Includes lots of quotes from original sources, both wellknown and obscure. Mysticism and experience religious studies cambridge core. Mystical experience and metaphysics esalen institute. Mysticism definition of mysticism by the free dictionary. Part one examines the mystic fact, explaining the relation of mysticism to vitalism, to psychology, to theology, to symbolism, and to magic. It is closely related to mysticism but lays sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human behavior, whereas mysticism encompasses a broad range of practices aiming at a. Institute for mystical experience research and education.
This experience enabled me by analogy to get a better understanding of the possibility of loving divine love in the midst of affliction. Teilhards love affair with rock, his captivation with its hardness and density, and his overwhelming natural appetite for. A study in the nature and development of spiritual consciousness by evelyn underhill, interior castle by teresa of. John of the cross, bernard of clairvaux or if the difference is. S even ways of love come out of the highest and work back to the highest t he first is a desire actively flowing out of love. Mysticism and sexuality 47 the use of language drawn from sexual love physical descriptions of the beauty of the lover, as well as images of longing and meeting, of burning and swooning, of kisses, embraces, and even of intercourse have been so widespread in the. Encountering love mysticism fordham university faculty. The third and most sophisticated form can be presented as arguing. Leonard sweet defines mysticism as an experience with.
John of the cross, bernard of clairvaux or if the difference is overcome e. In practical mysticism author edward lee answers typical questions that have been asked of correspondents, instructors, and official representatives of the rosicrucian order, amorc, over his thirty years of employment at the. Howard thurmans search for ultimate meaning utp journals. His teachers needed to make special arrangements for him to attend. Mysticism is the practice of religious ecstasies religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness, together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them. Thurman himself drew upon and quoted from a 1933 book by mary anita ewer, a. A call for reconciliation the divine universe reflections on the soul body and soul mystical theology. Contemplation to attain the love of god for those familiar with the spiritual exercises these reflections on.
The dark night of the soul, stand, i think, as the culmination of the western tradition of mysticism. First published in 1911, mysticism remains the classic in its field. Mysticism and spirituality page 211 mysticism and spirituality mysticism and spirituality are similar but not identical terms. Long has it to rule in the heart before dispelling every resistance thoroughly, and it cannot but work with strength and intelligence, courageously growing in all of this. His teachers needed to make special arrangements for him to attend eighth grade and qualify for high school.
Its relationship to religious experience and psychopathology 1990. Moreover, his strong understanding of physical phenomena served to further amplify his mystical sense. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a narrow conception of mysticism. Mysticism brings about prophetic action that is compassionate and sacrificial, the eucharistic life in which gods people become broken 12 colossians 1. The definition of mysticism has shifted, in modern thinking, from a patristic emphasis on the objective content of experience to the modern emphasis on the subjective psychological states or feelings of the individual. Maslow thought that all religions, all spiritualities, and all spiritual sensibility was rooted in a mystics experience. Thus they use the available symbols of their culturalreligious milieu to describe their experience. The term derives from the latin word mysticus and ultimately from the greek 1 mustikos. One can be an ascetic or rigorous in fulfilling the demands of a religion without having the experiences that distinguish mystics.
Belief in direct experience of transcendent reality or god, especially by means of contemplation and asceticism instead of rational thought. At the institute for mystical experience research and education imere, we are dedicated to empirical research on mystical experiences. Mysticism and the experience of love pendle hill quaker books. First, mysticism emphasizes a direct experience of god. He then needed to board in jacksonville in order to attend high. The greek root muo means to close or conceal and hence hidden. Mysticism and the experience of love by howard thurman. Sep 27, 2010 practical mysticism by evelyn underhill. Mysticism and experience volume 25 issue 3 grace m. We talk a lot about developing strong spirits and bodies. Our mission is to advance the creation, communication, and application of mystical experience knowledge to help unite people throughout the world and to assist individuals in their spiritual growth. We might begin by noting that in the early 1960s a wide. Mystic and mysticismhave there ever been two words so misunderstood and maligned by various writers.
A spiritual biography elizabeth connor, ocso mw11 the way of humility andre louf, ocso mw12 four ways of holiness for the universal church. Mysticism played an important role in the history of christian religion and emerged as a living influence in modern times. Bruno borchert brings mysticism into sharp focus by exploring ideas and concecpts from world religions and explaining christian mystics in history, in perspective, and through art. Initiation into the monastic tradition 3 thomas merton. Love mysticism and issues in supervision in my experience of supervising spiritual directors both individually and in groups, i have encountered a number of issues related to their reactions and competence in companioning directees whose religious experience is. Publication date 1979 topics inner light, love, mysticism publisher wallingford, pa. Two, related, senses of mystical experience will be presented, one a wide definition reflecting a more general usage, and the second a narrow definition suiting more specialized treatments of mysticism in philosophy. Whethersundarsinghisagreatmaninthe senseinwhichhistoryemploysthatterm,history alonecandecide.
