It has come to my attention that many religious folk oppose mysticism in any form. Mysticism is defined as direct experience of the divine. Is not the purpose of religion to bring the individual into contact with the divine? As such, why would religious people be opposed to this? In this essay I will be examining these questions and providing my own take on the subject.
But first I feel the need to explain a bit about myself so the reader will have a better understanding of why I hold the positions that I do. As a child I was fascinated by science, and Bill Nye was someone I looked up to. I believed in evolution. However, I was raised Protestant (southern baptist to be precise) and so went to church on a regular basis. Around the age of thirteen I was introduced to young earth creationism. Some readers may be taken aback by this, but there is actually something to creationism that is beyond the stereotypes of low intelligence bible-thumpers. I still hold that creationists have the best critiques of evolution (critique is not a negative, despite many atheists acting as though it is).
At the age of fourteen I began studying psychology. Eventually I stumbled across the field of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology is the only field of evolutionary research that produces reliable predictions. I have maintained my interest in psychology throughout my life, although I have never recieved a degree for it. In this essay I will be dealing with psychology as I explain my thoughts on this topic, as well as examine a few theories of mystical experience.
In 2010 I was exposed to what some consider mystical objects, as well as mystical information. This came in the form of Tibetan singing bowls and a small book on the subject of the seven chakras. It astounded me that there was medical information about the internal organs originating thousands of years ago, now handed down through this booklet about the seven chakras. As for the singing bowls it amazed me that they could change their tune in the presence of other bowls being played. It astonished me further that they could tune themselves to the sound of my heartbeat. This encounter with these objects and this information convinced me to look into the occult. I began studying everything I could get my hands on about the occult, metaphysics, the new age, and alternative spirituality.
I had always had paranormal experiences in my life. Most notably, the repeated appearance of orbs in my bedroom during my teen years. For most of these experiences there were perfectly normal scientific explanations for them. But for the orbs I could find none. My studies into the occult were the sole savior of myself from unwanted paranormal experiences. And since beginning my study of the occult I have had many other experiences which cannot be explained by mainstream science.
None of this has turned me away from science, however, and I still enjoy studying science of all sorts. In my view science is the best tool we have for uncovering the true nature of reality. Some have posed the idea that science is not the best and should be discarded in favor of some other investigative technique, however they always either have nothing better to propose or end up proposing philosophy which is a clearly inferior tool. If by some chance a better tool came along, I would be among the first to partake and to promote it.
I have written about science and spirituality before, most notably in my essay "Instinctual Man, Ethnos and Spirituality" and I do not see science and spirituality as opposed or even incompatible. It is my hope that those reading this essay do so with an open and curious mind. And I hope that this essay will inspire others to become more willing to engage in mysticism. Without further ado, let us begin.
Religion And Its Discontents
There are people who believe religion is simply a method of controlling a populace. These people point to the authoritarian measures taken by the Catholic church during the medieval period as proof of this. But this treats Catholicism as if it were the only religion. Obviously, this is not the case, and many other religions have been far more libertarian in their treatment of their populations than the Catholic Church was. This also ignores the fact that the Catholic Church has had many periods of liberality over the centuries. During the Renaissance the church actually sanctioned prostitution.
The religion of ancient Rome was quite libertarian. The same is true with ancient Greece. Both were polytheistic and allowed believers to worship whichever deity they pleased. It was not until late into the fall of Rome that the Romans adopted monotheism and this was done by the emperor to cause the citizenry to become more disciplined. Before this, though, Romans and Greeks experienced a great deal of freedom (excluding Sparta which forced every male into military service). So, it is clear that these two religions were not established as a method of control.
Max Stirner, the man who formalized egoism in Germany, proclaimed that religion was a "spook" or institute of control. However, Stirner described "spooks" as anything which limits the individual. In this view we can use his own term to describe atheism (or more specifically, anti-theism), which seeks to wipe out all spiritual beliefs, therefore limiting individuals. As I will discuss later in this essay, spiritual beliefs have many benefits and even alter the neurophysiology of believers which in turn creates more neurodiversity among the populace.
