Mainlining Mysticism
ICN Foundational Identities – Part 3
No longer seen as fringe or divergent factions of oddballs and eccentrics, many are now looking more and more to the mystics for guidance and genuine spiritual embodiment. Done with performative religion and unbeguiled by rank, position, or institutional credentials as markers of spiritual power and authority, people are seeking the real deal. And not just to learn about the mystics of old, but also seek to be the mystics of today.
This is not as exclusive as it might sound, for the mysticism that is emerging is not only for the spiritual elite, for those who live in the caves, the cloisters, or the clouds—as our recent podcast series on Everyday Mystics is showing—but for all those who are trying to live from their embodied presence and loving spirit in all manner of life situations.
So why are we looking to mysticism more? And what even do we mean by “mystic”?
“The Light of Christ in the Heart of All”
Though it’s not in our name, ICN is decidedly focused on the mystical. Our descriptive statements from the beginning have always been some form of “practicing embodied mysticism” or “mystical practitioners.”
This is a reflection of the earliest roots of Christianity, which as Paul Smith likes to say, began in a blaze of mystical experiences (before it became institutionalized as a religion of empire). It is also at the heart of Integral, which seeks not just to outline the progression and movements of evolution and consciousness, but truly embody and engage in the processes of becoming into those new realities and ways of being.
Some integralists fall in love with the maps and the descriptions as a way of knowing, as if understanding correctly equals transformation. It is the same error that much of traditional religion makes, associating “correct” beliefs with salvation.
And so the mystical, with its emphasis on applied experience, is necessary to actually come into the evolutionary, spiritual transformations that have been spoken about and outlined by great minds. The future will be most decidedly and lovingly shaped not by more great minds alone, but by great people—holistic and embodied in the fullness of the new ways of being, what some might describe as integral consciousness.
The What and Why of Mysticism Today
The word mysticism is generally understood to represent the direct experience of union or communion with God, the Divine, Ultimate Reality, Source, or Mystery. The word connotes mystery and an immediacy so as to not require intermediaries, approval of the authorities, or earning the keys to the locks of gatekept religious systems.
As such,
Mysticism is less hierarchical—but sometimes seen as elitist.
Mysticism is less casual—but sometimes seen as too extreme.
Mysticism is more directly spiritual—but sometimes seen as inaccessible.
Mysticism is more powerful—but sometimes seen as dangerous and risky.
Can I trust my own experience? Can I trust the experience of others? How do I know I’m not just making this up? Do I even have the ability to have these sorts of experiences? How will I know if I’m going off the deep end? What if I want to take a swim in the deep end?
These are good questions we hold and keep before us with discernment, in community, seeking wisdom. The subjective nature of much mystical experience can lend itself to a bit of spiritual quackery and things that might seem a bit odd at first. And some things that are a little too far out—and that’s ok, it’s not an all or nothing affair. We can wade in as far as we feel comfortable now, free to know that we can always take steps back or forward as we grow and learn.
We are empowered in our own discernment—in loving community—rather than being told by spiritual authorities what is right and wrong, what is ok and not ok. Following the call of our heart and deepest being, rather than the commands of external “authorities” and rulebooks.
Perhaps we’re drawn to go deeper because of the transformational capacity and liberating spiritual power that we find is given to us. That we know is possible within us—not just “out there.” The religious systems might seem safer and easier, but far too often they are not moving with the flow of life and spirit that is calling to us. That is possible and present in and around us all the time.
And we still need to be connected to something larger than ourselves, to some kind of new/old tradition that isn’t just based on my own personal proclivities and given to further spiritual individualism. So we have the other “nodes” of Christian and Integral to help keep us grounded and connected to a larger story, a broader community, and as pathways to participation that are approachable and integrated.
Participatory Mysticism
At ICN, our approach to mysticism is deeply informed by the mystical life and teachings of Jesus and the experiences of the early church. We take seriously the transforming power of spirit-breath-consciousness that awakened in the disciples and the first communities. We follow the scripture that we are all “participants in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). And learn from the many Christian mystics through the centuries who have taken that seriously themselves.
Additionally, we draw directly upon an Integral mysticism, or as it’s called, Participation in the Mystery. This particular stream of Integral is called the Participatory approach, primarily brought forth by Jorge Ferrer.
Much of the foundations of Integral Theory and Ken Wilber’s approach to spirituality are largely enmeshed with a Buddhist worldview and emphasis. These include some fundamental assumptions and metaphysical principles about the nature of spiritual growth and the ultimate goal of evolution—personal and collective. While many of these are helpful and can be integrated, we also find that elements of our Christian heritage, along with a broader embrace from the Participatory approach can give us more diverse and integrated pathways enacting the transformation of consciousness and loving evolution.
We apply each of the three primary principles from this approach (and adapt somewhat): Embodied, Relational, and Generative. While I’ve written about these more at length before, each of these is crucial to our approach to mysticism, as they bring forth qualities that are often missing from many common forms.
We practice embodied mysticism because we believe spirit is intermingled with our bodies. That we are incarnated divine beings, not disembodied spirits. And that for too long many of us have been disassociated from ourselves, trapped solely in our heads, longing to return home, to integrate our whole being.
We practice relational mysticism because we believe that we are not ultimately separate from one another, from God, and from the whole of reality. That we are deeply connected to one another. And that the taint of individualism has pervaded our spirituality and left us siloed off, longing for the spiritual intimacy that is our deeper way of love.
