How has the mystic experience changed you?

[mystic64]

The OP question: How has experiencing the mystic experience changed you?

I have been having a discussion with Windwalker in another topic and basically there are not any words to discribe what one experiences durring the mystic experience. So in order to discuss something relative to the mystic experience one needs to find something about the mystic experience that does fall into the relm of words. And discussing the changes that one (or you as an individual?) goes through or has gone through does fall within the relm of words.

I personally am nowhere near the same person that I use to be and I credit these changes (at least the positive ones ) that have occured in my personality programming to the years that I have been exploring the "Unknown" as a mystic. And if I had not been a mystic I never would have made these changes or these changes never would have occured.

Has the mystic experience changed you? Is the mystic experience changing you? If so what kind of changes are you experiencing. And I don't know , and maybe?, what kind of changes do you expect to occur as a result of your mystic experiences?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The OP question: How has experiencing the mystic experience changed you?

I have been having a discussion with Windwalker in another topic and basically there are not any words to discribe what one experiences durring the mystic experience. So in order to discuss something relative to the mystic experience one needs to find something about the mystic experience that does fall into the relm of words. And discussing the changes that one (or you as an individual?) goes through or has gone through does fall within the relm of words.

I personally am nowhere near the same person that I use to be and I credit these changes (at least the positive ones ) that have occured in my personality programming to the years that I have been exploring the "Unknown" as a mystic. And if I had not been a mystic I never would have made these changes or these changes never would have occured.

Has the mystic experience changed you? Is the mystic experience changing you? If so what kind of changes are you experiencing. And I don't know , and maybe?, what kind of changes do you expect to occur as a result of your mystic experiences?

May I ask, what is a mystic experience?

 

[Quintessence]

It's not that I can't describe mystical experiences I have, I just don't tend to talk about them with others for various reasons. Having mystical experiences is the bread and butter of a mystical religion like mine - it's all about directly working with the gods rather than having it "revealed" to you by some prophet or sacred book. You are the prophet, so to speak. I suppose to keep my response on topic, that's how these experiences have changed me - I have a direct interface with my gods instead of relying on external authorities to base my religion off of. And, given the directness of experiences, changes that come out of that can be significant and lasting. Over the past year in particular, experiences I've had working through OBOD's Bardic Grade have really refined certain aspects of my religious practice.

 

[Orbit]

The OP question: How has experiencing the mystic experience changed you?

I have been having a discussion with Windwalker in another topic and basically there are not any words to discribe what one experiences durring the mystic experience. So in order to discuss something relative to the mystic experience one needs to find something about the mystic experience that does fall into the relm of words. And discussing the changes that one (or you as an individual?) goes through or has gone through does fall within the relm of words.

I personally am nowhere near the same person that I use to be and I credit these changes (at least the positive ones ) that have occured in my personality programming to the years that I have been exploring the "Unknown" as a mystic. And if I had not been a mystic I never would have made these changes or these changes never would have occured.

Has the mystic experience changed you? Is the mystic experience changing you? If so what kind of changes are you experiencing. And I don't know , and maybe?, what kind of changes do you expect to occur as a result of your mystic experiences?

It has made me more compassionate.

 

[Orbit]

May I ask, what is a mystic experience?

Literally it is "direct experience of the divine".

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Literally it is "direct experience of the divine".

All the time. I wouldnt call my ancestors (well, say family divine though). Probably more I have a better and more personal connection with them because I guess you can say they are more open to communication. Some are and some arent.

As for the Divine, everyday. Anything specific? Well, the Divine isnt a person so I dont know how to express in concrete terms other than gratitude to life itself. I do so by revering different physical parts of nature and what it tells me in return. Basic things.

Metaphysical, not really. Cant think of anything on my spiritual walk that Id call metaphysical or supernatural. If mystic is a synanom for those two words, I dont know.

 

[George-ananda]

Although not having had what I would call a mystical experience myself, it helps me to hear from others that have had such experiences as it is evidence for what is taught in Advaita schools; that consciousness can expand beyond the limits of 'normal' physical consciousness.