The presence of mystical experience (again, direct experience of the divine) poses a problem for any institution which seeks to control its populace, as such an experience removes authority from those at the head of the institution and places it directly on the higher power. And yet, in most religions aside from Christianity mystical experience is integral. So, we cannot say that all religion serves to control the populace when most religions actively put power in the hands of the every day man. The most prominent religion to do this is Hinduism, in which the most basic practices are designed to give every adherent direct experience of God. Another religion centered around providing direct experience with the divine is Wicca, which is proclaimed to be the religion of the witches.
Most of Christianity is bereft of mystical experience, with the exception of eastern orthodox Christians and Pentecostals. I am still mostly unfamiliar with eastern orthodoxy but intend to research it further in the future. I do know that non-mystical Christianity is vastly more common. As for Pentecostals, I am unsure if they should properly be classed as mystical given that their trances appear to be entirely performative, with their speaking in tongues being non-linguistic; that is to say that the one product observable from the purported mystical experience of the Pentecostals is not what it is claimed to be. So, we are left with most Christians carrying on without any direct knowledge of God.
The people speaking against mysticism are exclusively Christians. So, this would lend credence to the claim that Christianity in particular was formulated as a system of control. However, as we will see later on, the Bible does not forbid mysticism and even encourages it. So, the question becomes why so many Christians are opposed to direct experience of the divine. This will require us to analyze the psychology of those reject such experiences. And so, we lead into our next section.
Threat Detection
There have been studies done to show the impact of specific regions of the brain on behavior, beliefs, and perception. There is an entire field of psychology dedicated to this known as neuropsychology, which combines physiology, neurochemistry, and primatology alongside several other fields in order to accomplish its tasks. Neuropsychology is used to diagnose mental issues, generally brain damage. Neuropsychology is a broader field of study than neurology, which focuses solely on medical applications.
In 2015 there was a study done where electromagnetism was used to reduce activity in the posterior medial frontal cortex, a region in the brain associated with threat detection. When this was done, belief in God was reduced. This study was held up by atheists as proof that religion was simply a result of an overactive brain region, giving rise to dissonant thought. There is something to this, as when this brain region is stimulated more cognitive dissonance arises. However, there is also another effect of this region and that is to activate other regions of the brain in order to solve problems and in doing so learn new things.
So, there is a tradeoff between atheism and theism. Atheists suffer less cognitive dissonance yet cannot learn or adapt while theists suffer more dissonance but can learn and adapt to new situations. Threat detection is therefore a complex issue. However, I believe most people will agree that learning and adapting are more important than a minor reduction in dissonant beliefs. After all, it is our extreme ability to adapt that makes humans unique among all the animal species on Earth. For a good discussion about the study that was performed I recommend the video titled "The West Is Shifting Far Right, This Insane Study Explains Why" (formerly titled "This Insane Study Linked Far Right Politics With Belief In God") by the Youtuber Uberboyo.
When discussing mysticism, most Christians tend to call it demonic, which indicates a fear response, which in turn indicates a detection of a threat. There was a study done which showed that conservatives care more about those closest to them while caring little about those unrelated to them, while liberals are the opposite of this. The graph of cares has been memed and is frequently used to dismiss leftist arguments. However we could interpret these charts in such a way that it sheds light on our current topic. Given that mysticism has not been integral to most Christianity, nor has even been a part of it, we could say that mysticism is further removed and therefore seen as an "other". This otherness creates a disconnect when discussing the issue at hand.
As I will show in the next section, the Bible itself encourages direct communion with the divine. And yet those who believe in the truth of the Bible are opposed to direct communion with the divine. It is my belief that in order for spirituality to be genuine, it must include mystical experience. As such, it becomes imperative that we learn to open Christians up to the concept of engaging in mysticism. The problem is how to go about doing so.
