Being a mystic is a process of learning and deep contemplation that lasts a lifetime. The first step is to identify a spiritual practice or tradition that you can recognize yourself in and that answers your questions. Then the real work begins. If you want to establish a personal connection with your spirituality as a mystical thinker, you can learn to prepare yourself for contemplation, prayer and meditation, but also deepen and seriously understand this practice. Are you ready for the challenge?
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Thinking Mystically
Step 1. Feel the presence of a guiding hand
Whether you consider yourself a deeply spiritual person or not, a mystic is one who seeks to find order in chaos and gather evidence of that order. If you belong to the kind of people who see every strange coincidence, every elegant metaphor or every fantastic rainbow as a sign of something greater, you may begin to feel the presence of a guiding hand and trust in.
- Religious mystics place their trust in a higher power, a powerful being who creates and controls the world and the people within it. Sometimes, as in the case of Zen Buddhism, religious mystics also place their trust in practice, thus considering asceticism and meditation the most reliable means of understanding the world.
- Mystics are not always religious, although they often are. Quantum physicists and Jungian psychologists often approach mysticism to the extent that they deepen their thinking. Whatever system, reality or practice you have chosen, put your trust in it.
Step 2. Look for bonds that unite the things around you
Try to find order and balance in the world, rather than highlighting differences and disparities. Look for commonalities with your enemies.
Regardless of your spiritual or religious inclinations, it is good to read and study a great variety of mystical texts that belong to multiple disciplines and dogmas. Christian author Thomas Merton, for example, spent a lot of time studying Zen Buddhism
Step 3. Develop your experience
Who is a mystic? What differentiates a Christian mystic from a normal Christian, or a Buddhist mystic from a normal Buddhist? Although they draw upon a variety of practices, disciplines and cultures, mystics have one thing in common: a deep personal and spiritual connection with their own belief system. For the mystic, a personal experience of spirituality is always more powerful and important than book culture or what they learn by hearsay. Going to church is not enough for the mystic.
Avoid the glaring materialistic traps of some religions. To be a Buddhist mystic, you don't need an expensive stone garden, koi pond, and meditation mat. To be a Christian, you don't need a 13th century crucifix
Step 4. Live in the present
Mystics must be able to focus and be fully present at all times. A mystic is not distracted by electronic devices, stress, or the complex schedules of the day. Instead, he focuses on doing one thing and one thing only. When you eat, just think about this. Focus exclusively on nourishing your body, without rushing, enjoying what you eat. As you read the newspaper, commit to reading the words and absorbing the concepts. When starting a business, give it your all.
It can be extremely difficult and won't happen right away. The ringing of messages and the incessant noises of the 21st century can hinder concentration. Try to make life as easy as possible. Start small. Turn off your phone, except when you need to make a call or send a message
Step 5. Question everything
Mystics seek a personal connection with the spiritual world and their inner self, leaving out what they hear. They question acquired knowledge and clichés. If you intend to build a mystical bond with the world, both visible and invisible, start asking the important questions. Whatever your religious or spiritual tendencies, learn to question yourself:
- Why we are here?
- What does it mean to live a good life?
- Who I am?
- What awaits us after death? What does death mean to me?
Step 6. Trust your intuition
It is important not only to ask yourself important questions, but also to rely on your intuition to lead us to the answers we seek. Trust yourself. Develop your intuition and self-confidence.
Part 2 of 3: Delving into Mysticism
Step 1. Read the writings of the mystics that belong to your tradition
Studying mystical texts and writings is essential to learn about the life of these authors. Each tradition has a great variety of mystics and dogmas, so it is important to get a better idea of the perspectives opened by these works. Everything will begin to seem interconnected to and resemble each other, rather than differentiate from them:
- No man is an island by Thomas Merton
- Confessions of Saint Augustine
- The cloud of non-knowledge written anonymously
- Revelations of Divine Love by Juliana of Norwich
- Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D. T. Suzuki
- The Stories of Nasruddin, from the Sufi tradition
Step 2. Identify the central rules of your practice
Mystical practice is a combination of self-imposed meditation, contemplation, and particular guidelines relating to your religion or other practice. Every religious life is different, because every religious person is different. Only you can decide what is most important to you and your practice.
For some Christian mystics, the most important aspect of the practice is getting closer to the way Christ lived. For others it is essential to spread the gospel. Both ways of thinking can lead to mysticism and a profound appreciation of the spiritual world
Step 3. Make your spiritual practice a top priority
Being a mystic is not a part time job. Regardless of the connection you have with your religion and the questions you ask yourself, the top priority in your life is not your work, family or hobbies, but your connection to the cosmos. The latter must be your greatest commitment.
For many people, being mystics is the same as having a lonely life. Most mystics are monks, and there is a reason behind this choice. If you want to be a mystic, it's hard to go out on a Saturday night and have fun. Are you ready for this challenge?
Step 4. Embrace the mystery
Zen meditation partly revolves around the need to get rid of big worries in order to embrace emptiness. For the mystic, emptiness is the place to live. Trusting your instincts and immersing yourself in the most important questions will lead to more questions rather than answers. It may be both frustrating and liberating to realize that you can never know what will happen after death, or know if your understanding of the world is truly "right".
Part 3 of 3: Go deeper
Step 1. Build a solid belief system through prayer and contemplation
Whatever religion or belief system you recognize yourself in, and even if you don't belong to any faith, you will need to set aside some time to immerse yourself in deep contemplation and meditative practices. Pray, meditate and contemplate constantly.
- To start praying, don't focus so much on questions that require yes / no answers, but try to reflect on your feelings. How do you feel about connecting with the highest power you believe in? To what extent does your dialogue with God affect your soul?
- For some monks, time is divided equally between reading great texts, meditating and experiencing the world. As a general rule, the time you spend praying should not exceed the time you spend studying religious texts and vice versa.
Step 2. Develop your awareness through meditation
Meditative practice has no specific goal. From meditation you will not get a clear and precise feeling as if you have learned something or as if you have solved the great problems that tormented you. Instead, calmly and silently focus on raising awareness of your surroundings, then bringing it into the world.
- To start meditating, learn to stop thoughts and watch them float in your mind without identifying them rationally. Just sit back, focus on your breathing and gaze into the void.
- Try to stay in this meditative state of mind for as long as possible throughout the day. Notice the little things, without rushing.
Step 3. Give up unnecessary beliefs
A popular Zen saying compares Zen to a boat. It is used when you have to cross the river, but you don't always carry it with you. Learn to leave your beliefs on the shore when they become useless. Religion, meditation practices, and other aspects of your mystical experience should help you come to an understanding of the world, not become a burden.
Step 4. Surround yourself with mystical people
It is important to spend time with like-minded people and with people who take mystical practice seriously. Learn by observing and conversing with people who belong to your church, organizations or other religious groups. Share your ideas and interpretations with them. Learn as much as you can.
