THE WAY OF THE MYSTIC

The mystic experience is indeed different; let me try to express what the magic about it is!


Mystics are of course human, some of them are more of supermen and some are indeed common men.Is it their extraordinary capacities to do gymanastics that makes them different, or extraordinary power of intuition? I see, that in my particular kind of mysticism, both don’t qualify to mark someone as a mystic or a yogi … though these may be individual characteristics of the person (so no offences meant here;) … but extraordinary power to foretell the future/capacity for gymnastics or similar stuff has nothing to do with the path. The difference is only in the intention, in the will, in the mind of the yogi—Is there desire? Is there aversion? If these two aren’t there, the person is a mystic, a yogi.


But this seems an incomplete and incompetent description of a yogi. So let me add. These mystics are generally on a path to non-existence, which is akin to non-existence of suffering. As long as there is being, there is suffering. There is endeavor required to break the gyre, tremendous effort, and tremendous skill. So, like any other job that requires skill: pottery, programming, painting…you need to align you limbs, your body, your mind to be able to do the task. Mystics here learn this skill in meditation, they make this effort and the energy starts building up. Now one common misconception is that some people are the ‘kind’ to become mystics, its not everyone’s kind of a thing. But from my experience I think all of us breathe, all of us experience and all of us suffer. All beings in fact … suffering is common to all. May be you could say, a mystic is one who is actually working on removing this suffering from their life, and to some extent they succeed, they are on the path, and to some degree have a claim on the mystic experience …afterall it is the goodness that counts! Mystics discover this way to goodness, I am doing that and perhaps that’s my mystic experience.


Mystics work hard on their thought process. Normally people are easily distracted, they become used to things…surprisingly mystics don’t, they are the first one to go out-of-the box …yeah, now may be you would find them less boring  So the first signature is that mystics become original, creative, consistent …this perhaps explains some mystics are too radical for the societies they live in


Mystics start following a moral lifestyle. This may look like the first baby step but actually the strings are far up and beyond … may be one could look at it this way-morality makes them akin to the final goal, they become more aligned with what they are trying to achieve, the message is sent to the universe … I will not harm.


I see how much morality appealed to me as I wanted to advance in meditation, how I kept coming back to the precepts for shelter and protection. For a mystic, the capacity to be immoral dies or reduces visibly. (for ref. to what is morality (abstain from sexual misconduct, lies, killing, intoxicants, and stealing (five precepts)


I became a vegetarian by choice … these changes came gradually. As old habits clung to me I started behaving differently from friends and family. Things that were completely acceptable till now lost appeal. Change begun. Everyone begins to witness their changes, its so personal


I have had a simple life. I heard someone ask a monk “you have done nothing wrong, you ordained as a child, have you not had enough of meditation, what guilt are you trying to get rid of?” And the monk answered in Pali, “hiri” he said. There is no English word for this … but yeah meditation will prevent you from falling. This is the only security, otherwise we are capable of harm. One moment we may be sitting and meditating and in another we will kill an ant, cheat on our beloved, or entertain an unwholesome thought. Fully enlightened monks become perfect, that’s the aim. Perfect not only in this material universe but also in future existences. Mystics, may be, are born like any one of us, but their death is ‘real experience’


To be able to be fearless and bold in the death transition is the extraordinary capacity of the monk. I remember my first few months in meditation in a monastery. I was meditating alone, it had been a few days since I had even spoken to anyone. I had not been told about the death-significance yet. I came back to my single room and slept. And woke up to experience I didn’t have a body, something similar to dying, I realized how extraordinary is the desire to enter a womb, I would have chosen any womb, a pig, reptile …anything! To be without body, and to be used to sensory experience is a compulsion, you are left with no choice. I think it lasted some few unbearable moments … so next time you go to the meditation hut expecting bliss, you know better ;)


So knowing how to die … I remember before I learnt meditation I would think why did the Buddha not make life convenient, like from his vast knowledge why did he not give us clean sources of energy, or cordless means of communication Look at our researchers today they are rendering technology that can be used by everyone… ahhhh I understood the nature of knowledge on beginning to learn meditation  Objects, names, mechanics is constantly changing form. If we look at the larger picture, the questions of utter significance were death, suffering, impermanence and non-self. And yes, it was for common use, any one could come and join the bandwagon and learn to meditate, nature has its laws, one has to learn to take on the reins, and drive.


Ok, metaphors are not very good here. Lets keep things clear, since we are talking mysticism;) What is it to learn to take the reins? It simply means to be able to do what one really wants to do. I want to lose weight, exercise everyday, not be late, be peaceful at all moments … most cases we are ruled by thousands and thousands of splits, sucking and soaking our energy. Meditators work on their presence. They can really listen, without anyone interfering. They can really be. I think that’s how its relevant for everyone.

All this talk about being in the moment, being real does not get real unless one has some preliminary capacity to concentrate. In my current state I will be thrown out of the Zen schools if I ever went there, these are people with high attention to details, fantastic memories, and yeah the skilled ones are really coming close to perfection. I am dirty clumsy forgetful limp! ( meditation teaches you to be okay, to progress but without the guilt of what or where you are)


So, here forth its largely heresay. As one learns to concentrate one gains clarity and starts getting intuitive knowledge … not about lottery numbers but something like what is the next level in meditation. Just don’t stop progressing, no matter how much or how little you know about mysticism. You won't even have to think and changes will come embrace you. Some of the mystics will go on and on and progress on the path of meditation till they reach the final goal, and some will stop to preach, worse still, some of us will leave the path, without reaching the final goal.



posted by Pooja

REMEMBERING

Last night I jumped up into the darkness of the blue sky and kissed a star, but then I realized that the star was kissing me back.....

And as I was looking into the eyes of the beautiful star,
I could clearly see that the star looked just like me.

We then began talking about life and how everything is truly connected, how everything is truly one.

Then the star said to me that when I realized I had the ability to create and destroy, to be for God or against God.....
That's when I could create my own world and in so doing, Life Happens!

I had just forgotten that we're all connected.

Bruce Thomas
09-26-09

Magick

Magick or is it Magic?

Someone recently asked me to teach Magick to them.  Most, I venture, do not even know what that word means.  They may think that they do, but hey, if all we had to do was think, then things should be pretty fantastic, right?  Yet so often we are left in a quandary, knowing that we do not really know, just because we think it so.

Magic - Are we talking parlor tricks, deception, manipulation, willpower, intent, multiple realities?  Or maybe I just want to know that what I see or perceive is knowable, determinable, influenceable.

Ahh influenceable!  Now there's a notion.  Can we actually influence our environment?  String theory says yes, but better yet, why would you want to?  Now, back to Magick, or did we ever leave?

Yes, magic - can you see the wind?  Magic - can you hear and feel nothingness?  Magic - can you reach both ways in time?  Are all sounds equally pertinent or relevant, or are some sounds revealing what we need to hear?  Be free to pay attention.  Is there a path or just our lives?  Make sure you allow yourself room to be free of encumbrances.

Magic is mystery, mysticism.  Magic is being able to let go, or is it let glow?  Me thinks they are the same. Poor Aleister I knew him well. He just did not want to sell himself short.  Looks like he had a very interesting life!