Biblical Mysticism
The Holy Bible is rife with mysticism and magick. People commune with angels, as well as directly with God. Moses and Aaron both committed several acts of magick which were sewn as positives due to them being performed in the name of the God of Israel as opposed to the Egyptians who carried out their acts in the name of themselves and their gods. Moses had personal, direct, contact with God through the appearance of the burning bush. The Ancient Israelites frequently communed with God as he appeared in the temple in a pillar of smoke. The archangel Gabriel was the one who informed Mary of her impending child, who we know of as Christ. Abraham was commanded directly by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac only to then have direct contact with an angel commanding him not to complete the act.
In Romans 12: 2 it is said "do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Christians are told to transform themselves in order to know and understand the will of God. This is inherently mystical as mysticism seeks to transform the individual through communion with the divine. We have here also hints of gnosticism, or "Knowing" of the divine. The question here becomes how to attain this knowledge of God. Psalm 46:10 states "be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!". This passage has been interpreted by some as indicating meditative practice. Indeed, some who have tried to create unity between religions have related it to the Hindu practice of Kriya yoga, or yoga of attaining knowledge of God through meditation. Though mainstream Christianity tends to reject this interpretation, it is difficult not to see the similarities and it is very easily accepted that this means some sort of meditative practice, as all other explanations of this verse fall short. Indeed, in some meditative practices various spirits make themselves known. Which leads to the next point.
In Luke 17:20-21 Christ responds to the pharisees inquiry as to when the kingdom of God will arrive, and he says "the kingdom of God is within you" which goes along quite well with the previous verse from proverbs. If the kingdom of God is within the believer, then it only makes sense that the believer should look within to find it and bring it to the exterior. Again, meditation works well for this passage. There is also a hint of Gnosticism, as divinity contained within each individual is integral to the gnostic ideology.
In 1 John 4:1-3 believers are compelled to test spirits they encounter, and neither give unearned trust nor unearned distrust. The passage is as follows: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." There is a call not to trust every spirit one comes across, and yet there is also need to test the spirits to see if they are good or evil. This requires the use of one's own discernment. And of course, this passage indicates that believers will undoubtedly encounter many spirits and will interact with them, putting them to use and even taking orders from them.
In John 14:12 Christ says, "very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me shall do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father". Christ performed many miracles and in this verse he is saying that believers can do the same, and in fact perform even greater miracles than Christ Himself. In this verse Christ is essentially commanding followers to perform acts of magick in the name of God.
A final verse I must mention is John 10:34. Christ is defending his divinity against the pharisees and he says, "is it not written in your law, 'I have said ye are gods'?" Which most Christians write off as merely his defense. However, this was written in the Torah and was the word of God and so must be dealt with more deeply. If we are all gods, then we must all have that spark of divinity within us. So, it stands to reason that self-realization is called for. By realizing the divinity within we can more easily become aligned with the highest divinity, God.
There is one more point about John 10:34 I must cover: that of capitalization. Some Christians try to avoid dealing with the topic of this verse by dismissing it via the fact that the g in "gods" is not capitalized. The problem with this is firstly that Aramaic and Hebrew do not have capital letters, and therefore also do not have lowercase letters. It is entirely the translators who have made these distinctions. Secondly, it must be pointed out that the word "God" never appears in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, it is always an actual name. Thirdly, the Hebrew that Christ quotes actually says "Elohim" which is one of the names of God which is both masculine and feminine as well as plural. This same name for God can be seen in Genesis 1:26 where it says, "then Elohim said, 'let us make mankind in our image...'" with both the name of God and the "us" hinting at more than one deity. To make a distinction here in John where there truly is none is simply a coping mechanism and deflection.
There are countless other examples of mysticism and magick in the Bible, however for the scope of this essay I will stick with just these.
Extrabiblical Mysticism
It is often repeated by Christians that only the orthodoxy matters when it comes to the bible. But which orthodoxy is the correct one? The Catholic orthodoxy? The eastern orthodoxy? The Ethiopian orthodoxy? The Protestant orthodoxy? Each is different and unique, and even count different books in their versions of the Bible. This of course ignores the fact that protestantism was founded on questioning orthodoxy and allowing every believer to read the Bible and decide what is true for themselves.
