How to have a mystical experience...

[flowperson]

With all due respect Dondi, I have come to believe that mystical experiences are exceptions to the rule and due to their singular nature cannot be repeated, regularized, ritualized, or practiced. They can only be recorded and memorialized. To do so would lower the experience from a "one-of-a-kind thing" to mundane and repetitive gobbledygook over time, much like the rest of life's experiences.

Now I say all of this based on some personal experiences, and while there was a certain amount of "loopiness" to it all, there was also a profound sense of awe and fear involved. A total loss of control over what I was doing and why. I became a messenger, and that was my only role. It was usually not a type of experience that most would want to be immersed in continually. While an ongoing sense of being in some sort of "zone" as an athlete might experience might seem to be possible, my opinion is that most humans would not seek out the short run levels of discomfort and pain that most mystical experiences tend to entail and try to extend them over the long term.

Of course the purpose of religion is to regularize, repeat, ritualize, and practice that which has usually been a singular happening and cannot be exactly be repeated, etc. It's a trap that we all place ourselves into in the process of trying to perpetuate singularities into the Sacred And The Profane, which, by the way is the title of a most excellent book by Mircea Eliade which describes this particular conundrum as it applies to religion and society very well.

flow....

[Prober]

Originally Posted by 17th Angel

*licks his computer monitor...*

The snozberries taste like snozberries...

Mmmmm...snozberries...

[17th Angel]

[Dondi]

Originally Posted by flowperson

With all due respect Dondi, I have come to believe that mystical experiences are exceptions to the rule and due to their singular nature cannot be repeated, regularized, ritualized, or practiced. They can only be recorded and memorialized. To do so would lower the experience from a "one-of-a-kind thing" to mundane and repetitive gobbledygook over time, much like the rest of life's experiences.

Now I say all of this based on some personal experiences, and while there was a certain amount of "loopiness" to it all, there was also a profound sense of awe and fear involved. A total loss of control over what I was doing and why. I became a messenger, and that was my only role. It was usually not a type of experience that most would want to be immersed in continually. While an ongoing sense of being in some sort of "zone" as an athlete might experience might seem to be possible, my opinion is that most humans would not seek out the short run levels of discomfort and pain that most mystical experiences tend to entail and try to extend them over the long term.

Of course the purpose of religion is to regularize, repeat, ritualize, and practice that which has usually been a singular happening and cannot be exactly be repeated, etc. It's a trap that we all place ourselves into in the process of trying to perpetuate singularities into the Sacred And The Profane, which, by the way is the title of a most excellent book by Mircea Eliade which describes this particular conundrum as it applies to religion and society very well.

flow....

Maybe we differ in our interprtation of what a mystical experience is. Perhaps if you could define what you mean by a mystical experienceit might help me distinguish the difference.

[InLove]

Perhaps what makes the mystical so mystical is its inherent inclination to escape definition.

InPeace,
InLove

[flowperson]

Dondi...
As I stated...one becomes an instrument of the "other" and willingly or unwillingly does its bidding. It is not a slavery situation because one has a feeling of bliss during the time frame of the experience, and all students of the late Joseph Campbell learned long ago that the key to a rewarding spiritual life is to "follow one's bliss" . But whether or not you, as the messenger, is willing to participate in the relationship is not a matter of choice. It just happens and that's it, and you make the best use of what it is that you received in the interest of others through altruistic acts.

It works. I know. Hope this expands your understanding of the phenomenon, and you are right...different people would likely experience these events in differing ways since we are all genetically different in our composition within our species groupings.

I suppose it's what Spock labeled a "mind meld", or is that an archaic 50's canasta term ?

flow....

[China Cat Sunflower]

Well, what is a mystical experience? What is "mystical"? If it's ordinary and organic is it still mystical? Is there some unexpected gee-whiz factor that makes it mystical as opposed to just cool, groovy, whatever...? A serendipitous factor of the unexpected that smacks all to hell of zen?

I've been wondering about this. It seems to me that all of life is fabulously mysto-magical. That is, we're kinda stuck thinking of ourselves as disconnected and objective, but then when we look around at the processes of nature we see that we're not really seperate, not really uninvolved- in fact, we're involved without our even being aware most of the time. And then sometimes- trippin' on acid, or just mellowed out somewhere cool, our thought processes take a little break and we feel the connection. I'm thinking that's what's meant by "mystical". So, the thing is- it's really hard to get to that mystical plane through any kind of planned process. In that sense, meditation is just a way to put yourself in a frame of mind to forget. It's a planned process to help you defeat planned processes. Pretty ironic how that works! But you have to abandon processes, "religion", to get to a place of perpetual "mindfulness. Again, ironic.

When you consider the eight-fold path, it becomes clear that the way to the mystic is through mundane, but right action. It's too hard trying to forget about trying.

Chris

[InLove]

Yes, I think you have hit on something important, Chris. It seems to me that the mystical is about seeing beyond. Beyond what seems to be there. Sometimes it may be about perceiving a great big picture, as in cosmic connections and universality, but sometimes it might be that we simply look at the details of, say, a flower, and just see what is beyond the obvious. I'm fumbling around here for language, but then that is part of the "mysto-magic" (as you termed it), maybe?

And I know there are big inexplicable moments, but I think that there is also the living it. Why can't it be both? And sometimes the experience comes out of sincere yearning, but sometimes it may take us by surprise. And sometimes, yes--we can be unwilling participants, but like flow said, somehow it isn't a problem (at least it hasn't been so far for me). LOL--the biggest problem I've had so far is that on occasion, others think I am delusional!

InPeace,
InLove