2^nd April, 2024 • Søren Aas

Summary

This practical and brief book gives the reader a hands on and tangible way to approach the Mystical. It lays out the basic steps and holds the readers hand, as it where, from the starting point of a complete beginner and leads them onwards to where they have gotten some hands on experience and have a working knowledge of what Mysticism and are able to follow their own path.

The Mystical practice is based on contemplative meditation, that teaches us to distinguish Reality and be in Union with it. Through this practice we can discern the finite material existence and the Eternal good.

Mysticism is about engaging and experiencing life directly, and for most of us, learning that who we are and what is real is not the same as what we in our head may think.

It is up to us to know ourselves and experiencing life as it is, rather than confusing the concepts and thoughts in our head with ourselves and reality.

To start the journey of a Mystic we first need to realize that we have awareness, this can be done through meditation. Many of us are caught up in our thoughts and emotions, living in our head and not realizing we are more than just mental chatter. Two keys we need to understand are Recollection and Purgation.

Recollection is to observe what we sense without judgment and use our will to control our attention, we choose what we want to focus on. A daily meditation practice will develop our will and capacity to calmly observe. Purgation is to feel emotions without letting them overrun us, to experience with detachment.

Through observing whilst meditating, it begins to awaken a realization that we are at best a tangled mess of contradictions lacking focus. When we let that sink in then we can start to sift through what is going on, and discarding what is superfluous from what we want. Then we realize we want. By knowing what we want, we can pursue it. And what is not want, if not love, when have faith that we know what we love we have our true inner compass that will guide us where we need to go♥♰

Once we are able to experience the world around us without attachment we come to realize that it is wondrous and through continued observance we come to realize that all is connected, that we share a being with everything. Conversely, turning our attention inwards leads us to the paradoxes, such as of Time and Eternity. These can not be understood at a purely logical level, but their truth may be somehow sensed or intuited. Regardless, these polarities are undeniably meaningful, albeit in an inarticulate way. We may never understand God, but we can know in a way that gives us faith, even though it is inexplicable.

We have experienced the Mystical why through our own experience, it has led us to find what we want and the conviction of will to pursue what we have observed to be good.