MYSTICAL & RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES
The mystical and religious perspectives can best be understood by comparing the internal and external perceptions humans experience in life as well as the left brain-right brain function. This comparison is simply a way to explain the differences in how we “feel” our internal life and how we “sense” the external life. The mystical experience of God is considered the esoteric or inner perception (right brain), whereas religion is based on an exoteric framework (left brain) of beliefs about God.
Regarding the mystical perspective, the best and most complete definition of mystical is – having a spiritual reality that is beyond the experience of time and is unapparent to the intellect or senses (right brain). This experience is derived from meditation or contemplation which opens the consciousness to a direct subjective communion with God (Consciousness or Eternal Thought) and with Christ (inner Light and spiritual impulse). This communion with the divine is experienced as an immersion into a loving, energetic peace and lightness of being. As one sits quietly in this stillness, there is a sense that the body is energized, perceptions are clear, emotions are still, and negativity is transformed.
The majority of religions are based on an exoteric framework that is apparent to the intellect and senses because it is framed out (left brain) in the same 3rd dimensional terms as our “real world” experiences. In other words, it is perceived in a similar “time, space, and form” thinking as we have in everyday life. Religions tend to perceive God as having a human form or being a fatherly presence, but endowed with omnipotent power, and heaven is considered to be in a location or space beyond our earthly experience. As to time, the story of Jesus Christ comes from the past and salvation is deemed to be in the future. These religious perspectives of God, Jesus, and heaven form the system of beliefs which conform to our everyday 3rd dimensional thinking.
Religious Perspectives
Traditional religions believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only son of God and that we must give ourselves to him in order to be saved and to be granted eternal life. Modern religions perceive Jesus Christ as one who has achieved extraordinary human potential, and church members who follow his example can achieve great success in their own lives. For the most part, religions have proven to be beneficial to humanity because they provide the individual with a set of higher values by which to live. For Christians, Jesus Christ embodies the fulfillment of these values and he is the example to follow. Other religions have different deities, prophets, values, and beliefs that they follow.
Because religions are based on an exoteric framework of thinking, they have specific values, behaviors, disciplines, or lifestyles which must be followed in order to remain in the “good graces” of the religion. Based on the particular dogma of a religion, followers either find favor by following the prescribed set of beliefs or they find condemnation if they don’t. Religions vary from extremist beliefs to moderate beliefs. The religions that are the most extreme have the narrowest and most rigid set of beliefs and followers do not have personal freedom to make choices, but are required to blindly adhere to the religion’s dogma regardless of their individual thoughts or circumstances. The more moderate religions allow for their followers to make choices within a given framework which are based on their own particular well-being.
Some Christian religions are also in the extreme meaning that there is little room for individuals to think for themselves or to choose what spiritual parameters are best in their situation. In the extreme Christian religions, there is the same narrow view regarding the exploration of spiritual perspectives which deviate from the dogma of the church. In the Islamic extremist religions, there is little tolerance for anything outside of the narrow system of beliefs and often “sinners” are punished either physically or through humiliation and intimidation. The followers of extremist religions are always under pressure to remain faithful to the religion and are continuously judged regarding their faith and their submissiveness and loyalty to the religion’s hierarchy. Because of the rigidness of the beliefs and the rituals, this system of worship does not create an environment in which the followers can open themselves to “feel” the spirit of God.
For the more moderate Christians who have the freedom to think for themselves, compliance with the church dogma is determined by personal relationships, behavior, and service. These lifestyle variables are viewed as the key factors by which their faith to the religious perspective is gauged. The Christian religions in America tend to offer the same freedoms within the religion as our citizenry has, that is, followers are allowed to think for themselves and to question the dogma or doctrines of the church, if they are so inclined. This kind of personal freedom within the religion allows for Christians to feel the spirit of God and to develop their own personal relationship with their Creator and with Jesus Christ. This talk of freedom brings us to the mystical experience.
The mystic seeks the ultimate freedom which is freedom from the physical body, the senses, the “chattering” mind, and the distractions of the world. The mystic does seek spiritual knowledge, but does not require rituals, dogma, or a prescribed framework of beliefs in order to experience divine insight or to have a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. The mystic exercises discipline in meditation practice to control the breath, to balance and still the left brain-right brain, relax the body, and focus the attention on the life, light, and love of God and Christ within his/her spiritual heart. In this state, the mystic does not feel the stress of the body, the chattering of the mind, or the agitation of the emotions; and thus, he/she can slip out of the past, present, and future time and merge with the eternal where Christ consciousness can be perceived and experienced directly.
