Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. Have you ever had a mystical experience?
One of the common features found in many—and perhaps most—religious traditions is the mystical experience in which the realities of time and space are suspended and there are feelings of awe and connectedness with the spiritual. In some mystical experiences, the person may feel as though their body or their spirit (soul) has been transported to another place, another time, or another dimension. In other mystical experiences the body feels the inner presence of a spirit or deity.
The feelings and sensations associated with the mystical experience are, of course, interpreted or translated through culture. In cultures in which gods are emphasized, a feeling of oneness with the gods or supernatural beings may occur. On the other hand, in animistic hunting and gathering cultures, the mystical experience may involve teachings from and/or conversations with animal spirits.
Being transported into a mystical realm involves experiences and sensations which are often difficult to describe to another person. Susan Blackmore, in her book Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction, writes:
“There is no simple way to define or even describe a mystical experience. They are often said to be ineffable or indescribable, to involve a sense of the numinous, and to convey unexpected knowledge or understanding of the universe which cannot be spoken of. Perhaps most central to the experience is a changed sense of self, whether this is a complete loss of the idea of a separate self or a sense of merging with the universe in oneness.”
Rolands Griffiths and Charles Grob, in a chapter “Hallucinogens as Medicine” in The Secrets of Consciousness, write:
“Mystical experiences can bring about a profound and enduring sense of the interconnectedness of all people and things—a perspective that underlies the ethical teachings of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions.”
In some cultures, the mystical is experienced alone. One example of this is the vision quest which is found in many Native American traditions. In general, the seeker goes out to a remote place, often one associated with the spirit world, and sits alone for a few days. During this time, the seeker will fast and ask the spirits to send a vision. The individual often receives a visit from a spiritual power. Regarding the Plains Indian vision quest, religion professor Joseph Epes Brown, in his book The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian, writes:
“Sacred powers appearing in such experiences are usually associated with animal beings or with other natural phenomena, and they may indicate the seeker’s sacred name, may constitute the origin and validation of sacred songs and forms of art, or may be the origin of a new tribal rite or ceremony.”
In some Native American cultures it was traditionally expected that all individuals would have a mystical experience during the vision quest, as without the special teachings and guidance of a tutelary spirit success in life was not possible. Among many of the tribes a young person was not considered to be an adult until the help of guardian spirits had been obtained.
It was, and still is, possible for an individual to participate in more than one vision quest and to obtain more than one guardian spirit. There were also some unfortunate individuals who failed to obtain a guardian spirit and would live a life of poverty and incompetence. A man without a guardian spirit would be a poor hunter and fisherman; he would have no luck in gambling; he would be socially inept and unable to attract and keep a wife. A woman without a guardian spirit would be unable to find wild foods; she would be unable to process foods and prepare good meals; she would be unsuccessful in processing foods for storage; and she would be unlucky in gambling. In her book A Necessary Balance: Gender and Power Among Indians of the Columbia Plateau, Lillian Ackerman writes of the Plateau Indian people without guardian spirits:
“These people, though rare, were looked on by others with pity, not scorn. They were cared for by other members of the village when their luck was especially poor and would not be personally blamed.”
In many cultures and religious traditions, the mystical experience may occur during a group ceremony. Here the use of music and dance may be used to help bring about the experience. In these ceremonies, the individual dances until a trance state occurs. Depending on the religious tradition, individuals may fall to the ground and experience a vision or they may continue dancing as the spirit enters the body. The ecstatic dance involves union with the spirit world, which may be defined as a deity in some traditions. W.O.E. Oesterley, in Sacred Dance in the Ancient World, writes:
“The purpose of this dance is to effect union with a superhuman spirit; the body, temporarily ‘emptied’ of consciousness, is believed to be entered by the god or spirit in whose honour the dance takes place.”
Writing about the Ogun and Umbandista religion in Africa’s Ogun: Old World and New, Renato Ortiz reports:
“Communication between the sacred and profane world comes about through trance during which a medium is ‘mounted’ by a spirit which descends from beyond. The possessed devotee is the ‘horse of the saint’—the saddle in which spiritual entities ride to manifest their presence on Earth.”
In the so-called “Ghost Dance” inspired by the Paiute prophet Wovoka, people would dance in a circle to the rhythm of the drums. During this dance it was not uncommon for some people to fall to the ground in a trance state where they would visit the spirit world.
In a similar fashion, at meetings of the Holiness Way Christian churches, people will dance to music provided by guitars, drums, and other instruments. In some instances, a person may fall to the floor in a trance state. The Holy Ghost enters the body and may cause the person to speak in what seems to be a strange language (often called “speaking in tongues.”) Technically, this process of speaking a strange language while in a trance is known as glossolalia. Karen Stollznow, in article in Skeptic Magazine, writes:
“Glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, is the spontaneous utterance of unknown “language” for the purposes of healing and worship.”
Noting the glossolalia is a psychological rather than a linguistic phenomenon, Stollznow goes on to report:
“Various studies have shown that when people speak in tongues they are using the emotion parts of the brain, not the linguistic parts.”
Open Thread
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