In The
Idea of the Holy
Rudolf Otto coins the word "numinous" define the mystical
experience (p. 6-7).
Numinous
comes from a Latin word numen.
The
numinous experience tends to have these attributes:
"is
inexpressible,
ineffabile...."
(p.5)
The
element of "awe"fullness
(p.13) (misterium
tremedum…
The
element of overpoweringness
(p. 19)
The
element of energy
or urgency
(p.23)
The
element of the "Wholly
Other"
(p.25)
The
element of fascination
(p.31); …et
fascinans)
Otto,
Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy, (London: Oxford University Press,
1977).
Mysticism
Defined by William James
William
James provided a description of the mystical experience in his
famous collection of lectures published in 1902 as The
Varieties of Religious Experience.
In Lectures 16 and 17 he stated:
"...propose
to you four marks which, when an experience has them, may justify us
in calling it mystical...:
1.
Ineffability
- The handiest of the marks by which I classify a state of mind as
mystical is negative. The subject of it immediately says that it
defies expression, that no
adequate report of its contents can be given in words.
2.
Noetic Quality
- Although so similar to states of feeling, mystical states seem to
those who experience them to be also states of knowledge. They
are states of insight into depths of truth unplumbed by the
discurssive intellect.
They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and
importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they
carry with them a curious sense
of authority for aftertime.
3.
Transiency
- Mystical states cannot be sustained for long.
4.
Passivity
- Although the oncoming of mystical states may be facilitated by
preliminary voluntary operations, as by fixing the attention, or
going through certain bodily performances, or in other ways which
manuals of mysticism prescribe; yet when the characteristic sort of
consciousness once has set in, the
mystic feels as if his own will were in abeyance, and indeed
sometimes as if he were grasped and held by a superior power.
James,
William. The Varieties of Religious Experience.
Mysticism
Defined by Walter
T. Stace
Walter
Terence Stace is the most frequently quoted expert when defining
mysticism. An English-born philosopher, teaching at Princeton
(1932–55) Stace wrote on mysticism after his retirement in 1955.
The
Teachings of the Mystics
included Stace's thoughts on mystical experience, a few examples of
that experience, and a wide ranging collection of writings on
mystical philosophy gathered from the world's literature.
Stace
was a "purist" in that he did not honor beginning or
intermediate states people experience along the path to full
mystical experience. Visions, voices, insights, or powerful dreams
are not mystical experience as he defines it.
Only
a "nonsensuous and nonintellectual" union fits his
definition.
A
Mystic is a Mystic
By the
word "mystic" I shall always mean a
person who himself has had mystical experience.
Often
the word is used in a much wider and looser way. Anyone who is
sympathetic to mysticism is apt to be labeled a mystic. But I shall
use the word always in a stricter sense. However sympathetic toward
mysticism a man may be, however deeply interested, involved,
enthusiastic, or learned in the subject, he will not be called a
mystic unless he has, or has had, mystical experience.
Some
things which mysticism is not
The
word "mysticism" is popularly used in a variety of loose
and inaccurate ways. Sometimes anything is called "mystical"
which is misty, foggy, vague, or sloppy.
It is
absurd that "mysticism" should be associated with what is
"misty" because of the similar sound of the words.
And
there is nothing misty, foggy, vague, or sloppy about mysticism.
A
second absurd association is to suppose that mysticism is sort of
mystery-mongering. There is, of course, an etymological connection
between "mysticism" and "mystery."
But
mysticism is not any sort of hocus-pocus such as we commonly
associate with claims to be the elucidation of sensational
mysteries. Mysticism
is not the same as what is commonly called the "occult"...
Nor
doe it include what are commonly called parapsychological phenomena
such as telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition.
These are not mystical phenomena.
It is
perhaps true that mystics may sometimes claim to possess such
special powers, but even when they do so they are well aware that
such powers are not part of, and are to be clearly distinguished
from, their mystical experience.
Finally,
it is most important to realize that visions
and voices are not mystical phenomena,
though here again it seems to be the case that the sort of persons
who are mystics may often be the sort of persons who see visions and
hear voices...
What
mystics say is that a genuine mystical experience is nonsensuous.
It
is formless, shapeless, colorless, odorless, soundless.
But a vision is a piece of visual imagery having color and shape. A
voice is an auditory image. Visions and voices are sensuous
experiences.