 

[YmirGF]

My endless myriad of mystical experiences have certainly left their mark on me. Over time, they eroded my certainty about how the world is and how things are, in general. I've come to understand the world is not necessarily how I think it is and to never assume how it SHOULD be. For me, there was a period of moving away from a limited sense of self that quickly gave way to a much, much larger definition of self that includes and exceeds areas normally roped off for the gods of human animals. I do think I now clearly understand where we got these amusing ideas of gods as I posit that they are half forgotten latent memories of our larger identity. Some residual effects are empathy towards others, an unbounded permanent bliss and sense of peace/security. Oh, and I no longer have an iota of fear about physical death... I just hope it will be quick.

 

[Windwalker]

I have been having a discussion with Windwalker in another topic and basically there are not any words to discribe what one experiences durring the mystic experience.

At the risk of sound self-contradicting I would clarify this. I would say there are different types of mystical experience and depending on what type it is there can be plenty of words to describe it, or it may utterly be beyond words, or that we falter to find adequate words. In all cases however, no literal understanding of the words actually define the experience. They are at best metaphors.

Has the mystic experience changed you?

Good God, yes.

Is the mystic experience changing you?

Most certainly.

If so what kind of changes are you experiencing.

Everything. Every aspect of my being and my life, relationships with myself, with others, with the world, with existence itself. In a word, transformation.

What kind of changes do you expect to occur as a result of your mystic experiences?

Hah, now that's an interesting and tricky question. The best and only answer one should say is "I don't know". If you could predict it, then is it really the mystical experience? In a word I could stand by, "Expect the unexpected". Don't look for what you think you should be seeing. You'll never see what is beyond you otherwise.

 

[Willamena]

May I ask, what is a mystic experience?

The picture in your signature pretty much says it all.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The picture in your signature pretty much says it all.

Doesnt it, though.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Has the mystic experience changed you? Is the mystic experience changing you? If so what kind of changes are you experiencing. And I don't know , and maybe?, what kind of changes do you expect to occur as a result of your mystic experiences?

Life is just more interesting. It's like a continual journey of discovery.

 

[Sunstone]

May I ask, what is a mystic experience?

There are many kinds of experiences that various people call "mystical". Everything from out of body experiences to "experiences of god". For instance, some people would call clairvoyance a mystical experience.

I suspect, however, that the experience referred to in the OP as the mystical experience is an experience that seems to come in two variations (see, for instance, W. T. Stace on the subject of two variations). The first is a spontaneous, naturally occurring "experience of oneness" during which the field of perception remains intact. That is, if you were looking at a house across the yard the moment before the experience overtook you, there will still be a perception of a house and yard during the experience.

However, you would have an overwhelming feeling, sense, or conviction that you, the house, and the yard were one.

The second variation apparently isn't naturally occurring, but can sometimes be cultivated or brought about, say, after years of arduous meditation. This is the "experience of the One" during which the field of perception dissolves into an undifferentiated unity or whole. That is, if you were looking at a house across the yard the moment before the experience overtook you, the house and yard would dissolve into, perhaps, an uniform, blinding white light during the experience.

During both variations, the sense of one's self as something distinct from what one is experiencing or perceiving comes to an abrupt end while some form of awareness continues.

Many people (but not all people) who have experienced one or the other variation of the mystical experience have interpreted their experience as an experience of god. Those who do not interpret it as an experience of god do not always reject it as illusionary. For instance, sometimes they describe it as an experience of some sort of Ultimate Reality that is prior to, or superior to, deity.

 

[Windwalker]

The second variation apparently isn't naturally occurring, but can sometimes be cultivated or brought about, say, after years of arduous meditation. This is the "experience of the One" during which the field of perception dissolves into an undifferentiated unity or whole. That is, if you were looking at a house across the yard the moment before the experience overtook you, the house and yard would dissolve into, perhaps, an uniform, blinding white light during the experience.

