There are many things running through my head tonight. For one, today we started posting for the mystics class I am taking. Here is what I wrote.
As a young 20-something, a friend wrote to me, “I do believe you are a mystic at heart.” Not knowing what a “mystic” was, I looked it up in my dictionary and found it meant having direct communication with the divine. I rather liked that. It wasn’t until seminary I realized there was a long tradition of mysticism, people who gave me words for my experiences, those who guided me and encouraged me across the years.
I was reminded of this while reading the introductions to our texts when the editor of Not of This World likened mysticism to an “other world that now is”. One of my metaphors for mysticism is that it is like stepping through the wardrobe door into Narnia, a door I haven’t been stepping into often enough lately. That same editor talked about the three-fold way: purgation, illumination, and union. I wondered how the writings of the mystics discuss each stage. Mechthild of Magdeburg would be union with her images of love and sensuality with God and John of the Cross and his writings on the dark night of the soul delve into purgation. I believe Therese’ of Lisieux works more with illumination. It’s an interesting idea to think about as I read.
Speaking of sensuality, I did not agree with Egan when he said that as mystics are purged of sensuality, they grow in virtue. (pg. 17) Sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality can be quite interwoven and one cannot be fully what it was meant to be without the other two.
365-09 #254