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Monday

9/19/2016 The Mystic Provides a Different View

The abilities of the mystic include those discussed in the first two blogs. These would be 1) being able to see STEM flow evidence and 2) to be able to enter flow moments. These two abilities are always linked together, in varying degrees. These two abilities we all have; the mystic is just more experienced with them. Much like the difference between being able to hum a popular tune compared with composing like Mozart. We know the mystic as the “wise one”; the iconic image of a gray-haired, long bearded, man on top of a mountain sitting, waiting for us to arrive and ask him one of the perennial questions. In the movie Star Wars this iconic image was shown as a small Muppet- looking creature with pointed ears living in a swamp world in a galaxy far, far, away. But the mystic doesn’t only provide wisdom. The mystic provides us with the opportunity to see our question through a different view and thus see answers we did not see before. The mystic always stands with one foot inside the culture in which he/she lives and one foot outside. It is a necessary vantage point for the views of the poet, the healer, the artist, the writer and the mystic. This is called the liminal stance or standing in the compassion space that is between. This was presented as part of the Theory of Compassion Development, and then within the book on the Mystic Relationship (includes reference to earlier writings on “the between”). This standing in the between is the place from which the mystic joins us whenever we engage with him/her in our quest for meaning and well being. The mystic is both outsider and insider, the mystic can see the way we stand in relationship to life (relationship stance) and the ramifications of such, and in doing so, can often provide a different view for us, both individually and as a collective culture. The cultural icon of the mystic has been long-lasting throughout the centuries. It is an image that we hold both as memory and as hope. It is the memory of those in the past who followed the path of the mystic in order to provide both individuals and society with a different view, a view toward improved well-being. It is the hope that “the world will become a better place in the future” and personally we hope to discover our part in this utopic future. The mystic offers to be a guide for our journey of meaning, purpose, and for discovering a deeper wellbeing. The mystic offers this through compassionately connecting with us in a moment of experiential flow within the compassion space. The mystic is not the source of knowledge about everything. The mystic is much like a horse whisperer except with humans. The mystic has a way of seeing the interconnectedness of life (STEM flow) around a human in much the same way that a horse whisperer sees the interconnectedness of life around the horse and then offer guidance. Both the horse whisper and the mystic act in a way that seeks to promote well-being. This is the purpose and the intent of the mystic, to promote well being. The mystic today may not be a gray-haired man sitting in a cave in a mountain waiting for us, but his purpose is still to be of compassionate service, from within the special relationship stance called the compassion space. This special relationship is described in both The Healing Relationship and The Mystic Relationship. The person, who enters this compassion space with the mystic, benefits from the encounter not only in a cognitive meaning making “I found new wisdom” way, but also in an experiential way where a deeper well being is experienced, and witnessed. .