Mystic? Huh?

What is mysticism?
Mysticism is quite literally the pursuit of communion with ultimate reality. This is to say communion with God, the Universe, and All that is.

What is the difference between religion and mysticism?
Mysticism and Religion are two completely different creatures. Religion is based on Dogma. Dogma is religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof. Mysticism is focused on connecting with the divine through direct experience, intuition, and insight. Through these channels a mystic may find the truth, and evidence to support it.

Okay I get the difference, but what religion do you practice?
Believe it or not, I get asked this question a lot. My response is always the same. I do not practice a specific religion. I am not religious by any means. I am simply spiritual. I suppose if you were to look at my practices from a third person’s perspective, it would seem that I follow a wide array of religions. I meditate, attend sweat lodges, chant om, commune with nature, and participate in various pagan festivals. All of which, I do because it connects me on a personal level with the divine. That’s the difference between religion and spirituality. Religions worship a god, spiritualist connect with god. I try to focus on the present moment, live as peacefully as I can, and spread the love. That is the crux of spirituality.

What does it mean to live a mystical or spiritual life?
A spiritualist lives his or her life, focusing on the present moment. That is to say, the past has already happened, no need to dwell on it. The future has not yet come to pass, so living in it is counterproductive. All you have is now. Live each and every moment, as if it were your last. Be kind to one another, and spread the love wherever you go. In theory, if we do each and every one of these things, we will be completely happy. Life doesn’t work that way though. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on the now. At times we are cruel to one another. The spiritualist reflects on these moments of weakness, and learns from them. Living a spiritual life, is the same as living a mundane life… with just a little different focus.

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey, we are spiritual beings on a human journey”- Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

The Law of Attraction

One of the most talked about books of late is "The Secret" by author Rhonda Byrne. This book introduces us to the "Law of Attraction". But what is this all about? Does it have any validity or truth? How can I make this principal work for me?

The idea is simple. What we think becomes reality. The thoughts we think daily, manifest into physical being. Now of course, that's not to say if you think about getting a million dollars, you are going to get it right then and there. Thank God it doesn't work that way. The results are a bit more subtle than that.

The truth is, over time our thoughts shape our situations. If we constantly think "My life sucks", sure enough it will. The opposite is true as well. If we are experiencing an uncomfortable situation, and we begin to think "Things will get better, I will pull through this" then low and behold, things will get better. This law can be used in any aspect of your life. If you are going through financial issues, imagine yourself financially stable. If you are single, and experiencing loneliness, imagine yourself happy with the love of your life. If you are unemployed visualize that you've obtained your dream job.

Many people might find this concept silly, or even a work of pure fiction. However, have any of you ever wanted something so bad, and it ended up happening? Even though it seemed impossible in the beginning? I challenge those who say "no".

There are many ways in which we can apply the law of attraction in our daily lives. This includes visualization, meditation, and ritual. Visualization is the process of forming an image in your mind. You would see in your mind's eye what you are trying to obtain, or banish. Meditation is a lot like visualization in the sense that you are focusing on a particular outcome. However, many times instead of seeing the image in your mind, you focus on the desire itself. For instance if you are trying to obtain love, you might just think "I have found love" over and over in your mind. Ritual is another great way of manifesting desire into reality. A ritual is a bit more involved than meditation or visualization in the sense that rituals involve the use of tools. The concept of ritual is that through the process of physical action, we create physical change.

There are many types of rituals one can perform. A typical banishing ritual is done by writing down things about ourselves we want to banish on paper, and burning them in a fire. The concept here is that by burning the paper, we are burning away that aspect of ourself. Another type of ritual often involves the use of candles. Words can be inscribed onto candles, and burned to either banish or create. For instance, one might inscribe "I have found financial stability" onto a green candle. By burning the candle, the desire has been sent out into the universe. There are as many ways to conduct rituals as there are people conducting them. There is not one exact method that should be used.

This simple practice of manifesting our desires into reality by applying the law of attraction is something that should be exercised daily. By verbalizing our desires through mantra, focusing on our intention during meditation, and applying our will through ritual we can obtain anything we set out to achieve.