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{{Quotation|... we see all religions at their highest point end in mysticism and mysteries, that is to say, in darkness and veiled obscurity. These really indicate merely a blank spot for knowledge, the point where all knowledge necessarily ceases. Hence for thought this can be expressed only by negations, but for sense-perception it is indicated by symbolical signs, in temples by dim light and silence, in [[Brahmanism]] even by the required suspension of all thought and perception for the purpose of entering into the deepest communion with one's own self, by mentally uttering the mysterious ''[[Om]]''. In the widest sense, mysticism is every guidance to the immediate awareness of that which is not reached by either perception or conception, or generally by any knowledge. The mystic is opposed to the philosopher by the fact that he begins from within, whereas the philosopher begins from without. The mystic starts from his inner, positive, individual experience, in which he finds himself as the eternal and only being, and so on. But nothing of this is communicable except the assertions that we have to accept on his word; consequently he is unable to convince.|[[Schopenhauer]], ''[[The World as Will and Representation]]'', Vol. II, Ch. XLVIII<}}The emphasis most accolytes place on the "mysteriousness" of the encounter with the divine and otherworldly transcendent goal of unity, leave most scientists and laymen behind for lack of interest in "mumbo-jumbo" - despite the seemingly causal relationship between self knowledge/accurate perception and the subsequent Real effects as described by not only the mystic, but the pychologist and philosopher as well.  

{{Quotation|... we see all religions at their highest point end in mysticism and mysteries, that is to say, in darkness and veiled obscurity. These really indicate merely a blank spot for knowledge, the point where all knowledge necessarily ceases. Hence for thought this can be expressed only by negations, but for sense-perception it is indicated by symbolical signs, in temples by dim light and silence, in [[Brahmanism]] even by the required suspension of all thought and perception for the purpose of entering into the deepest communion with one's own self, by mentally uttering the mysterious ''[[Om]]''. In the widest sense, mysticism is every guidance to the immediate awareness of that which is not reached by either perception or conception, or generally by any knowledge. The mystic is opposed to the philosopher by the fact that he begins from within, whereas the philosopher begins from without. The mystic starts from his inner, positive, individual experience, in which he finds himself as the eternal and only being, and so on. But nothing of this is communicable except the assertions that we have to accept on his word; consequently he is unable to convince.|[[Schopenhauer]], ''[[The World as Will and Representation]]'', Vol. II, Ch. XLVIII<}}The emphasis most accolytes place on the "mysteriousness" of the encounter with the divine and otherworldly transcendent goal of unity, leave most scientists and laymen behind for lack of interest in "mumbo-jumbo" - despite the seemingly causal relationship between self knowledge/accurate perception and the subsequent Real effects as described by not only the mystic, but the pychologist and philosopher as well.  

[[Phenomenology]] is perhaps the closest philosophical perspective to mystical thinking, and shares many of the difficulties in comprehension that plague mysticism itself. Husserl's phenomenology, for instance, insists on the same first-person, experiential stance that mystics try to achieve: his notion of phenomenological ''epoché'', or bracketing, precludes assumptions or questions about the extra-mental existence of perceived phenomena.[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/husserl/#5] Heidegger goes a step beyond: rather than merely bracketing phenomena to exclude ontological questions, he asserts that only 'beingness' has ontological reality (similar to [[Baruch de Spinoza]]'s suppositions) and thus only investigation and experiencing of the self can lead to authentic existence. Christian mystics would assert that "the Kingdom of Heaven is within" references the same approach. Phenomenology and most forms of mysticism part ways, however, in their understanding of the experience. Phenomenology (and in particular existentialist phenomenology) is pre-conditioned by [[angst]] (existential dread) which arises from the discovery of the essential emptiness of 'the real' and can go no further; mystics, by contrast take the step beyond to "being" and describe the peace or bliss that derives from their final active connection to 'the Real'. Those who adopt a [[phenomenological]] approach to mysticism believe that an argument can be made for concurrent lines of thought throughout mysticism, regardless of interaction[http://www.csp.org/experience/james-varieties/james-varieties16].

