MYSTICAL EVENTS
Seeing the Ox
A spiritually transformative experience (STE) is an altered state of consciousness (ASC) from a class of mental states that tend to change (often dramatically) the person to whom they occur. This term can include states of perception usually viewed as an indication of some form of mental illness in the West. This term is principally concerned with spiritual experiences recognized by religions, especially in their mystical traditions. These states are especially important in the context of transpersonal psychology where they are appreciated for the positive transformational effect they have on consciousness. Not everyone having an experience is changed by it but many people do experience a radical change in their awareness, their beliefs, goals, relationships, attitudes and general feelings about life and death. The experience may be positive or negative in its effect. These experiences are usually temporary episodes that vary in frequency and intensity. If the experience becomes overwhelming a person may require or benefit from treatment. These states may precipitate or be the result of what have been termed spiritual emergencies. STEs can occur to anyone and may be related to certain types of activity, emotional states, conscious and unconscious resolutions of conflicts and issues, and to changes in the body through various factors including illness and the process of aging and natural growth. This is a fascinating field of study and I cannot adequately represent the wealth of information to be had. The interested reader is encouraged to seek some of the titles listed in the reference section. Classes in shamanism and mysticism are also becoming more common and contain much useful information.
One of the most common triggers for these events is meditation. Close encounters with death, prayer, concentration, the breath, work, sex, music and sleep are other common means. Other possibilities include yoga, chi-kung or qi gong, tai chi, kundalini yoga, vision questing, solitude, love, happiness and childbirth. Creative work, silence, contact with a special teacher, illness, religious services, art, nature, a sacred place, death of a friend or close relative, eye contact, physical activity, personal crisis, depression, relaxation, drugs (both anesthetic and psychotropic), tantric sexual practices and sex with a person with active kundalini are other possibilities. These states can be viewed as a natural balancing function of the mind that changes the emotional and energetic make-up of consciousness through the release of unconscious contents. They may be a natural phenomenon often accorded a supernatural origin.
A number of different patterns of activity seem to occur to people. A peak experience is a particularly intense or profound experience; in some cases, it may be viewed by the subject as an epiphany but may also require treatment because of the disruption it can cause to conscious functioning. It can be very disturbing to friends and relatives since few people have knowledge of these states other than psychologists, healthcare workers and spiritual teachers. Unfortunately, many healthcare workers are not familiar with the potential benefits of these kinds of experiences; psychiatrists, psychologists and other health officials may actively work to suppress or otherwise interfere with it. In his numerous books, Dr Stanislav Grof has detailed an interesting assortment of experiences termed perinatal and transpersonal experiences. These include mystic states, heaven and hell realms, past-life recall and psychic phenomena. While any of the various triggers may be involved, it remains difficult to determine just what the critical components are for initiating these types of ASCs.
The mind is better prepared for these experiences if there is foreknowledge of their existence and the methods that have been developed to engender, support, control, and assimilate them into a positive change of attitude and behavior. In my opinion, these experiences are not dependent on religious doctrines, but are the subject of spiritual teachings and the object of spiritual practice, although they can occur to anyone through the natural processes of mind’s functioning, through illness, growth, and the process of dying. Though there are different headings in this section, it should be understood that these are not necessarily exclusive divisions. Mystical states are included in Grof’s Transpersonal States but are defined separately because they do form a specific type of experience which is sought in religious practice, unlike some of Grof’s states which are not deliberately sought out. The divisions in this section are really to give the reader an appreciation for different terms used to describe these aspects of our conscious life.
The feeling of union with God, the experience of God’s presence, the Oneness of everything and Universal Consciousness are positive expressions of mystical states. There can be an expansion of Self, a feeling of one’s presence expanding beyond the body a few feet or to infinity. Bliss episodes, periods of extreme joy, ecstasy, rapture, awe, trance or wonder may engulf the individual. Visionary images and journeys may begin. Deities, saints, gurus, angles and other spiritual archetypes can appear in consciousness. Heaven and hell realms might be seen. These entities may be viewed as productions or projections of the mind or they may be viewed as actual beings. This is largely dependent on belief or prior knowledge. They can also be viewed as both mental but still actual, beyond one’s limited self. Illumination is a term often used for this state. It can mean insights and revelations, perceptions of light both inside and outside the mind and unconscious contents becoming conscious. Another quality of the mystic experience is the spiritual rebirth that signifies the successful completion of this portion of life’s journey. This could be as a religious conversion, a sense of dying and possibly the perception of being reborn or as shamanistic encounters with transpersonal elements of the unconscious. All or some of these aspects may occur in a mystical state. Mystic and other STEs may all be in some way related to kundalini activity. Kundalini is the name for the energy that arises when certain psycho-physiological processes occur which cause or accompany changes in cognitive functioning and metabolism.
