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A renewed interest in Christian mysticism is emerging in theWestern world, and it comes at a time when church attendance and membership areat all time lows. What are people finding in mysticism that they are notfinding in the churches? Mysticism has never been about theological conceptsand rules for “good” behavior. It is not about how to earn heaven or avoidhell. Mysticism always is about a soul’s profound and heartrending relationshipwith God. Why are mystics’ relationships with God always profound, and why doesit break their hearts?
When you stumble upon the truth that God is living, in allGod’s glory, right inside of you, or when you find God after a long journey ofdeepening, silencing and opening—and finally enter into the Great Love that isGod—it is without exception the deepest and most overpowering experience youcan ever have. To experience the presence and reality of God, and to experiencethat this immense and all-knowing Being has an individual knowing and love foryou, will break your heart open and submerge it in the most wonderful new lifethat in comparison makes all previous knowing and living seem meaningless anddull.
Once you are touched and opened by that warmest and greatestof loves, nothing in the worlds of matter or spirit looks the same. Noweverything has the tincture of the divinity and the love, affecting how youunderstand, relate to and feel about it. Nature looks more magnificent, materialpursuits more spurious and human beings can no longer be thought of as anythingless than sons and daughters of God in the making. You will see all people interms of how close or far they are from God and God’s love rather than by anyother ways you would have understood them before. And all human love will palein the face of experiencing the love God has for you.
Christian mysticism is no different from any other mysticismin that its central element is this love relationship with God. However, it isdifferent because of the place that Jesus and Mother Mary hold in theaspirants’ hearts, minds and practices. Christian mystics have found that thehelp of these two great beings makes it possible for them to move through allthe obstacles that previously kept them from having the direct experience ofGod.
The road toward that union in love is fraught with manydiversions, distractions and concepts that must be overcome to arrive at thedeepest chambers of this interior life. Forgiveness of self and others isparamount to the journey, as are release of all other attachments that you haveheld above your desire for God.
Very few people manage to make this journey alone. A strongspiritual community and a loving and wise spiritual teacher greatly enhance thechances of the spiritual seeker finding the gold at the end of the rainbow. Theart of prayer and meditation must be developed and the heart and mind purified.It is possible, if you want it, and if you seek it with all your heart, mind,body and soul. May you be blessed on your journey to God. Mother Clare Watts is a MasterTeacher, priest and co-director of a mystical Christian order with spiritualcenters in 15 cities called the Centers of Light. The Centers of Light offer daily meditation and spiritualstudy. For more information, visitwww.CentersOfLight.org.
