World Religions - Psychology of Mystical Experience - Term Paper Example

College: World Religions- Psychology of Mystical Experience Introduction Mystical religious experience is thepersonal, express experience of God whereby the barriers between God’s universe and the human being dissolve. Both the New Testament and Hebrew Scriptures tell of several people who were immersed into God’s Spirit. Within their pages, people are permitted to share God’s visions via Prophet Isaiah’s eyes (NIV Bible, Isaiah 1:1, 6:1-8) as well as entering into ecstatic mystical experience illustrated by St. Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2). Among the Christians, Jesus perfectly turned out to be one with God. Besides those named within the Bible, saints, mystics, and sages blessed with an intimate God’s knowledge have existed since the beginning of ages. Mystical experiences are opposite of the numinous experiences in a number of ways. All ‘otherness’ in mystical experience disappears while the believer becomes one entity with the transcendent. Through this, the believer discovers his/her similarity with the deity, cosmos, or other reality. According to Zaehner, quoted by James William (17), there are 2 typically varied mystical experiences: religious and natural mystical experiences. These two modes of mystical experience vary in their nature and scope with the natural mysticism being free from any particular tradition link like the religious mysticism. Actually, religious mystics are common among us today. For over the last 100 years, researchers in religious scientific study have had the ability of determining that God’s mystical experiences are actually not so rare (Vincent 1). The purpose of this paper is to interpret the mystical experiences using the approaches and theories of Freud and Jung. This paper will offer some social science and personal evidence that will aid in expanding this phenomenon’s understanding. Case Study: A Mystical Experience (summary) The narrator claims that he has experienced several mystical experiences across his life. He doubted the existence of a god in his entire life but could not go public on this. Through the various experiences, he has come to acknowledge the existence of such a figure. Through his experiences, he has understood that God has the ability of sending messages in order to teach people their lessons. He will continue sending the messages to his people, no matter the number of times they fail, until they agree as well as understand the places they went amiss. Consequently, it is imperative for people to understand all the signs, gestures, and symbols, as well as patterns, which come to them. The narrators conversations with others concerning God led to an understanding that God assists those who reach out for his assistance as well as those with faith and acknowledge their wrongs. The narrator has also expressed his concern that religion is somewhat unrealistic. He supports all the belief systems though he is still searching for truth regarding what he honestly believes in (see appendix). Literature Review: Mystical Experience The fact that not all people have had a/comprehensive personal mystical experience remains sad to me. All mystics’ great dream is that all people could cleanse their perception in order to experience the direct loving God’s presence in their lives. Vincent argues that anonymous and unknown mystics among ordinary people have been discovered in almost 50% of the population (1). In putting such experience into perspective, he provides two more facts concerning mystical experiences: first, mystical religious experiences commonly occur once or twice within the lifetimes of around 50% of the individuals reporting them. Secondly, although always profound, mystical religious experiences differ from one individual to another in terms of their intensity. Vincent says that Mother Theresa had just a single mystical experience, via a vision, in which Jesus commissioned her to India to serve the poor. He consequently comes up with the analogy that Jesus was given a beacon, while some of the individuals got just a lighting candle (2). Studying mysticism involves the study of both deliberate spiritual experience and mystical experience anticipated for a closer association with the divine. The deliberate spiritual practice could be such a ritual as meditation and/or prayer. A chief practice or characteristic of a mystic on the other hand is the ultimate rejection of physical and material and instead embracement of the direct experience to achieve unity with God. According to Underhill, there exists no harsh dualism, or any exact point of turning from gad material to good spiritual world. Rather, individuals are invited into a gradual sublimation process, which penetrates ever more intensely into universal reality (31). Mystical experience could be perceived as a big step towards enlightenment when interpreted as mystical. Such an experience forms the foundation for rituals or spiritual practice and can result into some unique belief sets (Lawson Para 1). From the mystical experience of the writer, it is clear that the writer’s desire is getting more experiences that are mystical and start an independent religion or denomination based on the revelations achieved after mystical experiences. The concept of experience is so wide and thus a mystical experience must be decidedly spiritual or have some religious context. Mystical experience is the generally construed direct encounter with absolute or divine (Sharf 96). The mystical experience above encompasses an existence feeling on some level and the writer is left with a new existence understanding and spiritual direction. The writer says that God has a purpose for every person and this purpose must be fulfilled and thus God will certainly appear to any person who does not realize his/her purpose. Thus, mysticism is the union with reality. Through various studies, some scholars have given definitions of mysticism as well as the basic objectives; there are varied approaches and interpretations to this