Evelyn underhill was an english writer and pacifist known for her many works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular christian mysticism. Mysticism and the experience of love by howard thurman nook. Measures of tendency to have mystical experiences, romantic love, and hypnotic susceptibility were positively intercorrelated suggesting that they all involve the. Scholarly approaches to mysticism include typologies of mysticism and the explanation of mystical states. Therefore what we are engaged in is not merely a detached study or a. The mysticism of ignatius of loyola brian oleary, sj consultant in ignatian spirituality dublin, ireland soldier saint or mystic. The dominant image for most of this period was that of the soldier saint. The origin of western mysticism mysticism and science. Practical mysticism by evelyn underhill free pdf download. If youre interested in what real mysticismis, or are a mystic, or are just curious about this consistent human experience, get this book. Pdf mysticism, historical and contemporary researchgate.
The essential book on classical mysticism from all traditions. Mysticism and the experience of love pendle hill quaker. Volume 1, number 1 january, 1995 fordham university. Following are three fundamental, interrelated characteristics of mysticism. And the experience of love pendle hill pamphlets book 115. Mysticism, the practice of religious ecstasies religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness, together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them. Mysticism is an attempt to commune experientially with god or some life force and to find spiritual understanding beyond words and ideas through various means and practices. Ruusbroec, hadewijch, and the gendered experience of the divine. Mark ed ward koltko is the father of four children, and a doctoral student in he counseling psychology program at.
The unchanging testament the wisdom of vedanta jnaneshvar. This truth and reality come out of their own experience, it is practically tested and brings conviction. And the experience of love pendle hill pamphlets book 115 kindle edition by thurman, howard. About the authors howard thurman was born in daytona beach, florida. And the experience of love pendle hill pamphlets book. Drawn from the monastic tradition francis kline, ocso mw an introduction to christian mysticism. Walter terence stace, in his book mysticism and philosophy 1960, distinguished two types of mystical experience, namely extrovertive and introvertive mysticism. It goes without saying that in the course of these services the thought of the passion of christ entered into my being once and for all. Since the 19th century, mystical experience has evolved as a distinctive concept. Mar 29, 2016 did you know, famous american psychologist abraham maslow thought that mystical experience was the authentic core of all religion and spirituality. Mysticism is the sense of some form of contact with the divine or transcendent, often understood in christian tradition as involving union with god.
Pdf an evident experience of gods presence is the basis for all religion. Mysticism and mystical experiences 3 the name for the experi ential component of any religious way of life or for the inner life of the intensely pious or scrupulously observant followers of any strand of religiosity. He will freely interchange the terms mystical experience and religious experience. The religion of the inner life, or mysticism, is life affirming and reaches its highest goal in love. Mysticism and the experience of love by thurman, howard, 19001981. Mysticism and sexuality 47 the use of language drawn from sexual love physical descriptions of the beauty of the lover, as well as images of longing and meeting, of burning and swooning, of kisses, embraces, and even of intercourse have been so widespread in the history of christian mysticism that any. Mystical experience and metaphysics paul marshall in chapter 2 of beyond physicalism, i suggest that mystical experience, if a source of genuine metaphysical insight, can shed light on a variety of extraordinary phenomena, including psi and neardeath experience, as well as the mystery that is ordinary consciousness. Did you know, famous american psychologist abraham maslow thought that mystical experience was the authentic core of all religion and spirituality. Even within the history of christianity there were mysticssuch as pseudodionysius the areopagite in the 5th century and the anonymous author of the cloud of unknowing in the 14thfor whom the most desirable mystical experience or perception was not of unity but rather of nothing, or nothingness.
All throughout history, the mystical experience has been referred to as a religious or spiritual experience, where the few mystics that recorded their experiences reported it as a rapturous and undifferentiated sense of joyful unity with all of existence. Because of its variable meanings, a definition of mystical experience must be partly stipulative. Chambers dictionary defines mysticism as the habit or tendency of religious thought and feeling of those who seek direct communion with god or the divine. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. Part two, the mystic way, explores the awakening, purification, and illumination of the self. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading mysticism. In filial gratitude and love the varieties of religious experience.
The varieties of religious experience a study in human nature by william james to e. Mysticism is simply the process by which an individual may experience direct, conscious union with the absolute, divine mind, universal intelligence, or. Mysticism in the worlds religions literature of mysticism, for mystics are often assertive and state what they hold to be true and real. The word mysticism itself is initially discouraging, originating as it does from the greek verb which means to conceal. Mysticism refers to the experience of god, whereas spirituality is the whole process of growth from inauthenticity into full relationship with god. Scholars have studied mysticism from many perspectives, including the. Teilhards love affair with rock, his captivation with its hardness and density, and his overwhelming natural appetite for the solid, the everlasting, and the changeless. She was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century.
Theres a useful term in the christian doctrine known as grace. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Mysticism makes an indepth and comprehensive exploration of mysticism. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The dark night of the soul, stand, i think, as the culmination of. And the experience of love pendle hill pamphlets book 115 kindle edition by howard thurman. What difference does it make to a longing for a union of love with the divine if that union retains the infinite difference between god and humanity e.
1075 1089 927 28 1351 350 559 15 256 1247 426 1265 1327 174 1338 1451 857 1403 880 340 281 531 1011 886 1233 1087 1090 1400 223 625 1596 206 199 977 110 163 1497 709 1318 1031 442