Comments on: With apologies to Nirvana…

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:37:25 +0000

*Sigh* We’re so inclined in our flesh to veer towards that which is slightly off-centre, the things of God instead of God, aren’t we? We’re so scared of him, us wussy little fearful humans, scared he’s gonna eat us all up. And if we’re not scared he’s gonna eat us all up, we’re scared he’s gonna consume us all up, even when we desire it to be so. Even mystics. And especially in an age such as this. Thanks for the reminder, Carl.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:30:13 +0000

Well stated, Ned–I think you’re onto something here: God is the doer; grace is the energy; we are the vessels…

And thank you, Carl, for your insistence on this point! There is no doubt that the mystical life has its full share of experience in store for seekers, but part of the wisdom of nearly every mystical tradition is to “hold loosely” to our experiences, to let them go when they start becoming idols or barriers to our transformation into our calling to become means of grace for others.

I heard a scholarly friend tell me one time that the “images” of the media have become the idols of our day. I think your post shows clearly the awareness that our obsession with own experiences has become a major obstacle to the “flow” of grace and love to us and through us to others and back to the source that completes the mystical cycle and makes the whole thing work. This narcissism is a major reason why things get “stuck” in this process, why 3% of the people have 89% of the wealth, etc etc.

I don’t think I will ever stop enjoying mystical experiences, whenever God sovereignly grants them. But I am committed not to identify them as anything other than what they are: invitations to celebrate His love and then pass that love on to others in a needy, hurting world (as in your list of needy people).

Blessings,
Peter

By: ned

ned — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:25:25 +0000

Carl, this is so well-put.

The whole point is transformation. Having experiences just for their own sake is just another form of self-indulgence. If we aren’t bridging the inner and outer worlds — a process that is spectacularly painful at times — then you are right, we really are making a fetish out of mystical experiences, which is just another form of idolatory.

The hardest part is letting go of “doing”. We are so conditioned to be caught up in that — seeking one experience after another is just another manifestation of this egoism. It’s only when we surrender to the fact that the Divine is the “doer” that Grace can start to flow uninterruptedly in our lives and we can be a source of it for others as well.

By: MikeF

MikeF — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:30:07 +0000

Now that needed saying, Carl… thank you.

I don’t think you need to apologise for crankiness when it’s with a wrong attitude, and not with some person who may hold that attitude!

Mike

By: Carl McColman

Carl McColman — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:07:37 +0000

True enough. And perhaps if more would-be mystics were as eager to seek God as we are to seek experience, grace would flow into our lives all the more abundantly.

By: Peasant

Peasant — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:37:14 +0000

It’s not ‘experience’ that is necessary to ‘have’ mysticism; it’s grace. Only God can make a mystic.