The common thread of personal freedom is the key to understanding the differences between extremist religious beliefs, moderate beliefs, and the mystical perspective. The religious extremists have the least personal freedom to really know God. They are forced to focus so much on the religious dogma and rituals that they never get past the “rules” to experience the true “spirit” of God. In the moderate religions, members are not forced to follow rules, but their religious and social framework is comprised of set rituals, religious and cultural beliefs, and repetitive practices which tend to keep them “fenced in” from considering other perspectives. Since any type of religious framework exists in the left brain of the human, whenever other perspectives are encountered, in order to be accepted, these new ideas or concepts must fit into the existing framework. As far as feeling the spirit of God, since these religious practices are apparent to and experienced by the intellect, the body, and the senses, it is sometimes unclear if one is truly feeling the spirit of God or just expressing his/her own exuberant emotions.
The one advantage that mystics have over those with a religious perspective is that when they sit quietly in the life, light, and love of the divine, they receive the distinct feeling that God does not notice the race, religion, or color of His children. What God does notice is the goodness and light within their hearts and how much responsibility they are taking to live a good life. Mystics are not encumbered by religious frameworks, but strive to meet the divine internally in meditation by emptying the mind, balancing the left-right brain polarities, opening the heart, and experiencing clear perception and knowing. In the “creative” experience of clear perception and knowing (right brain), the mystic discerns Truth. Balancing the polarities of the left-right brain (equilibrium of opposing mind tension) is a perfect example of what Christ meant by “the two must become one” so we can “be in the Centre and move into the Spirit.”
Mystical Perspectives
Mystics believe the body is the temple of God, the spiritual heart is the altar, and the life of Jesus Christ demonstrates the spiritual potential we all have within ourselves. Mystics know that in order to unfold this potential, they have to reach the point of silence and stillness within, for this is the place of power where all is one in God. The key to reaching the stillness within is to know that diffused thinking is noise, whereas focused thinking is silence – “be still and know that I am God.” In meditation, mystics work to bring all the forces of the body, emotions, mind, and spirit into a singular point of power. Christ said, “Keep thine eye single and thy whole body will be filled with light,” and it is in this focused power and silence that the mystic contacts God and is one with God and one with power.
The only way to be with the power of God is to consciously contact God. This cannot be done in the “noisy” without, for God manifests through the “small and still voice” within. As Christ said, “God is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit.” Only as we turn from the noise of the external world to the silence within can we hope to make a conscious connection with God as Jesus demonstrated when he said, “I and my Father are one.” In the stillness, the mind of God floods the consciousness as sunshine fills a darkened room, and upon the altar of the heart, the mystic blends the greater with the lesser through which the lesser becomes one with the greater.
When Jesus said, “I am the door,” he meant that the Christ light within each soul is the door through which the life, intelligence, power, and substance of God comes forth into expression. In spiritual terms, the mystic experiences this divine expression within as wisdom, love, and truth. When the mystic is receptive to this spiritual impulse, it expresses through consciousness as idea, thought, word, and deed. The mystic simply “lets go and lets God” to be synchronized and in harmony with the flow of God and Christ. It has been separation from God that has caused sin, sickness, poverty, and death in the world. The mystic understands that only in consciousness does the idea of separation exist. Consequently, union with God causes the mystic to rise above separation and to become a whole being or to become conscious of being whole.
One of the great truths Christ has revealed to humanity is that we live, move, and have our being in the divine consciousness of God. We have been perfectly conceived and held in the perfect mind of God as perfect beings. By contacting the consciousness of God within the stillness, we can know ourselves as we really are rather than as we have thought ourselves to be. We can contact God through true thought and so bring forth true expression. By having this realization brought to our consciousness, we can re-conceive for ourselves what God has already conceived for us. Our work is to strive for perfection in body, mind, and spirit and to lift our personal viewpoint to such heights in consciousness that it becomes one with the whole. As Christ has told us, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
