Psychology of Mysticism By Cecil A. Poole, F. R. C.
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M y s t i c i s m is a misunderstood word, in view of the fact that for the past century the advancements of science and technology have caused man to emphasize, more and more in his own thinking, the mechanical and objective achievements achievements of mankind. For this reason much of the mystical concept of life has been made secondary; very few people today have a clear view view of mysticism. mysticism. Usually they relate it to some fantastic idea or to some religious doctrine.
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Mysticism to the Rosicrucian does not apply to either of these concepts. concepts. To him, it is essentially essentially a statement of a man’s basic relationship to the fundamental forces of the universe, or, as he prefers to designate these forces, the Cosmic, which has ordained and caused the universe and life in it to be manifest. manifest. Num erous comparatively recent scientific theories have given more and more emphasis to the concept that underlying all the energies is a fundamen tal force. force. Th e advancemen advancemen t in the study of nuclear physics has, in the minds of many scientists, par' ticularly emphasized emphasized this principle. This does not necesneces-
sarily mean that science has become more mystical in its concepts, but it does show a trend which causes us to believe or conclude that there is a point of relationship between mysticism which we as Rosicrucians accept and the modern investigations and conclusions of scientific theory. W ha t we call call the true reality of the energy energy or the motivating force that lies behind all manifestations is unim portant . Terminology, after all, is only what we decide to label any item to which we wish to direct at' tention o r take under consideration. W e call it T^ou T^ous, s, but by any other name its quality, its purpose and existence, is in no way modified. Mysticism to the Rosicrucian is a simple simple concept. It is primarily the conclusion man has reached that life and all things are the manifestation of one fundamental force. If we choose to call this force God, Cosmic, or "Hous, we again are only making distinctions insofar as our ter' minology is concerned, and not affecting the thing itself. Insofar as Rosicrucian terminology is concerned, we usually refer to a Supreme Being, as God; and we refer to the Cosmic as His manifestation, and to Nous as the force or underlying energy of the universe put into op' eration and made to manifest by God. To relate ourselves as individuals more closely to that force and to God, who has ordained it, is the primary purpos e of the concept of mystic mysticism. ism. Mysticism then, we might say, is the means by which man may become aware
of the Cosmic laws and principles by a process other than through dependence entirely upon his objective senses senses.. W e fu rthe r believe believe tha t the more closel closely y man can relate himself to God, the more complete his understanding of God and the Cosmic will be; and therefore the natural conclusion is obvious: Man is better able to relate himself to the purpose of the universe as a whole as well as to the purpose of his own life. There are two basic mental processes within man’s mind: perception and conception. Perception is usually related to the objective senses; what we perceive through our objective faculties are the objects with which we come in contact in our physical environment. Conception is the formation of thought within our own mind; it is the process by which we put together all we perceive, regardless of its source, in order to arrive at certain conelusions elusions or ideas ideas.. Concep ts which are the result of our thinking process are the conclusions which we reach in our own mind, based upon our perception, realization, or interpretation of all objective and subjective phenomena. In a sense our concepts are more important to us than what we perceive because what we will become, both in thought and behavior, depends upon the conclusions we reach. If we are to arrive at a point w here we may be aware of our place in the universe and of our purpose in life, we must develop a concept of our relationship to God, and at the same time, encourage in ourselves and in
our fellow men the high ideals of character and personality that are consistent with the conclusions which we reach. The naturalist-phi naturalist-philosopher losopher John B urroughs once wrote: “There is no such thing as deep insight into the mystery of creation, without integrity and simplicity of character." W e might conclude conclude that this is a simple simple statement of the mystic’s mystic’s viewpoint. It pictu res the individual as relating himself to God and the Cosmic scheme, so that man, as an individual expression of life, may free himself of any bonds that would cause him not to be able to see beyond the immediate expression of God in the universe about him. Most of the recorded mystical concepts are extremely direct and simpl simple. e. They show the working of the human mind in comparison with its immediate environment in a manner so that the concept or the relationship between man and God becomes illustrated in the simple phenomena of life life found about us. From the standpoint of the world, many gre at mystics mystics were extremely simple people people.. Jacob Boehme was a shoemaker, Jesus was a carpenter, and so we might give many oth er illustrations. illustrations. On e mystic whose words are recorded in Biblical literature was a shepherd. He was the writer of the Twenty-third Psalm and he spent his days, as many nomads did in his time, taking care of his floc flocks. ks. H e was aware tha t the sheep sheep were dependent upon him, the shepherd, for their food and