The Catholic orthodoxy, from which most other Bibles have been formed, chose books to add to the Bible based on what was common to Bibles before the Council of Nicea had been established. This means that the Bible as it exists today was created by what is essentially a popularity contest. And as we all know, popularity does not determine what is true. Some Christians like to point to the example of the septuagint, or the story of the translation of the Bible from Hebrew into Greek by 72 groups of translators. But this is a story which was written at least 270 years before the birth of Christ, so it has no bearing on the New Testament; and on top of this it itself contains mysticism as the number 72 is a magickal number in the Kabbalah.
Another manner in which orthodoxy becomes a problem is in the interpretation. A good example can be found in 1 Corinthians 1:2 which says: "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:". This verse is interpreted as referring to a special class of believers by the Catholics, while protestants interpret it as calling all believers saints. Both interpretations are orthodox to different groups of Christians and yet each contradicts the other. One is inclusive while the other is exclusive. Deciding which is the true interpretation and therefore the true orthodoxy is essentially a matter of choice left up to believers.
There are many books that are mentioned in the Bible which are not included in the bible. Some of these books appear to be very important and many are not even available to read. I will leave it to my readers to investigate these books for themselves. There are books which were not uncommonly included in pre-Nicea Bibles which are no longer included. Namely, the Shepard of Hermas which provides 11 commandments for Christians to follow, and the book of Enoch. This latter book is often spoken against by Christians because it mentions sexual encounters between humans and angels, and yet those sorts of encounters are also mentioned in the Bible as it is now, specifically in the formation of what are known as the Nephilim.
There are still other books which were written close to the time of Christ which were hidden intentionally, most likely to save them from destruction by closed minded ecclesiastics. There was an entire library of these books which was discovered in 1941 in Nag Hammadi now known as the Nag Hammadi Library. These books are generally considered to be written too long after the death of Christ to be valid testaments, yet most scholars consider them indicative of what Christians believed before the council of Nicea. In these books is contained more mysticism, and even mystical teachings of Christ.
There is yet another issue which is of locality: the entirety of the Bible takes place within a small sphere in a small section of the world; fewer than 300 square miles are written of in the Bible. For a God who created the entire planet, it is strange to think that He only ever interacted with His creation on such a small scale. It seems apparent that a massive God has in fact interacted with other peoples around the planet; the issue here is how different religions interpreted Him and his angels. Some people suggest that other religions are true retellings of events that took place with the angels and demons. With Hinduism it is easy to say that God appeared directly to those of the Indus Valley and revealed many of the same teachings as he did to the Israelites.
There was a book which was discovered in Tibet of a man named Issa who came from a faraway land and spoke against the clergy, preaching many of the same things that Christ did. It is interesting to note that Issa is also the name that Muslims call Christ by. This book has been translated and is presented under the title "The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ", presented by and with commentary from its translator, Nicolas Notovich. This book essentially claims that during the 17-year period which is missing from Christ's life in the Bible, he had journeyed to the east and become enlightened through meditation which he learned there. Unless Christians are able to provide a better explanation for the time gap, this book may very well be taken as truthful.
In the book "The Mystic Christ", Ethan Walter III establishes an alternative hermeneutics for the interpretation of the Bible using both Buddhist teachings as well as books from the Nag Hammadi Library. He creates a compelling view which serves to explain many alleged flaws in the Bible better than fundamentalist apologia has. His work fits well with the modern mind, and makes more sense of the ancient minds responsible for transcribing the Bible into existence. And of course, he shows how the teachings of Christ are mystical in nature, and how following Christ's example leads one to an inherently mystical life.
Lastly I would like to point to the work of Paramahansa Yogananda, who established a series of churches in the United States for the purpose of showing the unity of religions. Yogananda was a Hindu and yet he acknowledged the divinity of Christ. Specifically, he related Christ to Krishna; who if you were told about with a slight abstraction to remove the intrinsic Indian elements, you could easily mistake for being Christ. Yogananda saw Christ and Krishna as being of the same energy, coming from the same place. His church, known as Self Realization Fellowship, teaches the similarities between Hinduism and Christianity, as well as the similarities between the teachings of both Christ and Krishna. One key component to SRF church services is a meditation period, which as we have already discussed is a mystical practice for believers to have personal experience of God.