[[Phenomenology]] is perhaps the closest philosophical perspective to mystical thinking, and shares many of the difficulties in comprehension that plague mysticism itself. Husserl's phenomenology, for instance, insists on the same first-person, experiential stance that mystics try to achieve: his notion of phenomenological ''epoché'', or bracketing, precludes assumptions or questions about the extra-mental existence of perceived phenomena.[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/husserl/#5] Heidegger goes a step beyond: rather than merely bracketing phenomena to exclude ontological questions, he asserts that only 'beingness' has ontological reality (similar to [[Baruch de Spinoza]]'s suppositions) and thus only investigation and experiencing of the self can lead to authentic existence. Christian mystics would assert that "the Kingdom of Heaven is within" references the same approach. Phenomenology and most forms of mysticism part ways, however, in their understanding of the experience. Phenomenology (and in particular existentialist phenomenology) is pre-conditioned by [[angst]] (existential dread) which arises from the discovery of the essential emptiness of 'the real' and can go no further; mystics, by contrast take the step beyond to "being" and describe the peace or bliss that derives from their final active connection to 'the Real'. Those who adopt a [[phenomenological]] approach to mysticism believe that an argument can be made for concurrent lines of thought throughout mysticism, regardless of interaction[https://www.csp.org/experience/james-varieties/james-varieties16].

== Other perspectives ==

== Other perspectives ==

:''Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.''

:''Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.''

::[[Sun Tzu]], [[The art of war]] [http://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html]

::[[Sun Tzu]], [[The art of war]] [https://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html]

Terms descriptive of a desired "afterlife" include [[Moksha]] (''liberation'' or ''release''), [[Heaven]] (traditionally understood as a gathering place for goodly spirits, near to [[God]] and other holy beings), and [[Nirvana]] (literally ''extinction''), but in mystical parlance these reference an experience of reality "different from the present here and now." "Afterlife" is not related to an extension of life after physical death, but sought as a direct experience of the perfect, the divine reality in the present life. The goal is generally established through an "accidental" revelatory or miraculous experience such as a dimensional shift between one structure of reality to another. Once this "potentiality" has been experienced/received/observed, understanding how and why it has occurred becomes the goal of the individual and permanently stabilizing this "direct experience of God" is obsessively pursued. Because terms descriptive of the divine "goal" are defined differently - even by individuals within a given religion - and their usage within mysticism is often no less imprecise, it is extremely difficult for anyone, who has not experienced the simultaneity of the "shift in awareness/reality" to translate mystical language in a useful way.

Terms descriptive of a desired "afterlife" include [[Moksha]] (''liberation'' or ''release''), [[Heaven]] (traditionally understood as a gathering place for goodly spirits, near to [[God]] and other holy beings), and [[Nirvana]] (literally ''extinction''), but in mystical parlance these reference an experience of reality "different from the present here and now." "Afterlife" is not related to an extension of life after physical death, but sought as a direct experience of the perfect, the divine reality in the present life. The goal is generally established through an "accidental" revelatory or miraculous experience such as a dimensional shift between one structure of reality to another. Once this "potentiality" has been experienced/received/observed, understanding how and why it has occurred becomes the goal of the individual and permanently stabilizing this "direct experience of God" is obsessively pursued. Because terms descriptive of the divine "goal" are defined differently - even by individuals within a given religion - and their usage within mysticism is often no less imprecise, it is extremely difficult for anyone, who has not experienced the simultaneity of the "shift in awareness/reality" to translate mystical language in a useful way.

==Quote==

==Quote==

There is great danger associated with the habitual practice of religious daydreaming; '''mysticism''' may become a technique of [[reality]] avoidance, albeit it has sometimes been a means of genuine spiritual [[communion]]. Short seasons of retreat from the busy scenes of life may not be seriously dangerous, but prolonged [[isolation]] of [[personality]] is most undesirable. Under no circumstances should the trancelike state of [[vision]]ary consciousness be cultivated as a religious [[experience]].[http://mercy.urantia.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/mfs/usr/local/www/data/papers?link=http://mercy.urantia.org/papers/paper100.html&file=/usr/local/www/data/papers/paper100.html&line=101#mfs]