The
Central Characteristic
The
most important, the central characteristic in which all fully
developed mystical experiences agree, and which in the last analysis
is definitive of them and serves to mark them off from other kinds
of experiences, is that they involve the
apprehension of an ultimate nonsensuous unity in all things, a
oneness or a One to which neither the senses nor the reason can
penetrate.
In
other words, it
entirely transcends our sensory-intellectual consciousness.
It
should be carefully noted that only fully developed mystical
experiences are necessarily apprehensive of the One.
Many experiences have been recorded which lack this central feature
but yet possess other mystical characteristics.
These
are borderline cases, which may be said to shade off from the
central core of cases. They have to the central core the relation
which some philosophers like to call "family resemblance".
Two
Types of Mystical Experience
One may
be called extrovertive
mystical experience,
the other introvertive mystical
experience.
Both are apprehensions of the One, but they reach it in different
ways.
The
extrovertive way looks outward and through
the physical sensesinto
the external world and finds the One there.
The
introvertive way turns inward, introspectively, and finds
the Oneat
the bottom of the self,
at the bottom of human personality.
The
latter far outweighs the former in importance both in the history of
mysticism and in the history of human thought generally.
The
introvertive way is the major strand in the history of mysticism,
the extrovertive way a minor strand.
The
extrovertive mystic
with his physical senses continues to perceive the same world of
trees and hills and tables and chairs as the rest of us.
But
he sees these objects transfigured in such manner that the Unity
shines through them.
Because it includes ordinary sense perceptions, it only partially
realizes the description... (that is, an experience of complete
unity)...
It is
suggested that the extrovertive type of experience is
a kind of halfway house to the introvertive.
For the introvertive experience is wholly nonsensuous and
nonintellectual.
But the
extrovertive experience is sensory-intellectual in so far as it
still perceives physical objects but is nonsensuous and
nonintellectual in so far as it perceives them as "all
one".
Introvertive
mysticism
Now it
happens to be the case that this total suppression of the whole
empirical content of consciousness is precisely what the
introvertive mystic claims to achieve. And he claims that what
happens is not that all consciousness disappears but that only the
ordinary sensory-intellectual consciousnessness
disappears and is
replaced by anentirely
new kind of consciousness, the mystical consciousness.
Of the
introvertive mystical consciousness the Mandukya (Upanishad) says
that it is beyond
the senses, beyond the understanding, beyond all expression...
It
is the pure unitary consciousness, wherein awareness of the world and
of multiplicity is completely obliterated. It is ineffable peace. It
is the Supreme Good. It is One without a second. It is the Self.
Not
only in Christianity and Hinduism but everywhere else we find that
the essence of this experience is that it is an undifferentiated
unity, though each culture and each religion interprets this
undifferentiated unity in terms of its own creeds and dogmas.
Stace,
Walter T. The Teachings of the Mystics, (New York: The New American
Library, 1960).
Mysticism
Defined by D.T. Suzuki
The
mystical experience in Zen is called Satori (wu in Chinese). Satori
is that which lies beyond most forms of insights such as those
arising from contemplation or via imagery and is a intuitive grasp
of the reality "beyond forms." Suzuki says Satori has
these characteristics:
1.
Irrationality.
"By this I mean that satori is not a conclusion to be reached
by reasoning, and defies all intellectual determination. Those who
have experienced it are always at a loss to explain it coherently or
logically."
2.
Intuitive
Insight.
"That there is noetic quality in mystic experiences has been
pointed out by (William) James...
Another
name for satori is "kensho" (chien-hsing in Chinese)
meaning "to see essence or nature", which apparently
proves that there
is "seeing" or "perceiving" in satori...
Without
this noetic quality satori will lose all its pungency, for it is
really the reason of satori itself. "
3.
Authoritativeness.
"By this I mean that the knowledge realized by satori is final,
that no amount of logical argument can refute it. Being
direct and personal it is sufficient unto itself.
All that logic can do here is to explain it, to interpret it in
connection to other kinds of knowledge with which our minds are
filled. Satori
is thus a form of perception, an inner perception, which takes place
in the most interior part of consciousness.
4.
Affirmation.
"What is authoritative and final can never be negative. Though
the satori experience is sometimes expressed in negative terms, it
is essentially an affirmative attidude towards all things that
exist;
it accepts them as they come along regardless of their moral
values."
