Mysticism

I was highly sceptical going into this weeks lecture.
Mysticism is not something I necesarily believe links religion, visions, out of body experiences and internal suffering together. I think of these phenomenons as being rather different. Regardless, for purposes of this course let us assume that they could be.
Before this lecture I couldn't quite explain how religion exists and the existance of mysticism certainly helps. I always thought religion was a set of rules and principles that had been tried and tested, then put into a book in order to keep humans living safely and harmoniously alongside eachother. The law enforcement part comes from the constant threat of sin and going to hell.
Another is that the origins of Religion came from mystics, which could very well be considered schizophrenic if they were alive today. Is this a failure of modern science or a misdiagnosis/misunderstanding of mysticism? I'm not entirely sure.

It takes all types to make up the world, I would not wish for mystics not to exist.

William James wrote a book called Varieties in which he talks about mysticism. They seem to be the epitome of democracy, the type of person democracy wishes to produce; someone rational, detached and just.
"subjects are passive with respect to them (mystical experiences): they cannot control their coming and going. Are these states, James ends the chapter by asking, “windows through which the mind looks out upon a more extensive and inclusive world[?]” (V, 428)." http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/james/#5 ( Under the heading '6. The Varieties of Religious Experience)

I would have to say they are. If they truly exist and are a passive experience, letting people view a situation outside their own bodies reflectively, then I think they are important for human development. This sounds like something politicians strive to do their entire lives; to step back from situations and view them in this way.
If someone has the power to do this naturally, then all power should be given to them, what CAN'T be proved is whether they are telling the truth or not.

It seems that mysticism links all religion and schools of thought together as well. Every religion has a fictitous, unprovable component to it that goes against modern science. Two schools of mysticism seemed to create most Eastern and Western religions as well. In this blog post, Taylor Marshall explains that fundamentally different mysticism, Christocentric and Theocentric were adopted by east and west, making their religions based on the same thing yet slightly different. the West was concerned with  humility and the Blessed mother, the east with divine essences and divine energies.

Left: The Fundamental of Jewish Mysticism: http://www.jlcsouthflorida.com/userfiles/image/mysticism.jpg
We saw this type of mysticism in Master Liu workshops last term, talking about the Qi (energy) that flows through the body. This is just as abstract an idea as the existance of a blessed mother. Each person that is brought up within these religions usually accepts them having had no mystic experience of their own.

If this mystical experience happens OUTSIDE the realm of that persons beliefs, then they would consider themselves to be going mad (shizophrenic) and if it is outside the realms of doctors, which it usually is, this causes them to be diagnosed as such.

This sort of unexplained inspiration comes out in so many ways. Through music, poetry, writing, performance of any kind really. It is only explained as 'inspiration'. But where does it come from? it is not tangible. It cannot be explained rationally.

Someone like Frida Kahlo is a perfect example of a suffering mystic who made her own reality. From the readings (Diaries, Journals and Self Image) we can deduce that her diary was paradoxical (p. 24) as mysticism often is, she experienced 'first hand sensations transcribed and recorded'(p 25) and as we all know mysticism is a personal, non transferrable experience. Her suffering, her visions and her diary are a testiment to mysticism existing.

Picture one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/69/212056753_ac1956e57e_m.jpg
William James: http://www.nndb.com/people/569/000087308/william-james-3-sized.jpg

Frida Kahlo:
http://www.linesandcolors.com/images/2007-06/kahlo_387.jpg