protection. protection. One day the thought must have occurre occurred d to him in the words now famous, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The realization had developed in his mind that just as a good shepherd took care of his flocks, so there must be a force or power in the universe concerned concerned with human beings beings.. W hen we repeat the the familiar familiar words of the Tw enty-third Psalm, Psalm, we realiz realizee that this simple mystic so long ago compared step by step the same type of care, rendered by a God, that he was familiar with in his own life in his care of a flock of sheep. After the shepherd had compared the physical needs of man with those of his flock in the words, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters,” then a new thought was added in the words, “H e restoreth my soul.” In these word s was ex pressed the realization that while the shepherd was limited to the care of the physical needs of his flock, God was concerned with both the physical and spiritual needs of mankind. This simple, yet profound illustration of a mystical philosophy brings us to realize that the mental activities and behavior of man are based upon the fact that man is a dual being, composed of body and soul, and that a psychological approach to mysticism would necessarily take into consideration both of these attributes of man’s existence.
Be h a v i o r a n d
M e n t a l
St a t e s
Psychology concerns itself with the study of behavior and the m ental states states of the human being. being. To say that there is a different type of psychology for every mental state is inaccurate. In othe r words, the psychology that applies to a mystic is no different from the psychology tha t applies to a materialist. materialist. Psychology Psychology is divided into many classifications, such as social psychology, abnormal psychology, indus trial psychology. psychology. In fact, almost any occupation, profession, or subject matter may have its own psychology. While there are certain advantages in studying the psychological applications of certain types of behavior, actually there is only one psychology—and that is the psychology of living things, usually usually of man. Th e gen eral principles of psychology apply equally to anyone re gardless gardless of wha t his occupation or training may be. To speak of psychology in relation to mysticism, it is better not to attempt to think of the mystic personality as an isolated or peculiar one, but rather to consider the in dividual influenced by a mystical concept. concept. A n individual who has been attracted to the study and practices related to mysticism is, we will presume, a normal human being. He has the same physiological, anatomical, and psycho logical logical characteristi characteristics cs as any othe r human being. The study of mysticism, as would be the case with any sub
jec t, wi ll, o f cou rse , inf lu enc e on e’s me nt al at ti tu de s an d behavior. Insofar as we apply to the individu al an analysis or study of his mental states and behavior, as they have been influenced by mysticism, we are actually studying the psychology of mysticism. The important thing to remember is that there is no specific form of psychology that is particularly mystical, but rather, there are individuals who are mystical; and it is due to that mental state—as would be the case with any subject m atter in which one became absor absorbed—that bed—that certain psychological applications and consideration will relate to the individual. A thing tha t sets mystici mysticism sm apart from other subjects, particularly in the modern world, is its insistence upon the principle that intuition and insight are at least of equal if not of more importance than physical physical perception. Th e physical organism organism of the mystic function s no differently differently from that of anyone else else.. He uses his his physical sense sense faculties for the purposes for w hich they we re made. made. He also asse assemble mbless in his own m ind the perceptions and sensations which come to him and ex erts reason to put all these varied impressions into a unified or usable form. The characteristic of the mystic that makes him differ ent from the particularly materialistic-minded individual, as has already been implied, is that he believes and, in fact, carries a conviction that the sensations and percep tions which he receives through his physical sense facul