We practice generative mysticism because we believe that we are co-creators with God. That we participate in the loving evolution of Christianity and the world. And that mysticism is not about “having experiences” or getting spiritual highs, but about actively being part of the work of an emergent, transformation of consciousness, individual and collective, bringing forth what the world so desperately needs.
These principles come into play with a much larger field of study and other communities of practice as well. Paul Smith is one of the most well-read human beings I’ve ever encountered and has drawn on innumerable sources for the foundational theological and spiritual lineage to this work.
Qualities of an Integral, Christian Mysticism
If mysticism is about direct experience of God, our expressions of how we do that will be greatly informed by our understanding and perceptions of who we find God to be. Or where we find God.
For Integral Christianity, The Three Faces of God is our principal way of encountering and praying into/with/from God-Beyond-Us, God-Beside-Us, and God-Being-Us. Paul’s most recent book, Is Your God Big Enough? Close Enough? You Enough? goes very far in-depth into what mystical participation with each of these faces looks like.
And it is still evolving! We are learning more day by day through the generative presence of one another in community. Not just through concepts, books, and traditions, but through the transforming power of the “We” and the collective power of co-creative presence. Practicing together. So here are a few qualities we have been finding in our community.
Embracing Loving Connection
In the Christian tradition and elsewhere, mysticism has too often been associated solely with the cloistered monastic, with the desert, and with the hermetic. With celibate individuals devoting themselves to the realization of union or oneness with God through ascetic practices and rejection of the world.
What can often be lost in this approach is the inherently relational nature of God, the “perichoresis” or divine dance of the trinity. That communion is just as important as union. Even just as necessary.
As such, we welcome the spiritual and fleshy inclusion of form. Of the personal and transpersonal presence of the divine in one another. Not just being together side by side, or shoulder-to-shoulder in our collective practice, but directly engaging in the relational field. Heart-to-heart. Soul-to-soul. Deep to deep.
This is the deep community of communion, not just shared directionality, common interest, or spiritual affinity. It is the mystical interbeing of co-participation in our lived reality.
If, as most mystics believe, we are all united and all is one, then it follows—at least to me—that a vital aspect of realizing that oneness would be in not just a universal experience of this, but also through an intertwined and deeply connected life of we-oneness. Of living that reality within the context and communities of one another where we have sprouted and brought forth our lives.
As we have found with zoom and the internet, but to some extent has always been the case for mystics, this is non-local and not just bound to the physical. In this community of communion, we also welcome our loving connection with spirit in personal form, with the Living Jesus and other presences from the great cloud of witnesses and the communion of saints.
Next week, we’ll look more at the becoming of this beloved community among us.
Mystical Devotion
Some mystical pursuits today get lost in the delight of novelty and liberation.
Innovation and freshness are essential for healthy spirituality, but its shadow comes in when we forgo depth for a sort of continual spiritual amusement—perhaps a by-product of algorithm-driven entertainment culture. We go experience-hopping because we’re looking for the next high or the next new thing that will excite us. The trick of novelty can be that it keeps us going horizontally but not necessarily deeper.
This is different from the necessary search for deep resonance and a true spiritual home. Different from the continual process of growth and discovery within ourselves of further awakening to our wholeness and our ongoing encounters of further becoming. It is finding the balance between a healthy process of personal discernment and integration versus the pervasive individualistic cafeteria-style spirituality that is entirely self-referential.
While so many of us have been bound by religious systems and unhealthy forms of spirituality that we had to grow through, we can sometimes also get trapped in the prison of freedom. The individualism of liberation that is always looking to be sovereign and unbound.
This one runs deep and might even be felt as directly counter to the spirit of the mystic—which is so often about unmediated access to the divine and the spiritual liberation of our souls from any barriers to God.
Perhaps that is why devotion is sometimes such a difficult process. But we have found it an important quality of our path to an integrated and grounded mysticism that manifests in community and in the world. That’s why we explored it in-depth in a series earlier this year.
Realizing Transformation
If it’s not transforming it’s not worth doing. Mysticism for the sake of mystical experience is not enough. We engage in this path because of the way it can bring about transformation of consciousness in ourselves, one another, and the world.
As such, our mystical practices should lead us into transformation—and not forms that take 40 years to realize. It is not always a quick process, and speed is in no way our goal, but we have also discovered spiritual technologies and forms that don’t need to take a lifetime to see change and have great effect.
One of my favorite quotes is from Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly, that mystical living is about “continuously renewed immediacy.” The inner light is present within us, and it’s not nearly so buried as it’s sometimes made out to be.
We are meant to be participants in the divine nature, being the presence of God in the world. We believe this is possible today, not just years down the line. This is the generative presence of God becoming through us and in the world in present and always unfolding ways of healing, growth, and transformation.
“No older religious form or formulation can any longer satisfy to the full our need and capacity for worship. So true is this, that a ‘religion of the future’ cannot fail to appear before long: A new mysticism.” —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
While Teilhard wrote these words nearly 70 years ago, I believe that this religion of the future has begun to appear. Not in the form of a new denomination or under the auspices of a new messiah, but through the resurrection of the body of Christ—the coming forth of the conscious realization of humanity that we are the divine becoming.
We are the immediacy of God in the presence of our lives. In our communities. In the world.
Everyone is a mystic!
And we are becoming more so together, day by day. Holding the pain and the tension of the now and the not yet. Supporting one another through the struggle and in the becoming.
What does it mean to you to be a mystic? What are the qualities you discover in your unique union and communion with God in the world?