5.
Sense of the Beyond.
"...in satori there is always what we may call a sense of the
Beyond; the experience indeed is my own but I feel it to be rooted
elsewhere. The
individual shell in which my personality is so solidly encased
explodes at the moment of satori.
Not, necessarily, that I get unified with a being greater than
myself or absorbed in it, but that my individuality, which I found
rigidly held together and definitely kept separate from other
individual existences, becomes lossened somehow from its tightening
grip and melts away into something indescribable, something which is
of quite a different order from what I am accustomed to.
The
feeling that follows is that of complete release or a complete rest
the feeling that one has arrived finally at the destination...
As far as the psychology of satori is considered, a sense of the
Beyond is all we can say about it; to call this the Beyond, the
Absolute, or God, or a Person is to go further than the experience
itself and to plunge into a theology or metaphysics."
6.
Impersonal
Tone.
"Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Zen experience is
that it has no personal note in it as is observable in Christian
mystic experiences."
7.
Feeling of exaltation.
"That this feeling inevitably accompanies satori is due to the
fact that it
is the breaking-up of the restriction imposed on one as an
individual being, and this breaking up is not a mere negative
incident but quite a positive one fraught with signification because
it means an infinite expansion of the individual."
8.
Momentariness.
"Satori comes upon one abruptly and is a momentary experience.
In fact, if it is not abrupt and momentary, it is not satori.
Source:
Suzuki, D.T. Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings of D.T, Suzuki, (New
York: Anchor Books, 1956), pp. 103-108.
Mysticism
Defined by Charles
S. Grob
1.
Alterations in Thinking.
To varying degrees, subjective
changes
in concentration, attention, memory, and judgment may be induced in
the acute state, along with a possible diminution
or expansion of reflective awareness.
2.
Altered
Time Sense.
The sense of time and chronology may be altered, inducing a
subjective feeling of timelessness,
or the experience of time either accelerating or decelerating. Time
may be experienced as infinite, or infinitesimal in duration.
3.
Fear of Loss of Control.
An
individual may experience a fear of losing his hold on reality or his
sense of self-control. In reaction, increased
resistance to the experience may occur, causing an amplification of
underlying anxiety.
If
there is a positive cultural conditioning
and understanding of the experience, mystical
and positive transcendent states may ensue.
4.
Changes
in Emotional Expression.
Along
with reduction in volitional or conscious control, intense
emotional reactivity
may occur, ranging
from ecstasy to despair.
5.
Changes
in Body Image.
Alterations
in body image are frequently reported, often associated
with dissolution of boundaries between self and others
and states of depersonalization and derealization where the usual
sense of one's own reality is temporarily lost or changed. Such
experiences may be regarded as strange and frightening, or as
mystical, oceanic states of cosmic unity,
particularly when sustained within the context of belief systems
conditioned for spiritual emergent encounters.
6.
Perceptual
Alterations.
Increased
visual imagery, hyperacuteness of perceptions and overt
hallucinations may occur. The content of these perceptual alterations
are influenced by cultural expectations, group influences and
individual wish-fulfillment fantasies. They may reflect the
psychodynamic expression of underlying fears or conflicts, or simple
neurophysiologic mechanisms inducing geometric patterns and
alterations of light, colors and shapes. Synesthesias, the
transformation of one form of sensory experience into another, such
as seeing auditory stimuli, may be experienced.
7.
Changes in Meaning or Significance.
While in a powerful altered state of consciousness, some individuals
manifest a propensity to attach special meaning or significance to
their subjective experiences, ideas or perceptions.
An
experience of great insight or profound sense of meaning may occur,
their significance ranging from genuine wisdom to self-imposed
delusion.
8.
Sense of the Ineffable.
Because
of the uniqueness of the subjective experience associated with these
states and their divergence from ordinary states of consciousness,
individuals often have great difficulty communicating the essence of
their experience to those who have never had such an encounter.
9.
Feelings
of Rejuventation.
Many
individuals emerging from a profoundly altered state of consciousness
report a new
sense of hope, rejuvenation and rebirth.
Such transformed states may be short-term, or conversely, may lead to
sustained positive adjustments in mood and outlook.
10.
Hyper-suggestibility.