I can tell you there are problems with his definitions. My own personal initial mystical experience happened as described here, spontaneously, decades before I'd even heard of meditation let alone practice it. And even within meditation practices, there are experiences he describes as the spontaneous type (indeed it all is in Insight meditation). And there are spontaneous nondual states that occur as well. The simplest understanding of meditation is NOT that they produce these things, but they put you into the pathway of these things happening spontaneously. They make you "accident prone", is how one person put it quite well. Think of meditation more like deliberately putting yourself in front of oncoming traffic.

There is much more current and better researched data out there that more accurately reflects the various types of mystical experience. His categories of Extrovertive and Introvertive fall quite a bit short of what is known from researchers today, or what someone as myself would accept as valid. He doesn't appear to even recognize nonduality where categories of interior and exterior are irrelevant. In fact, even "extrovertive" meditation is introvertive. In fact all mystical experience is. Otherwise, if it's "extrovertive" it would be "beliefs", not experiences.

 

[mystic64]

All the time. I wouldnt call my ancestors (well, say family divine though). Probably more I have a better and more personal connection with them because I guess you can say they are more open to communication. Some are and some arent.

As for the Divine, everyday. Anything specific? Well, the Divine isnt a person so I dont know how to express in concrete terms other than gratitude to life itself. I do so by revering different physical parts of nature and what it tells me in return. Basic things.

Metaphysical, not really. Cant think of anything on my spiritual walk that Id call metaphysical or supernatural. If mystic is a synanom for those two words, I dont know.

Carlita, communicating with your ancestors would be considered a mystic experience because you are communicating with an entity or entities that are not physically present in the physical relm. And there are a lot of entities that one can communicate with that are not physically present in the physical relm. And if you were to communicate with the Great Spirit directly you would then be in communication with the "Big Divine" which is what most mystics consider themselves in communication with or experiencing a union with. And the "Big Divine" has many names depending on how one approaches things. With the understanding that some folks consider the "Big Divine" their higher self . Also the ancestors that you do communicate with are probably (it is highly likely) a part of the loving divine. Ancestors that are not, generally do not communicate with those that dwell in the physical relms. Some times, but most of the time no.

Which then brings us back to the question, "Do your visits with your ancestors change you in any way?"

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Which then brings us back to the question, "Do your visits with your ancestors change you in any way?"

Most definitely! Thank you. I visited my family cemetary (which I didnt know we had one) two years ago right after my grandmother passed.

I learned so much from living family ans listening to family stories was like now I am knowing who I really am. Like the stories defined my existence.

I started doing geneology searches and visiting my other grandmothers resting place closer in distance. I know who my great great grandparents are on my fathers side. Their ocupation. I learned Im decendents for slaves, unforunately. On the flip side, now I have more of a focal point on who I honor.

I can go on...but yes. Visiting family changed my views in life. I wanted to take my life one time after my grandmothers passing (grieving) and shed say "put your family together" and my other grandma would say "everything starts with family".

My father said our whole family is "messed up" for lack of better words. I have to get through that.

Thats my religion. My life calling. My family. I have many mystic experiences mostly brief. Most personal. But definitely there.

 

[soma]

Christian mysticism on the other hand, is about developing a direct insightful experience, relationship and communion with the beautiful, reasonable energy of the universe and its awe-inspiring power deep within, calling it God. Science and mysticism offer us the depth to be able to change the direction of our basic concepts and outlook of the world around us by pointing to Infinity and something beyond matter. Viewing the universe from the perspective of Infinity radically changes our thoughts for the better in a whole-world view of unity, observing our finite self in infinity. Our science started with the Greeks where philosophy, religion and science were linked together to find the principle character, quality and cause of all things then we disconnected them. If the universe is a free, receptive, improving and an interconnected system then scientific laws are an ideal model for understanding the reliable and proven connections in it. There will always be some features of the physical universe that the laws of nature cannot capture so we need the connections of philosophy, religion and science to show us that infinity is closer than we thought.