I do encourage readers to do as was commanded in the Bible and "test the spirit" of other books and interpretations instead of merely rejecting or ignoring them. I hope the readers have had their minds opened, if not from before beginning to read this essay, then at least by now because we are going to get into the heavier topics in the next few sections.
Neuropsychology Of Mysticism
Let us begin this section with the simplest and most easily accepted topic: that of meditation. Meditation causes demonstrable changes in the brain. Firstly, meditation changes the electromagnetic waves produced by the brain, lowering the frequency thereof which itself can cause changes in awareness and perception. Secondly, it causes a rise in chemicals in the brain, thus causing changes. Thirdly, meditation causes a reduction in activity in the Default Mode Network. Fourthly and lastly, meditation leads to increased gray matter in certain parts of the brain.
Meditation causes lower frequency electromagnetic waves to be produced by the brain. Specifically alpha and theta waves. Alpha waves are associated with relaxation, creativity and daydreaming. An increase of alpha waves creates a mental state in which problem solving becomes easier because of this increase in creativity. Theta waves are linked to increased emotional awareness and intuitive thinking, as well as deeper relaxation and sleep. With raised theta waves self-knowledge increases as does positive interpersonal interaction as emotional awareness increases.
With meditation three neurotransmitters are produced in larger quantities than in normal consciousness. Dopamine levels rise, which brings pleasure to the meditator. Serotonin levels rise which brings deeper happiness. Lastly a chemical known as gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, is produced. GABA is a neurochemical which reduces activity in the brain and creates more calmness. These three chemicals in combination cause people to feel more content, which means reduced stress and greater optimism.
Meditation causes a reduction of activity in the Default Mode Network, or DMN. This is a collection of several parts of the brain which are active during mundane consciousness while the rest of the brain is inactive. I have pointed out in the past that this part of the brain appears to be responsible for what we call the ego, as during psychedelic experience when this part of the brain has activity greatly reduced people experience ego dissolution. When meditating, individuals are reducing their egos which helps them to see alternate viewpoints and aids in solving problems. This also causes meditators to engage with others more proactively which creates more beneficial interactions. Meditation also causes decreased activity in the amygdala, which is the source of stress and fear in the brain.
Lastly, meditation causes parts of the brain to grow larger. These parts are the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. The hippocampus is responsible for memory, while the prefrontal cortex is responsible for regulating emotions, actions, and thoughts. Increased gray matter in these regions means better memory and better self control. It also means more capacity for solving problems and coming up with new ideas.
Carl Gustav Jung was one of the founders of psychoanalysis. His variant involved and incorporated occultism. Some may say this discredits him, yet his theories have been shown to be true. He was the first westerner to propose mindfulness meditation as a therapeutic treatment for mental illness, and over the past few decades this practice has been shown to be eight times more effective at treating both bipolar disorder in teenagers as well as post traumatic stress in combat veterans than medication. This means that Jung's proposition is not only effective but extremely effective, and therefore he is proven correct. Jung also had several other ideas inspired by the occult that we will now analyze.
One of Jung's most famous ideas is that of the collective unconscious, wherein archetypes like that of God exist. He proposed that this is hidden very deeply but can rise up through the subconscious and even into the conscious mind, generally through dreams but also through paranormal experiences. He proposed that occultism was a method through which humans can deliberately interact with the collective unconscious and intentionally interact with the archetypes. In doing so, he claims that people can transform themselves in order to alter behaviors and even become more like the archetypes they call upon. This he saw as the true intent behind alchemy: self-transformation.
Timothy Leary created an eight-circuit model of mental activity which was later expounded upon by Robert Anton Wilson. Wilson wrote a book titled "Prometheus Rising" in which he uses this model to encourage people to step outside of what he calls "reality tunnels". These mental circuits extend beyond the individual into the collective, in fact one circuit is explicitly the realm of Jung's archetypes and thusly the collective unconscious. Even further, another circuit extends to all existence, and some have proposed that the deepest circuit is the realm of God and the gods (imagine communicating with the entire planet, the entire solar system, or even the entire galaxy, the power with which such consciousnesses would hold).
