Mysticism refers to the religious practice in which one believes that if they pray or think deeply they can gain knowledge of spiritual truth. A mystic is one who practices mysticism by directly communicating with what s/he considers to be absolute reality. Mystics also report experiences with God or spiritual encounters through insight and intuition. For instance, Elizabeth Seton was led by the spirit of God in her to other newer horizons beyond those shaped by her culture into liturgy, scripture, friends and external trials (Flannelly, 2000).
Contemplation refers to the act of thinking about something deeply. In spiritual matters contemplation refers to the state of mystical awareness of God. A contemplative spirit is one that leads a person to think deeply about issues about God.
Christians can practice mysticism and contemplation through prayer and medication. When Christians engage in prayer and fasting usually preceded by sessions of worshipping God through songs they may find themselves contemplating deeply about their spirituality (Flannelly, 2000). Lengthy private prayer sessions may be sessions of mystical experiences for many Christians. Medication in which a Christian reads the Bible and then starts to ponder over scriptures is also a common way of achieving mysticism.
The fruits of mysticism and contemplation are numerous and varied. They include Christians developing a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God. As such they reap joy and contentment from knowing about God and how to relate to Him. Christians may also tend to become more removed from the real world and view all issues from a spiritual perspective leading them to become skeptical at many issues. Some Christians may also get confused on many issues such as the destiny of man.
Man has practiced mysticism and contemplation since ancient times. The two issues hold great potential to shape the spiritual lives of mystics and the influences that they pass on to other people.
References
Flannelly, J. (2000) Elizabeth Ann Seton: Model of Contemplative Presence for the 21st Century. DePaul University. Vincentian heritage Journal. Vol. 21 (2).
