The inner vision: some notes on mysticism

...regions where he says there are neither thoughts nor the absence of thoughts, and then he stops. Finally, he reaches the end where, having moved beyond both thoughts and perception, he stops completely.

The use of symbols to draw closer to the inner self or to God is so well known that it does not need to be summarized here. However, these tools are for the beginner. For the advanced, contemplation combined with moral discipline is sufficient. Indeed, St. John of the Cross devoted part of his work, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, to showing how using images perceived by the senses can actually be harmful to the mystical life.

The phenomena of automatism involuntary actions or writing produced without conscious intent have nothing in common with the mystical state. These often occur in people with non-mystical minds. It can be said that the essential mark of the mystical state is the consciousness of illumination. "No life shall stand in certainty," says Boehme, "unless it continues in its center from which it originated."

"By their fruits you shall know them." This is as true for mystics as it is for everyone else. It is possible to develop deep concentration without moral discipline, and this may yield very interesting results. However, we will surely fail in our ideals as a society if we support anything that does not help make the life of Christ a reality for all of us. We must realize that charity meaning universal love and benevolence, in its broadest sense, is indeed the greatest of the three virtues.

For those who have not experienced it, the importance of the mystical range of consciousness does not lie in its authority over those who have direct experience (though it carries no authority for those who have not). Rather, its importance lies in the fact that it completely breaks the absolute authority of the rationalistic or non-mystical mindset, which is based solely on the intellect and the senses. This rational state is seen to be just one kind of consciousness, and not the only one.

The mystical feeling of expansion, union, and liberation—which comes from the supremacy of the ideal—can be connected to many different perspectives. Because of this, we find very different types of mysticism, such as the works of Edward Carpenter, Richard Jefferies, and Walt Whitman (all of whom may be called naturalistic pantheists those who believe that God and the universe are the same), as well as the clearly Christian mystics including St. Teresa, St. Ignatius, and St. John of the Cross. In both cases, we can find something valuable and helpful according to our needs.

Let me conclude with another excerpt from Plotinus, the pagan mystic: "The soul that studies God must form an idea of Him whom it seeks to know. Being aware of the greatness with which it desires to unite, and persuaded that it will find blessedness in that union, the soul must plunge into the depths of divinity. It must do this until, instead of contemplating itself or the world of the intellect, it becomes itself an object of contemplation and shines with the brightness of concepts that have their source from above."