Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 3:03pm
A Post-Modern Mystic
Column: Woman at the Well
I think of myself as a post modern mystic – an interesting label, but what does it mean? I’ve studied many of the Christian, Jewish and Sufi mystics, felt guided by Julian of Norwich as a child and chose Catherine of Sienna as my role model in my twenties. As a dancer I found deep comfort in the spirit without words embodied in movement.
I am a better listener than speaker for the mystic path. It is an ancient way of being claimed by many modern voices as the new spirituality of a New Age. Buddhist practice, Taoist teachings and Hindu goddesses give it substance and life but in a post modern world where science has taken us beyond the assurance that A + B always equals C, the mystery of mysticism is too often replaced with the comforting absolutes of “The Secret” and other “you are what you think” philosophies.
Resting in the arms of God does not guarantee easy prosperity. When troubles come, these New Age gurus are too quick to blame the victim, as if they have obviously brought their difficulties upon themselves, adding guilt to the burdens they already carry.
Julian of Norwich declared, “All shall be well. All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well,” even as she suffered with an incurable illness that lead to her early death. Jesus of Nazareth declared the same kind of optimism in his assurance that “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” even as he walked knowingly to his death at the hands of Empire. Martin Luther King, Jr. told us he “had been to the promised land” although he was always aware that he might not get there with us in his lifetime.
Visionaries, mystics, courageous spirits who refused to settle for a spirituality too comfortable in solitary positivistic solutions, these are my role models. A post modern mystic cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world, cannot judge and condemn others in order to feel good about herself. She is required to acknowledge the web of life of which she is a part and to act in accordance with an awareness of her impact on others, her place in the chain of being.
We must insist that the spirit within is literally the spirit everywhere. When we see with clear eyes, everything shines, everything is made new. The evidence is not merely in one life transformed comfortably into wholeness, but in a community transformed by the power of love that draws all of us together and calls us to service.
Each day we have a choice. We can awaken to the light and life and love that is within and all around us and by that choice live out the Spirit’s call to wholeness. Or we can dwell in our fears that cripple and divide us, making it hard to breathe, pushing us towards escapism and addiction. Love or fear, life or divisions, moment by moment, may we choose life. Amen.
I am a better listener than speaker for the mystic path. It is an ancient way of being claimed by many modern voices as the new spirituality of a New Age. Buddhist practice, Taoist teachings and Hindu goddesses give it substance and life but in a post modern world where science has taken us beyond the assurance that A + B always equals C, the mystery of mysticism is too often replaced with the comforting absolutes of “The Secret” and other “you are what you think” philosophies.
Resting in the arms of God does not guarantee easy prosperity. When troubles come, these New Age gurus are too quick to blame the victim, as if they have obviously brought their difficulties upon themselves, adding guilt to the burdens they already carry.
Julian of Norwich declared, “All shall be well. All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well,” even as she suffered with an incurable illness that lead to her early death. Jesus of Nazareth declared the same kind of optimism in his assurance that “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” even as he walked knowingly to his death at the hands of Empire. Martin Luther King, Jr. told us he “had been to the promised land” although he was always aware that he might not get there with us in his lifetime.
Visionaries, mystics, courageous spirits who refused to settle for a spirituality too comfortable in solitary positivistic solutions, these are my role models. A post modern mystic cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world, cannot judge and condemn others in order to feel good about herself. She is required to acknowledge the web of life of which she is a part and to act in accordance with an awareness of her impact on others, her place in the chain of being.
We must insist that the spirit within is literally the spirit everywhere. When we see with clear eyes, everything shines, everything is made new. The evidence is not merely in one life transformed comfortably into wholeness, but in a community transformed by the power of love that draws all of us together and calls us to service.
Each day we have a choice. We can awaken to the light and life and love that is within and all around us and by that choice live out the Spirit’s call to wholeness. Or we can dwell in our fears that cripple and divide us, making it hard to breathe, pushing us towards escapism and addiction. Love or fear, life or divisions, moment by moment, may we choose life. Amen.