ties are only a part of the total of impressions and knowledge which he can receive. Th e mystic believes believes in inspiration and places the use of inspiration on a higher plane than he does does reason. reason. Reason he knows to be the working of his own objective objective mind. Inspiration is the result of insight directly into the Absolute, insofar as he has de veloped the ability to penetrate the Absolute. It is difficult for the materialist and the mystic to come to any degree of agreement or to meet on common ground. The whole philosophy of the life of each revolves around different positions. positions. Th e materialist directs directs his attention exclusively to the manifestation of the objective world about him and to the interpretation of the perceptions and sensations received received throug h his physical senses senses.. To the materialist there is nothing existing except what he objectively objectively perceive perceives. s. T o him the material wo rld is the final reality. In fac t, he dismisse dismissess anyth ing else as theory. He believes, and many times conscientiously so, that there is nothing in the universe except those things capable of being actually manifested to his physical physical sens senses. es. T o talk otherwise to the materialist who has such an attitude concerning the function of intuition and insight is to try to bring into his consciousness something unrelated with his experience. It is almost as impossible impossible as an attemp t to explain a complicated mathematical formula to a child in the first grade. The mystic, on the other hand, is more tolerant of the
viewpoint of the materialist than is the materialist of the views of the mystic. mystic. Th e tru e mystic does not deny the existence existence of the physical or objective world. H e does not deny the importance of his five physical senses; he believes that these were given him by his Creator to use. To the mystic, the physical world is an actuality. actuality. It is a condition that makes up his environment and with which he must deal constantly as long as he lives in this world. A t this point, however, the mystic and the materialist separate separate in their lines lines of thought. W hile the m ateriali aterialist st agrees up to this point, the mystic goes further and, although acknowledging all of these things, states that there is still more. To the mystic there is experience and knowledge which transcends transcends that attached to the material material world. world. To try to prove this to the materialist is extremely difficult since the materialist refuses to acknowledge anything outside of the physical physical world. Nevertheless, to the broad-minded materialist the mystic can point out that there are nonmaterial things which are very real. real. Th e mystic might say that the very existence of a thought or an idea are examples of nonmaterial things with which everyone is familiar in practical experien experience. ce. Th e fair-minded ma terialist will have to admit that he has thoughts and that he has ideas. ideas. Th e physical physical scientist, scientist, with out tho ughts or ideas, ideas, would never accomplish accomplish anything. Th e ideas which he has are the inspiration toward his material achieve
ments—yet these thoughts and these ideas cannot be perceived with the physical senses; only their results are perceptibl perceptible. e. The thought and the idea are a part of the content of mind of the individual. individual. They can not be measured by any physical standard; they cannot be seen, smelled, smelled, heard, tasted, or felt. Th ey are nonmaterial; they are intangible insofar as the physical world is concerned. From the standpoint of the mystic, if these states of mind which everyone uses every day and with which everyone is familiar are so obviously existent, then the mystic will ask, is it not possible for us to realize, or at least believe, that in the universe there are more intangible things than the thoughts or ideas in our own conscious ness? ness? If thou ghts and ideas occur to the human mind, it is quite probable that there are greater thoughts and greater ideas which transcend those existent in the human mind and which in themselves compose the state of the Cosmic mind or the mind of God. W ith this point of view presented presented as a thesis thesis for the mystical concept, the mystic can say little more in his attempt to persuade the materialist to change his attitude of full confidence and authority in the material world. The concept of mysticism, however, continues to exist in the mind of the mystic, and from this point of de parture he attempts to indicate some of the principles
which compose his beliefs and those which attempt to uphold the concept which he proposes to be the true philosophy of life. In t u i t io n
Ex c e l s
R e a s o n in g