There are many lists that describe different features of the mystic experience and many books that can give the reader more detail. Mysticism, by Evelyn Underhill and The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James are two excellent and well-known books. It is beyond the scope of this work to do more than introduce the use of these unusual states for effecting changes in consciousness and to provide an alternative understanding for some mental states commonly thought of as illnesses.
The main characteristics of a mystical event include its ineffability, the impossibility to describe the grandeur, importance or profundity of it. There is the noetic quality, meaning it is both a feeling and a knowing state, an experience of mind. These events are transient and rarely persist for long periods. It is a passive event from the perspective of the ego and is perceived as an irresistible force outside one’s control. The sense of timelessness may include a loss of the perception of time, a change in the way time is experienced, or the perception that one is at a different time, perhaps re-living an event from a past life. There may be many instances of synchronicity. Synchronicity in the sense Jung suggested, as symbolically meaningful events that seem to bridge the gap between the mind and the physical world. A general familiarity with the existence and characteristics of these unusual states of consciousness is helpful for maintaining composure during the event and in its positive assimilation. They are also a great deal of fun, rid the mind of needless negative energies, and change the perception of the nature of reality.
In Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill divides the mystic’s process into five stages. A person begins by experiencing an awakening to a consciousness of the “Divine Reality.” She remarks that the experience is usually abrupt and is accompanied by feelings of joy and exaltation. The next level marks the point where the person realizes their own imperfection when compared to the divine truth they have been exposed to. She calls it the stage of “Purgation” and defines it as a state of pain and effort. The next stage is “Illumination.” Through purgation, the Self has become detached from “things of sense” and acquired spiritual virtues. It has awakened to knowledge of transcendent reality but is not yet fully developed. The final purgation stage has been called the “mystic pain” or “mystic death.” It is also known as the “dark night of the soul.” She states, “The consciousness which has, in illumination, sunned itself in the sense of the Divine Presence, now suffers under an equally intense sense of the Divine Absence: learning to dissociate the personal satisfaction of mystical vision from the reality of mystical life.” It seems like the Divine had abandoned the soul. The Self must then surrender itself in order to reach “union,” the “mystical marriage.” This she views as the final goal of the Christian mystic quest.
I have not yet found any indication that Buddhism marks a stage similar to the dark night of the soul in its approach to nibbana. Theravada teachings do commonly characterize the path as one of purification however. There is the idea that highly unusual states lessen with practice and finally disappear altogether but there does not seem to be a prolonged crisis that must be transcended. This may reflect a cultural difference as Buddhism, unlike Christianity, does not have the same types of concepts about guilt and sin. There is no original sin to overcome. Ignorance is viewed as the main stumbling block to developed awareness. There are recognized in Buddhist scripture and folklore, five acts which are said to prevent entrance to the heaven realms and the attainment of nibbana. These are killing one’s father or mother, killing an arahat (spiritually developed person), doing physical harm to a buddha, and causing a schism in the Buddhist monastic order, the sangha.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
Many people may be surprised to find out just how common psychic experiences actually are. Our tradition of science rests on a number of dubious assumptions and generally discounts these phenomena as being delusional aberrations of consciousness. The subjectivity of the experience makes it difficult to study but enough research has been done to suggest that the “perception” of these phenomena do occur. In much of the world, these things are commonly accepted as a fact. They are dealt with in religious teachings, are a common feature of shamanistic healing practices, occur in conjunction with religious drug ceremonies, dreams, myths and rituals, and form a legitimate type of knowledge and skill. These phenomena also occur in relation to meditation and some types of practice are designed to stimulate the activity of psychic powers. In Buddhist teaching these powers are viewed as a natural by-product of concentration and the practitioner is cautioned that these abilities can become a serious hindrance to practice because of the temptation to try to develop them rather than proceeding with the proper cultivation of concentration, mindfulness, and insight. Power and ego trips are also a cause for concern. Psychic abilities may also be of little value and haphazard in the nature and frequency of occurrence.
Psychic disorders can involve painful clairsentience that may be felt as an intense pain that can often manifest as a headache. There can be the phenomena of possession or a struggle for the dominance of mental control by various sub-personalities or archetypes. Excessive clairvoyance is too much information that cannot be stopped. Intrusive past-life recall is too rapid, too frequent, or too intense and is another potential difficulty. Horrific visions of the Devil, demons, ghosts, hell realms, or images of death may assault awareness. There can be channeling disorders where a person is compelled into trance, more than one “entity” is trying to channel, negative entities are being channeled, or negative entities may be pretending to be angels, gurus, or spiritual guides, etc. These terms need not imply real entities. Consciousness is still largely a mystery to science and there is no theory beyond criticism that can account for why images such as these should be experienced by people all over the world whether real or projected by the mind. Different cultures, religions, and tribes all have their own accounts of what the phenomenon is, what it means and the appropriate response to its occurrence.
Abstract Intuition – knowledge without logically processed thinking.
Astral Travelling – a perceived relocation of awareness outside