What is Mysticism?

Webster’s dictionary defines Mysticism as:

1: the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality reported by mystics

2: the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (such as intuition or insight)

I find these definitions dry but overall accurate. Mysticism is not a philosophy or belief to convert to but an experience to be had. This is because mysticism is found in all religious traditions. This is not an overstatement; mysticism can be found in indigenous shamanic religions, the Western Abrahamic faiths, Eastern Indian religions, and even modern New Age movements. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, mysticism is about the mystical experience or directly connecting to those beliefs. Even if you don’t have any real beliefs, mysticism can help to bring deeper meaning and understanding into your life. Mysticism can help to create belief structures that are personalized for every individual. 

The Mystical Experience

The mystical experience itself can be described in any language, whether it’s ancient, religious, or scientific; however, it’s too broad to describe here in any detail. It’s safe to say, though, that the mystical experience can be achieved through many different techniques, including but not limited to spontaneous occurrences, meditation, yoga, breath work, psychedelics or plant medicines, and many more.

For a brief explanation, see the video below:

Why does it matter for you?

The mystical experience provides connection and perspective—connection to God, ultimate reality, the absolute, a higher power, your higher self, your inner self (or whatever vocabulary you want to use), and perspective in the cosmic sense as well as the personal sense, where you are in the universe and where you are in your own life. These would be ends in themselves, but the truth is that the most valuable things the mystical experience provides is healing. Much of the trauma we all experience in life is carried with us deep in our subconscious and the mystical experience helps us bring that trauma to the surface of our minds. In the mystical state we can work with our trauma and shadow (unconscious aspects of our psyche) in a safer deeper way that our normal state. Whether you have a big question about your life or the universe, or if you have painful memories you’d like to heal, or just want to experience/explore to boundaries of your mind and this reality the mystical experience is the most powerful way to touch all these aspects and much more.