly becoming a word-wide phenomenon, The Church of the Ecstatic Earth invites us to think of ourselves as individual cells of the Earth. From their website:
“The aim (of an Ecstatic Church) is to create spaces where we can return again and again to remembering that we are the earth, that we are each a single pulsing, ecstatically alive cell of the planet..”[vii]
We do know that a vibrantly healthy cell may support cells around it in striving towards their own brighter health. As a cell of Earth, this fact potentially means that embracing your mystical ecstatic self and thus COMING TRULY ALIVE - even without visibly doing another thing - you might be changing the world.
In the end, AWE is not complex – though the Mystery that takes you there may be – human awe is, perhaps that “Simplest of things” revealed to Carl Jung.
As I am wont to do, I am going to leave you with questions:
What is your form of Mysticism?
What Mystery allows you to wonder and stand rapt in awe?
What singular or secret ecstasy makes you come alive?
I encourage you - As the Church of the Ecstatic Earth implores us: to “Remember yourself as a single, (potentially) ecstatically alive cell of the whole.” - to nurture whatever form connection to AWE takes for you, because that nourishment of your soul – the mysterious, mystical mystery that brings you most alive – serves us all.
Allow, or even invite Jung’s “Spirit of the Depths” to find you, hold you, bless you, expand you, release you, – even if only momentarily – to whatever might be – for you – the Last and Simplest of Things.
Extinguishing the Chalice: By George Kimmich Beach
In the mystery of life about us there is light.
It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together.
It opens the pathways to love.
Let the light of the flame we now extinguish remain before us,
Strong in hope, wide in good will,
Inviting the day of wonder to come.
Closing Words:
In closing, I want to share something from author Malcolm Gladwell’s 2005 #1 national best seller called BLINK; The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. The book is a scientific testament to the superior wisdom of Inner Knowing. In the introduction he sets the stage, sharing that within the first TWO SECONDS of being present with a thing (say, a forged antique, or a teacher who is said to be good but is actually abusive), our inner knowing already knows more about the item or situation than that which days of deliberation by our linear, so-called thinking brain can discern. It is Gladwell’s hypothesis that if we all paid more attention to this type of non-thinking wisdom, we might change the world:
“I think that would change the way wars are fought, the kinds of products we see on the shelves, the kind of movies that get made, the way police officers are trained, the way couples are counseled, the way job interview are conducted and on and on…”[viii]
Gladwell is talking about what all Mystics know; that MYSTERY (by whatever name you call it) KNOWS BETTER THAN OUR SMALL, Spirit-of-theTimes brains know. And that while we tend in our times to have pushed the Mystical (the Spirit of the Depths) out of our lives, IT IS PRESENT AND PATEINT - - AND AVAILABLE TO US ALL.
Is it possible that seeking to re-integrate our own Inner Mystic – the part of us that is full of AWE and WONDER (that part that knows it is innately connected to something larger than ourselves…) is, indeed, our swiftest – and potentially most ecstatic – way to change not only our inner experience, but also the world?
Blessings this day upon each of your good hearts, your curious minds, your bodies just as they are, and especially today, upon your spirit’s willingness to explore whatever might open you to your inner Mystic, to the Great Mystery as you experience It, and the real-world magic-of-transformative WONDER possible within Mysticism.
Awe and Mystery, and as always, LOVE upon you this day and every day.
[i] https://www.worldhistory.org/Hafez_Shiraz/
[ii] (you can read the full version, which you can find here: https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2020/08/10/the-spirit-of-this-time-carl-jung/#.ZAjCqLTMI1s )
[iv] https://www.spiritualtravels.info/spiritual-sites-around-the-world/north-america/kentucky-a-thomas-merton-tour/thomas-mertons-mystical-vision-in-louisville/
[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_philosophical_views_of_Albert_Einstein
[vi] http://www.meherbabadnyana.net/life_eternal/Book_One/Masts.htm
[vii]https://www.ecstaticchurch.earth/earthmass#:~:text=The%20aim%20of%20an%20Ecstatic%20Church%20is%20to,with%20the%20earth%20at%20the%20centre.%2000%3A00%2002%3A01
[viii]Blink; the Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell; Backbay Books/Little Brown & Co. 2005 (Introduction, P.16-17). https://a.co/d/iyFZ9mK