While
in the throes of altered state experience, individuals experience an
enhanced susceptibility to accept or respond uncritically to specific
statements. Nonspecific cues, reflecting cultural belief systems or
group expectation, may similarly assume directives of weighty
importance.
Source:
Ralph
Metzner, editor. Ayahuasca: Hallucinogens, Consciousness, and the
Spirit of Nature, (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999).
Mysticism
Defined by Walter
Pahnke
"Nine
universal psychological characteristics were derived from a study of
the literature of spontaneous mystical experience reported
throughout world history from almost all cultures and religions.
When subjected to a scientific experiment, these characteristics
proved to be identical for spontaneous and psychedelic mystical
experiences."
1.
Unity
- a sense of cosmic oneness
2.
Transcendence of Time and Space
3.
Deeply Felt Positive Mood
4.
Sense of Sacredness
5.
Noetic Quality
- a feeling of insight or illumination
6.
Paradoxicality
- A person may realize that he/she is experiencing, for example, "an
identity of opposites," yet it seems to make sense at the time.
7.
Alleged ineffability
8.
Transiency
- the experience passes
9.
Persisting Positive Changes in Attitudes and Behavior
Source:
Pahnke,
Walter. The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter
With Death, Psychedelic Review, Number 11, 1971.
Mystical
experiences are marked by all or some of the following
feelings/insights.
A
sense of unity or totality
A
sense of timelessness
A
sense of having encountered ultimate reality
A
sense of sacredness
A
sense that one can not adequately describe the richness of this
experience
Most
experiences can last as short as a few seconds or up to a few days.
Pseudo-Dionizy
Areopagita
Istnieje atoli pewna
doskonała znajomość Boga, która wypływała z wzniosłej
nieświadomości (w oryginale: agnozja, ignorancja, kontemplacja),
kiedy to dusza, porzucając wszelkie rzeczy i zapominając sama o
sobie, zatapia się w promieniach chwały Bożej i oświeca się
wśród tych wspaniałych przepaści niezmierzonej mądrości.
gubi się w tym, który
nie może być ani widzialnym, ani pojętym […] złączona z
nieznanym najszlachetniejszą częścią siebie samej, z powodu
swojego wyrzeczenia się wiedzy, czerpiąc
na koniec z tej absolutnej niewiedzy takie poznanie, do jakiego
rozum nie mógłby nigdy dojść.
Meister Eckhart
Augustyn, a wraz z nim
pewien mistrz pogański mówi o dwóch obliczach duszy. Jedno jest
zwrócone w kierunku tego świata i ciała; w nim to dusza
praktykuje cnotę, uprawia sztukę, zdobywa wiedzę i prowadzi
święte życie. Drugie kieruje się wprost ku Bogu; w nim przebywa
i nieustannie działa Boskie światło, tylko dusza nie wie tego, bo
nie jest u siebie.
Grundlose
grund & ukryta
głębia duszy
Jest w niej (głębi)
obecne to, co było tysiące lat temu i co będzie za tysiąc lat -
podobnie to, co jest za morzami [...]
Władza ta ujmuje
wszystkie rzeczy w prawdzie, żadna nie jest przed nią zakryta.
Teresa
z Avila: „twierdza wewnętrzna”
Przedstawia mi się
dusza nasza, jako twierdza cała z jednego diamentu albo na wskroś
przejrzystego kryształu, podzielona na wiele rozmaitych komnat.
Twierdza ta ma wiele
różnych mieszkań, jedne na górze, drugie na dole, jedne po
bokach, drugie wewnątrz gmachu
Wiele jest dusz, które
przebywają w zewnętrznym tylko ogrodzeniu i ani im w myśli wnijść
do wnętrza i zobaczyć, co też tam jest w tym wspaniałym pałacu
i jakie są w nim mieszkania.
Boskie osoby mieszkają
we wnętrzu, w najgłębszym wnętrzu jej, jakby w głębi jakiejś
bezdennej.
Nie mając nauki, dusza
nie potrafi wytłumaczyć jaka to głębia, ale czuje to, że tam
mieszka z nią to boskie towarzystwo.
Dwa
modele
Peryferia – centrum
Twierdza wewnętrzna
(Castillo interior) oraz
„Siódma komnata” –
święta Teresa z Avila
Warowne
miasteczko (Burgstädchen) – Meister Johannes Eckhart