Interesting from the standpoint of psychology are some principles which are the basis of mysticism: some we have already considered; others may now be examined with the idea of presenting a series of mystical concepts. Among these is the comparison between reason and in tuition. Th e materialist places places great confidence confidence in reason, and in general this is reflected in the social structure of the materialistic materialistic mod em world. Reason in ou r present social structure is constantly stressed as the salvation of all things. things. M en try t o reason morals and ethics, as well as peace and war. Since for thousands of years the human race has been attempting to settle its more complex problems by reason, it would seem that they would soon give up, considering that few things have ever been perma nently settled in this manner. M en have reasoned reasoned tha t war is evil and should be avoided. avoided. Na tions have therefore joined together, formulated pacts, treaties, and voluntary organizations for the perpetuation of peace. So far, each such conference or reasoning together has been followed by another war. W e should learn that reason, while while an important factor for man to use in assembling, classifying, and applying
his objective knowledge, is not an ultimate or final source of knowledge. M any fair-minded people will concede concede the point that most new things which have come into existence have come about by insight rather than by reason. reason. M any scientists who have worked steadily for months or years have, in a flash of insight, solved their problems. problems. In this concept we seem to have a strong argument in favor of intuition as opposed to reason. However, many will argue that reason is the true basis; that, for instance, a scientist, after much work and time, gradually assembles the facts and principles as they become discovered during a long period of reasoning rather than b y insight. Yet, in relatively minor things most most human beings have had the experience of finding a solu tion to their problems or a means of accomplishing some thing by a flash in their minds, apparently from an un known source or unaided by reflection or reason. The mystical experiences, that is, the flashes of intui tive knowledge that come to the mystic, are to him far more important than his own reasoning. reasoning. Th e mystic mystic gains the point of view that reasoning is on a par with all objective and physical phenomena in the world. In other words, man cannot reason beyond his own innate ability. I cannot, for example, reason on the subject subject of nuclear physics, unless I am trained in the subject matter that composes nuclear physics, but it is conceivably possible that through proper preparation of the mental
states I can receive insight or an intuitive urge that will throw light upon such a complicated subject. Thus, the mystic feels that reason is limited to his own understanding, training, and experience, and, in fact, is particularly limited to his own finite efforts, while any information that comes through insight and intuition is not due to himself, but rather due to his relationship with an inherent force. force. Throu gh tha t relationshi relationship, p, knowl edge comes comes to his mind from the Absolute. Such reason ing makes it quite natural for the mystic to give considerable attention to the manifestation of the universe about him. Th e materialistic materialistic scientist scientist looks looks ou t upon the universe and sees sees a variety of many things. He exerts time and effort toward understanding, classifying, and controlling the many things which compose his environ ment. His ideals may be to make them more useful, to put the many parts of the universe together in different combinations for the benefit benefit of mankind. In oth er words, to the materialist with this point of view, the world is a plurality; whereas, the mystic looks upon it as the handi work of God. This concept of the world is as a medium of ex pression pression in which man must function. Throu gh his intuitive urges the mystic believes that God alone is the fundamental reality underlying all things, and that re gardless of how diverse or complicated the universe may objectively appear to us, there is in actuality only one
absolute and fun damen tal reality. reality. It is throu gh our obob jec tiv e sens es th at w e seem to be ho ld ma ny th ing s. T he world about us looks as if it were composed of many units, and the units themselves in turn composed of smaller units. In the app aren t confusion confusion of many things making up this world there seem to be a plurality of things. From the standpoint of the mystic, all things so perceived are manifestations of one single reality. O n e
V ersus t h e Ma ny
Thus it is that mysticism in religion turns to pantheism; and in philosophy, to monism. Knowing tha t his own consciousness is of God and that the universe is the garment of God, a manifestation of the Absolute, the mystic cannot help holding sacred the idea that God functions in all things—that God is not an isolated in dividuality removed from the earth, but the very lifegiving force fluctuating and radiating throughout every thing th at is the ea rth or of the earth. In this sense sense the the mystic is a pantheist. He believes believes that God , while He transcends all human and earthly things, is still immanent in the very things which are His manifestation. From the metaphysical standpoint, the mystic turns to monism, which is the belief opposite that of pluralism, a belief that one underlying reality is the cause and basis of all things. Monism is hard to accept by the mind, which is constantly classifying, dividing, and isolating
