Evoking Our Inner Mystic

I've been teaching a class, Practical Mysticism, with Rev. Nancy Woods at our Center for Spiritual Living. We have a great group and we’re definitely working to awaken our inner mystics, to evolve as mystics.

So, what exactly IS a mystic?  When I first heard the word, I thought of that Walt Disney film, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where Mickey Mouse is left alone to mind the sorcerer’s habitat, gets the mops and brooms dancing and the water sloshing until things get out of hand, and the sorcerer arrives in the nick of time to stop the disaster in progress.

No, we’re not learning to be sorcerers. According to Ernest Holmes, a mystic is one who intuitively--intuitively -- perceives Truth and, with mental process, arrives at Spiritual Realization. Mystics are so attuned to Spirit that they are totally convinced of their oneness with the infinite and know that all life, visible and invisible, is the wholeness of God.

We can all evolve as mystics. Evolving mystics use prayer, meditation, contemplation  and silence to patiently listen for the voice within. Evolving mystics practice the presence, or remember to center themselves throughout the day. They also observe their thoughts, emotions, actions and everyday situations and people in a non-judgmental way.

It’s all about evolving our consciousness -- past the powerless blame game of victimization, through the personal empowerment of using prayer to make life changes, to surrendering to divine guidance by allowing Spirit to live through us, and finally to complete identification with God -- the knowing that I am It, I am an expression of God in action.

Basically, as we evolve we allow our awareness of the infinite and our place in it to be revealed, step by step. We use a book by Carolyn Myss, Enter the Castle, which is inspired by the work of Teresa of Avila, a 15th century nun. Teresa views the Soul as a castle with many rooms and much soul work to help our evolution.

Today’s mystics can be anyone; there is no need for monasteries. We seek a partnership with God to answer these questions: "Why was I born? What is the greater purpose and meaning of my life? How am I meant to be of service?" The process is meant to build a soul of stamina, to develop our own healing power.

And what exactly is our soul? It’s not our mind, or even our subconscience.  Its our essence, our deep inner consciousness, that part of us that desires to be strong enough for direct contact with God, to be able to listen to and act upon divine guidance. A soul with the qualities of humility, dignity, integrity, honor, wisdom,, justice, harmony and endurance -- that, according to Carolyn Myss, is a soul with STAMINA.

And as we journey into the Castle with this class, that is our ultimate destination -- to find our highest potential, to live without fear -- to experience divinity, to evoke our Inner Mystic.

And so it is.