According to Bill Whitcomb, author of a great almanac of occultism titled "The Magician's Companion", Magic(k) can be said to be simply a set of practices intended to alter consciousness; he then says "However, there has always been a hint of something more." And this certainly appears to be the case to the practitioner. People like Tim Leary, Robert Wilson, and Carl Jung have had experiences which they cannot explain mundanely, and sought to forge proper explanations of these phenomena. Yet only one person has thus far been able to meet scientific criteria for a theory, and this person is Itzhak Bentov, who proposed that consciousness is a field; he also proposed scientific tests for this theory which means it is falsifiable and therefore meets scientific epistemological demands. I came to the conclusion that consciousness is a field before having read his book, "Stalking the Wild Pendulum" which I began reading in 2021 without any foreknowledge about the contents of.
As science progresses, and as more people are thinking about neuroscience and mysticism, it is apparent that more information will be uncovered concerning the effects of mystical experience on the brain. The mere fact that these effects are physiological proves that they are natural, and if they are natural then they were either evolved naturally or were put into place by the Creator. Mysticism cannot be said to be inherently negative if God Himself made mysticism possible.
An Example of Christian Mysticism
I would here like to recommend a book to the reader, as this book will cover in much greater detail the topics I am going to discuss in this section. And given the size and depth of the book being recommended, it will vastly expand the reader's knowledge. This book is titled "Secrets Of The Magickal Grimoires" by Aaron Leitch, and it is essentially a full textbook of occultism. Specifically the book deals with hermetic occultism of the medieval and Renaissance periods. The majority of the books covered are of a Christian nature; they were written and used by Christians and they were designed to align with the structure of Christianity. Leitch examines many aspects of these texts from multiple angles, and he also displays the history of Christianity and the formation of these grimoires.
Within hermeticism there is a concept known as the acquisition of the conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. This angel is the angel assigned to an individual by God Himself to protect and guide a person throughout their lifetime. This concept is partially carried on in mainstream Catholicism, as there is a common prayer to the Holy Guardian Angel which is often included in Catholic prayer books. There is one very old book in particular which proclaims the method to acquire the conversation of the HGA, and it is known as "The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage". This book claims to reveal the secret actions taken by biblical prophets and leaders during their time spent in isolation in the desert. A particular ritual which lasts around six months, involving fasting, purification rituals, and prayer as well as seclusion, all of which we know cause alterations of consciousness if done for shorter terms than six months.
Christians should have no problem communing with angels as this was done repeatedly in the Bible, as even Joseph (Spouse of Mary) received communications from an angel. However, communicating with spirits of any sort has been deemed to be a form of "necromancy" by the Catholic church in the past and so this practice is generally discouraged, even by protestants.
There are older grimoires which teach communication with angels as well as demons. The Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon are both written for a Christian audience and deal with all manner of spirit. The preparatory work involved is largely chanting names of God, purification, fasting, and prayer. However preparation within the context of these books also involves scrying and invoking angels. Only the Lesser Key of Solomon deals with demonic entities and even so it is done within the manner of the Testament Of Solomon; as Lon Milo DuQette puts it in his book "Low Magick", "The formula of Solomonic magick is to take the lesser elements of our nature and put them to work in service of the Great G". DuQette of course does not believe in the literal existence of demons but rather believes that they are metaphors for aspects of our human nature (he is a Thelemite after all).
Conclusion
If one wishes to create real changes in the world around them, mystical experience allows for this. The tools are all there, it is merely up to the believer whether they are used or not. It is my belief that more people working towards mystical experience will lead to a better world. It is my hope that I have opened the mind of the reader to a new set of experiences. I also hope that I have provided enough information so that the reader will be able to engage in their own spiritual quest, as well as potentially contribute to human understanding of this topic.
Mystical experience is a strong tie which unites folk of all faiths. With it, religion becomes less of a determining factor in the ethnos of a nation. We recognize our unity on a deeper level and so do not struggle so much with outward appearances. With mystical experience we truly realize the law of "Love thy neighbor as thyself" and move towards a more interconnected community.
