Mysticism is the feeling of spirituality and a god-like presence in your life. It apparently happens when people least expect to have an encounter with the spirits as they are still living and many only have these feeling at death. This is the thought that many would like to think of to dismiss the notion that ordinary people can have mystical experiences.
The notion that only a select few people can have mystical experiences comes in part from the Catholic Church's belief that the saints or a few very select nuns and priest achieve the state of mysticism and for an ordinary person to have this experience is an act of the devil or a foolish mind. People need to prove that a saint had a mystic experience before they can be conferred sainthood, as the experience of a godlike intervention in their lives before death, sets them apart from others.
In the Hindu religion, the view of mysticism is remarkably different as it is woven into the framework of the religion. Mysticism is one of the four ends to living a life that is full of goodness and in the presences of a higher being (155). And probably the most integrated of religions is Buddhism with has mysticism at its center and all of the tenets affect the individuals experience with Buddha.
Many indigenous religions vary in their thinking of a higher being than the more advanced cultures. The higher being, too many African cultures, is one who provides for things of sustenance, since in their lives everyday living is difficult and taxing. A God has control of the elements so it makes sense that they would look to a God to control things like the weather, etc. so that their food supply is plentiful. When the food is plentiful, the uneducated warrior or priest has the time to experience life and the life is full of mysticism according to the author.
On interesting story is the ascent into mysticism called the "flights". This is the process in which a shaman (mystic) is considered like a modern day priest or religious and offer to be a spiritual guardian for those whom he has never met (77). The next "flight" is the move away from the spirit of the dead. The shaman speaks of the life of the person to determine the probable path after death. And the third is a "flight" to the place that the spirit abides or a mystical experience. The ultimate Spirit greets the spirit of the dead person as a great ball of white light and the spiritual shaman takes place. This is very similar to many religious beliefs as to the meeting of the higher being upon your death.
Many people in contemporary society make a living as a mystic and offer to foretell the future. This type of parlor mysticism is so different from the views of Jordan Paper in the text. The parlor psychic has been known to offer general choice in life to someone who is willing to hear anything about a future that is unknown to them. Having a truly mystic experience is as simple to some as "going with my gut' feelings to a more intrinsic experience of the afterlife or that communion with the Higher Being that all hope to obtain.
References
Paper, Jordan, Mystic Experience: A Comparative and Descriptive Analysis. State University of New York Press:Albany. October 2004.