concept. Underhill (35) argues that there are 5 stages in mysticism. These are “Awakening, Purgation, Illumination, Dark Night of the Soul, and Unity” (Lawson Para 2). Underhill acknowledges the diversity of mystics and states that her 5-stages need to be applied as just a mere summary of experiences of many. Mysticism has four tenets: the soul can perceive, is the divine’s spark, there is need for purification, and lastly, love is the only guide (Lawson Para 2). From the mystical case, his desire is to know the truth about God and come up with my own religion. This agrees with Palahniuk who claims that the life of an individual involves the urge to discover as well as differentiate reality from phony (2). Interpretation of the Mystical Experience Using Freud and Jung Approaches and Theories Freud and Jung gave a number of approaches and theories, which can be useful in the interpretation of the mystical experience among different people. These approaches and theories are used in interpretation of the above mystical experience. This section will start by looking at the awakening phase, which has been advanced by some other scholars. This phase marks the commencement of mystical path- awareness. In this situation, awakening feeling’s interpretation may be jumbled, or confused, regardless of the vivid desire to following the path. This stage may have “an overwhelming consciousness of God and of his own soul” (Underhill 27). From the case given, the writer was not sure that there was anything like a god in all his past days. He could keep to himself always and wander. However, this took a turning point after having a mystical experience, which made him believe there is a god and he had a number of experiences about it. Purgation: This is the act in which individuals clear unimportant things, and distractions, which could hinder the mystical path. Prayer and meditation are two commonly accepted and used modes of purging individuals from sins. Purgation calls for morality and discipline from participants when being carried out. In this stage, it can become clear how far the eventual objective of unity is. Many truths about oneself are learned in purgation state. This has been captured by Evelyn Underhill’s statement that the self has either a gradual or a sudden inclination towards true wisdom with this angle change affecting the whole character (33). Illumination: This is a divine reward. Believers get a consoling feeling that their soul is acting appropriately in this divine reward. It might be a sense of advancement and presence on mystical path. Illumination could be typified by light or “…is that which the mind by contemplation, is kindled to the burning of love” (Underhill 33). By looking at the narration of the above mystic experience, there are some levels of illumination, which leads to a feeling of satisfaction and happiness from God. This feeling is related with light’s connotations. This mystical experience interpretation could be compared with the “Dark Night of the Soul,” which is a period in which an individual feels abandoned by God and feels so lonely in his/her quest for unity (Lawson Para 5). This stage could be depicted as another form of purgation, a crucial stage, where withdrawal of God’s presence is felt deeply. The case shows that the narrator went to Israel, the holy land, and this must have been an effort of having more experience with God. The narrator has clearly stated that he wished that the mystical presence he went through could last for his entire life and then pointed out that he will always seek God and know the truth behind religion before enrolling in the existing ones. Wish fulfillment: Freud argued that religious belief is a mere “wish fulfillment,” which he referred to as “universal obsessional neurosis.” He argued that religious rituals, at their roots, are similar to neurotic obsessional acts. This is why people have acquired some norms and/or prohibitions or taboos to govern some activities (Argyle 104). For instance, the case given shows that the small children are taught to practice religion but they actually do not understand it. The case also points out to some societal members who honor religious so much in such a way that they their ideas and thoughts are disillusioned for the sake of religion. To Freud, religion is Oedipus complex of humanity and is based on illusions from human wishes. The case points out to the journey of the writer to Israel where he found it interesting to connect with the other Jews. During his interactions with them, he came to understand that mystical experiences were so prevalent in Judaism for a long time. This made the writer become closer with Judaism and learnt more about the Jewish mysticism. In essence, religion is based on wishes of human beings and is constructed by the mind in order to facilitate people to overcome their inner psychological conflict, fear of the natural world dangers, as well as stress stemming from societal structure. Freud’s account of religion may be an illustration of his individual wish fulfillment. Maybe he concocted such a fanciful religious account as a means of wishing God’s reality away as well as coping with bad experiences, which he had had with religion during his early childhood. While Freud, typically, established some casual connections stretching back into his childhood thereby implying a human behavior mechanistic account, Jung’s concern was placing man into a historical context that gave dignity and meaning to his life and ultimately meant a place within a purposeful universe. Jung differs from Freud, as he favors religion, and argued that some religious experiences were somewhat real. He also held that the society needed religion (Argyle 104). According to Tate, “Those who reject religion are … more likely to experience neurosis as a result of the remaining psychological tension…Jung can conclude that religion is a valuable entity.” (117) From the case given, religion is a clear natural process, which stems from the archetypes within people’s unconscious minds. As such, religion remains a