The following are excerpts from a discourse given by the Byzantine Christian monk and poet, Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 AD), to the monks of the Monastery of St. Mamas.
Tag: mystical experience
Mystical Experience is Christianity’s Savior
Until we can get back to direct primary first-hand personal intimate contemplative mystical ecstatic experience of God in the lives of each and every human being, then God will increasingly become an abstract distant concept instead of a Living immanent reality.
Exodus 3 BHT, Moses Meets God as a Fire in His Self
An addition to the BHT, my translation of Exodus 3, one of the signature chapters of the Old Testament and Torah, where Moses first encounters God in a burning bush, which I perceive was a mystical vision of God within Moses' very own mind and heart (cf. Psalm 104:4; Isaiah 33:14).
“Science & Spirituality” a TEDx talk by Jeff Lieberman
This is one of the best TEDx talks I've encountered. In it Jeff Lieberman talks about science and spirituality the same as I have experienced them, including regarding the unitive mystical experience as perhaps the ultimate value in human life.
The Mystical Meaning of Christmas
At this time of year the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus during a holy day we call Christmas. This birth happened some two thousand years ago, which brought into the world a man who many billions of people today have come to adore and worship as both human and divine.
The Mysticism of Joseph Smith
I see mysticism in Joseph Smith and his work at nearly every turn. Joseph united his mind and consciousness in God to such a great degree that he spoke with the voice of Christ. One only does that if one is genuinely in mystical union with God, or delusional, or a con man (a fake). I perceive Joseph was the first, and I'll share a few reasons why.
Didn’t the First Vision Reveal the True Nature of God?
A kind reader reached out to me and asked me to elaborate how my writings about the nature of God work with Joseph Smith's First Vision, since it seems that his vision was meant to "clear up the confusion" surrounding the nature of God, the prevailing idea that God "was not made with body, parts or passions." Wasn't "the point" of his vision to "define for the world who/what God was"?
Our Loss of Mystical Consciousness
God wants to speak to us. God yearns for it, and many of us yearn for it too. God wants us to know Him ourselves, in our Selves. This is the very definition of Eternal Life (John 17:3). But we must do our part. We must get out of our own way. We must surrender and submit our egos, our egoic mind, in order to allow God to speak to us. The Prophet Joseph Smith seems to have known how to do this, but we seem to have lost this ability today, even the kinds of practices that lead to it.
What is the Resurrection?
I don't think there is any evidence in nature that bodily resurrection can happen. I think this is a misunderstanding of the resurrection.
What are we to make of these “First Vision” accounts?
I've now posted eighteen "First Vision" accounts here on ThyMindOMan.com. There are many more coming. I thought I'd take a moment to share some comments about them as a whole.