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3practical tools to expand our sense of the mystical Human consciousness is constantly evolving, and with |
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Where have all the mystics gone? As absorbed as we are in seeking spiritual answers to secular living, we still tend to look to the past for “real” wisdom from the mystics. We read the latest bestselling “guru,” but reserve our greatest respect for a Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, or Moses. We also revere more recent mystical messengers, such as Emerson, Thomas Troward, or Ernest Holmes, as their works age and become part of antiquity. This phenomenon reveals two underlying beliefs. First, we feel humanity is regressing in some way, and we are no longer as wise as we used to be. Second, we think we no longer have the tools to access the highest levels of consciousness we once could. So are these beliefs founded in reality? Certainly there are some qualities from the past we would do well to resurrect. In fact, our condition demands it. These qualities are simplicity, humility, and non-attachment. They echo a time when we were less distracted by materialism, less controlling, and more in awe of the sacred mystery of life. To become more aware of the mystical in modern life, we must recapture a sense of sacredness in daily living. To do this, we need to find tools we can apply to ensure our consciousness continues to evolve. We may not have five years to spend sitting under the bodhi tree, or even forty days to spend in the wilderness. We must find creative ways to incorporate introspection, contemplation, and sacred communion into our everyday lives. To do so, we have the very practical tools of faith, vision, and focus. Faith Faith is a belief in the unknown. Otherwise it would be “certainty.” Our modern culture does not support acceptance of the unknown. We want to know everything— how does it work, where did it come from, what will it do next? In the same vein, the mystical is numinous. It implies the presence of something beyond our mundane, human understanding. To practice modern-day mysticism, we must develop through faith a robust relationship with the mysterious aspects of ourselves and of life. The good news is that there is no special magic involved in doing this. Each of us has a sixth sense, an intuitive faculty that is active to the degree that we use it. Whether it appears as a gut reaction, a premonition, or an inspired idea that comes “out of nowhere,” we are much more sensitive to and in tune with other dimensions of reality than most of us realize. Developing this awareness simply takes practice. It’s a process of refinement as we become more aware, first of our own delicacy and then of the subtleties all around us. In so doing, we align with an alternate grid of perception, which expands our understanding of reality. You can activate this process in yourself by stretching your physical senses to new and deeper levels. As you go through your day, practice connecting with the presence of everything around you, until you begin to perceive your reality in a whole new way. Most of us have at some time in our lives glimpsed this deeper level of truth. I can recall as a teenager walking through a deserted park at twilight, the perfect time of day to see between worlds. All of a sudden, the stillness and silence around me became amplified. The trees became more alive. As I connected with their presence, their energy intensified. I could feel the sap flowing through the branches and the leaves, electric with life-force. Something transcendent occurred, and I was elevated into a higher level of perception that connected me with a living presence that flowed through all things. This left a profound impression on my soul, which forever altered my understanding of reality. Sometime later, in the middle of a night when I was up late studying, I noticed the fresh flowers in my room becoming increasingly vivid in their color and scent. Against the silent backdrop of the wee small hours, when external activity was low and there was little energetic interference, my senses had become heightened. It wasn’t that the flowers suddenly started emitting a new frequency. It was that I became clear enough to pick up their more subtle vibrations. And so it is with our understanding of the mystical. To access it, we have to open ourselves up to the unfamiliar, to that which cannot be seen, heard, or felt through our base perception. We must seek out the wonder and the mystery of life, an ability we all possess innately at the beginning of our lives. As the poet Wordsworth so poignantly writes, “Heaven lies all about us in our infancy! ....At length the Man perceives it die away, and fade into the light of common day.” It is only by making a conscious effort to access and believe in the unknown that we can begin to activate our own natural mysticism. Vision As we develop this ability and our perception expands, we find new vision emerging through us. Vision is the expression of the mystical in our lives. It doesn’t necessarily appear as something visual or as a specific idea of the future. It is an awakening to a new and clearer version of reality, which then affects the way we live our lives. Your “vision” may come out of a sense of divine discontent in your life, moving you toward a new way of being. It may show up as inspired action or creative expression. No matter the form or feeling, vision is the manifestation of the bigger truth inside you. You will recognize it by the peace and enlightenment it brings. So what vision inside you is waiting to be revealed? How can you take the “evolutionary leap” described by modern-day mystic? Eckhart Tolle? We are living in times of radical change, in which we must break free of old ways of seeing, being, and thinking, and jump to a new level of expression. Visionary living gives us the receptivity and wisdom to flow with life’s natural creative process and create new templates for twenty-first-century living. For example, bringing vision to our relationships means viewing them very differently. It shows us that each relationship has its own higher purpose, that some are short-term and some are long-term, that we come together to exchange gifts, and that the success of a relationship is judged not by its longevity but by its lasting value to each partner. Similarly, vision gives us a new perspective on our life’s purpose. It makes us aware that our only real “job” is to be as fully expressed as possible and to channel the utmost goodness into everything we do. Vision helps us identify our real worth and value. Developing such vision raises our consciousness so we can live life as a mystical adventure. It means dancing to the beat of your own drum, following your inner promptings, and often flying in the face of conventional “wisdom” as you honor instead the inherent “wisdom,” the mystical truth in each situation. Whatever your higher vision for a greater life may be, the most important factor is that you trust and follow it. We’ve all experienced those times of profound insight and clarity, when we know deep in our hearts what action we must take. Yet, how many times have we disregarded those moments through fear, apathy, or denial? If we are to live as modern mystics, we must have the courage to follow through on our vision, trusting its higher truth to protect and guide us through life’s unfolding. Focus As we set out, we need one more tool to keep us on track. This is the discipline of focus. All vision needs form through which to be expressed, and staying focused channels our vision into physical reality. You practice focus by making sure all your thoughts, words, and actions are in alignment with your highest truth, allowing your vision to emerge through every step you take. We often don’t manifest our heart’s desires because we see an insurmountable chasm between where we are and where we’d like to be. We can start to bridge this divide by making our every act a focused, high-level, authentic expression of who we are, so that we incrementally create the life our heart envisions. We need to make time to listen, watch, and feel more deeply, so that we can attune ourselves to the higher frequencies available to us. Modern mysticism is not about spending time on the mountaintop. Our challenge as modern mystics is to learn to incorporate our sense of the mystical into our everyday lives so that we can live more lightly, feel more deeply, and think more expansively. By practicing simplicity, humility, and non-attachment, and using the tools of faith, vision, and focus, we can open ourselves up to a new realm and continue evolving to an unprecedented level of revelation, peace, and understanding. • |
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