beneficial phenomenon and performs the task of psyche harmonization. The case indicates that God will ensure that he gets a purpose to understand his/her purpose through mystical experiences until one understands it. Thus, religion is crucial and its removal would generate psychological problems. Conclusion In conclusion, religion is essential in the society though it seems a myth to many. Scholars have argued that it is important for people to trust and believe in something they acknowledge and understand. Thus, mystical experiences are a good platform for believers to develop their faith and beliefs. From the findings of this study, this paper can argue that all religions have their foundations on some mystical experiences at one point in time. Those who had the mystical experiences then started the different religions that the world has today. Therefore, more religions and denominations will continue mushrooming since people will continue having more mystical experiences. From the case study, the narrator argues that his desire is knowing the truth about religion before enrolling into any existing religion and this remains a challenge to the whole world. Is what we believe in the real thing? More needs to be done to understand and answer this funny question. Works Cited Top of Form Argyle, Michael. Psychology and Religion. London: Routledge, 2000. Print. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. Rockville, MD: ARC Manor, 2008. Print. Lawson, Tatiana. Religious Studies in Secondary Schools: Edward Norton among other Mystics. 25 April 2012, Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996. Print. Sharf, Robert H ELcperience. Edited by Mark C. Taylor, Critical Terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print. Tate, Jordan Lockyer. Philosophy of Religion for A-Level. New York: STP Press, 1999. Print. Underhill, Evelyn. The Essentials of Mysticism. Dutton: Public Domain, 1920. Vincent, Ken R. Mystical Religious Experiences and Christian Universalism. The Christian Universalist Association, 24 April 2012, Appendix Mystical Experience I have had many mystical experiences throughout my life. As I grow older I find myself experiencing mystical revelations quite often. All my life I was never really sure if there was a god. I would always just keep to myself and wander. I have now come to a realization that there is such a figure and I have felt his presence several times. Through my experiences I have found that god is capable of sending messages to teach you a lesson. No matter how many times you fail he will continue to send the same message until you agree and understand where you went wrong. This is beautiful to me. One must be aware of all symbols, signs, and gestures, and patterns that come toward you. From conversing with others about god I found that god helps those that reach out for assistance and for those that have faith and recognize their wrongs. For example, one day over winter break I felt a mixture of stress and excitement. All of a sudden I felt a huge rush that I never felt before and as I felt the rush I started pouring my heart out to god very happily. I wasn’t saying anything specific, I was telling him the good and the bad in my life because certain things you cannot tell other people. While I was ranting, getting everything off my chest I said if you hear me make the rush stronger and within two seconds the rush was much more intense. I had a smile on my face the rest of the day. I was so filled with joy and I didn’t know what to do about it. I wanted to tell everyone but I at the same time I felt I should cherish the moment and keep the sacred experience to myself. I was also a little afraid people would think I was crazy, I wasn’t event completely sure what had just happened. Looking back on this specific experience, I felt it was almost a dream because something so spectacular cannot happen in real life. These experiences have really allowed me to grow and mature, it enlightens me and brings my spirits up when I feel a connection to god. It makes me feel secure. I do not know which religion this falls under but I do believe in god. I know my relationship with continue to flourish in the future. I find religion to be very unrealistic. I greatly support all belief systems but I am still on journey to find what I honestly believe. Religion is a topic that I will never fully understand. There are people in society today that honor their religion to such an extreme that it is difficult for me to see them having any of their own thoughts and ideas. They seem to not be able to think outside religion. They have great imaginations since they believe all the mystical stories they are taught about the history of their religion yet anything else outside their religious boundaries is absurd to them. Relizon is based upon remains and evidence in history. The creator of the belief system bases their assumptions off what they assume to be correct but there is no correct answer. The religion I was born into was Judaism. I attended an extremely religious school growing up and I never understood the meaning. How and why do people become so engaged in their religion? Children surely don’t understand what they are practicing, I feel they are being brainwashed by their families’ teachings. This past break I traveled to Israel and I found it so interesting to really connect with other Jews in my holy land. I understood the meanings of their traditions and why they engage in certain practices. I visited a holocaust museum and the graves of those who did not survive the holocaust. I was taught about their day of rest and the Torah, which is the holy book for the Jewish people. I even learnt about Jewish Mysticism. Mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days. The Torah contains many stories of mystical experiences about angels, dreams, and visions. Towards the end of my journey I felt a deep connection and closeness to my fellow Jews and Judaism but not to any of their specific beliefs. I feel more comfortable creating my own religion with god.Bottom of Form Read More