all things with w hich it comes comes in contact. To the pluralist there are many things, and his state of constant study seems to intensify the belief in plural manifestation. The mystic, on the other hand, in the sublime manner in which he reflects upon the universe, its causes and effects, sees flowing through it all, like the stream in a mighty river, the one force, the God force, the Cosmic force, or whatever he may want to call it, as the means by which all things, regardless of their diversity, manifest in the existing world. T o the mystic the Absolute is the final reality, and yet it is the thing which causes the blade of grass, a rock, a man, or any other manifestation. The same force is immanent in the material universe and beyond the field of human comprehension. T im e , a T o o l
W ith this point of view it is quite obvious obvious that time should be of concern to the mystic only in a rather negative sort of way. Th e materialist struggles with time. Mu ch of his activity is is measured in terms of time, time, and frequen tly he is is racing racing against time. time. To th e mystic mystic time does not become a challenger—it becomes a partner. It is realized for what it really is, merely another tool with which man is provided to assist him to deal with the material world. Like all all other physical things, things, time is a transitory manifestation when considered in terms of the Absolute. Th e mystic mystic does does not think of time purely
in terms of past, present, and future; he thinks of it rather as destiny, as one of the processes with which he must work and cooperate while in a physical body as a means toward the eventual achievement or understanding of the purpose of th e Absolute. Time, in such a sense sense,, is no longer something to stand in the way or to block one’s one’s progress. progress. Time need no t be fough t; neither need one have it constantly in consciousness, because as a tran' sitory thing, it does not function in parallel with the true and final reality. In the mind of the mystic, the world is no longer looked upon as a series of events composed of past, present, and future, but rather as a moving force or as a stream flowing through time and material. Like all all else else created by God, time is a part of the God force itself, another example of God manifesting in the physical world to direct man toward the understanding of realities lying outside the physical world. Th e mystic views views time as a continuous stream which flows through the history of man and not as the mere relating of man’s thoughts and actions as flowing through time. Destiny for the mystic is related directly to the degree by which he in turn relates himself to God. Th e destiny destiny of man is to be able consciously to enfold in his own thoug hts the Godhead, the Absolute. Th e ecstasy ecstasy in exexperiences, as described by mystics in history, has indicated this direction direction of thou ght and ultimate aim. aim. To dwell
upon the past, which is unalterable, or to spend the present hoping for the future, is to the mystic an idle and useles uselesss occupation. In t he word s of an old Sufi Sufi mystic it is stated: “Past and future are what veiled God from our sight. Burn up both of them with fir fire. e. How long wilt thou be partitioned by these segments?’’ The mystic writing these words realized that past and future are segments of man’s own making which, when set up in our mental concepts, prove to be barriers that separate us from God . If, as a mystic believe believes, s, God manifests and flows through all His creation, then any' thing, including time itself, which is established mentally or physically, bars our ability to flow with the stream. S o u l ’s D i g n i t y
U ph e l d
Finally, the mystic will say that since all things are of God this condition must embrace man and man’s soul as an intimate segment of God. As the soul is is the most direct of God’s manifestations of which we can be conscfous, it should be so dignified and realized to be the most intimate manifestation of God which we can know. In this sense, mysticism is the only philosophy of life that can stand as a defense of the dignity of the individual. Most ideologies, ideologies, most philosophica philosophicall and so do ' logical concepts of man, lower individual value. Individuality is frequently submerged with the erroneous
concept that such beliefs are for the benefit of many. Materialism places individuality on a par with transitory physical physical things. On ly mysticism mysticism can uphold the inherent dignity of man’s soul, and can permit man, not regi' mented by science, philosophy, politics, or religion, to stand out in his own right and as being truly representative of his own relationship to the Absolute.
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