There is great danger associated with the habitual practice of religious daydreaming; '''mysticism''' may become a technique of [[reality]] avoidance, albeit it has sometimes been a means of genuine spiritual [[communion]]. Short seasons of retreat from the busy scenes of life may not be seriously dangerous, but prolonged [[isolation]] of [[personality]] is most undesirable. Under no circumstances should the trancelike state of [[vision]]ary consciousness be cultivated as a religious [[experience]].[https://mercy.urantia.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/mfs/usr/local/www/data/papers?link=https://mercy.urantia.org/papers/paper100.html&file=/usr/local/www/data/papers/paper100.html&line=101#mfs]

==See also==

==See also==

===Supportive===

===Supportive===

*[http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mysticism.html] Broad Summary

*[https://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mysticism.html] Broad Summary

*''[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/mysticism.html Mysticism: A Study in Spiritual Consciousness ]'' by E. Underhill  

*''[https://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/mysticism.html Mysticism: A Study in Spiritual Consciousness ]'' by E. Underhill  

*[http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=450&rsid=478 Resources > Medieval Jewish History > Jewish Mysticism] The Jewish History Resource Center, The [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]

*[https://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=450&rsid=478 Resources > Medieval Jewish History > Jewish Mysticism] The Jewish History Resource Center, The [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]

* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mysticism/ "Mysticism"], ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''

* [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mysticism/ "Mysticism"], ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''

* [http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Mysticism.htm "Mysticism"], ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Society''

* [https://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Mysticism.htm "Mysticism"], ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Society''

* [http://www.christianmystics.com/ ChristianMystics.com] includes many short essays covering various aspects of Christian mysticism

* [https://www.christianmystics.com/ ChristianMystics.com] includes many short essays covering various aspects of Christian mysticism

* [http://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/resources.pl?group=18 Planet Baha'i Mysticism Resources] A look at mysticism in the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]] Holy Writings, its relationship to mystical elements  religions, and its impact on the lives of individual Bahá'ís.

* [https://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/resources.pl?group=18 Planet Baha'i Mysticism Resources] A look at mysticism in the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]] Holy Writings, its relationship to mystical elements  religions, and its impact on the lives of individual Bahá'ís.

===Critical / Opinions===

===Critical / Opinions===

* [http://www.ccg.org/english/s/b7_i.html "Introduction to Mysticism"], [http://www.ccg.org/english/s/b7_a.html Mysticism Volume 1 "The Origin of World Religions"] Wade Cox Mysticism published World Conference Christian Churches of God 2004,2005. See also the site History of Religion [http://www.history-of-religion.org]

* [https://www.ccg.org/english/s/b7_i.html "Introduction to Mysticism"], [https://www.ccg.org/english/s/b7_a.html Mysticism Volume 1 "The Origin of World Religions"] Wade Cox Mysticism published World Conference Christian Churches of God 2004,2005. See also the site History of Religion [https://www.history-of-religion.org]

*[http://www.theness.com/articles.asp?id=70 "A Brief Analysis of Mysticism"] - a skeptical analysis by [[New England Skeptical Society|Hamed Vahidi]]

*[https://www.theness.com/articles.asp?id=70 "A Brief Analysis of Mysticism"] - a skeptical analysis by [[New England Skeptical Society|Hamed Vahidi]]

* [http://www.atheistsunited.org/wordsofwisdom/Nelson/buddhism.html "Buddhism and Mysticism"] from Atheists United

* [https://www.atheistsunited.org/wordsofwisdom/Nelson/buddhism.html "Buddhism and Mysticism"] from Atheists United

*[http://www.svchapel.org/Resources/Articles/read_articles.asp?id=106 Mysticism - Part 1 in ''Think On These Things''] by Gary Gilley - parts 2 through 5 linked at bottom of page

*[https://www.svchapel.org/Resources/Articles/read_articles.asp?id=106 Mysticism - Part 1 in ''Think On These Things''] by Gary Gilley - parts 2 through 5 linked at bottom of page

*"Buried Memories on the Acropolis. Freud's Relation to Mysticism and Anti-Semitism", International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, Volume 59 (1978): 199-208. ([[Jeffrey Masson]] and Terri C. Masson)

*"Buried Memories on the Acropolis. Freud's Relation to Mysticism and Anti-Semitism", International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, Volume 59 (1978): 199-208. ([[Jeffrey Masson]] and Terri C. Masson)

[[Category:Religion]]

[[Category:Religion]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]