“If the Mystic Way be considered as an organic process of transcendence, this illuminated apprehension of things, this cleansing of the doors of perception, is surely what we might expect to occur as man moves towards higher centers of consciousness. It marks the self’s growth towards free and conscious participation in the Absolute Life; its progressive appropriation of that life by means of the contact which exists in the deeps of man’s being—the ground or spark of the Soul—between the subject and the trancendental world. The surface intelligence, purified from the domination of the senses, is invaded more and more by the transcendent personality; the ‘New Person’ who is by nature a denizen of the independent spiritual world, and whose destiny, in mystical language, is a ‘return to the Origin.’ Hence an inflow of new vitality, a deeper and wider apprehension of the mysterious world in which man finds himself, an exaltation of our intuitive powers.
“In such moments of clear sight and enhanced perception as that which Blake and Boehme describe, the mystic and the artist do really see the Four-fold River of Life—that World of Becoming in which, as Erigena says, ‘Every visible and invisible creature is a theophany or appearance of God’—as all perhaps might see it, if prejudice, selfhood, or other illusion did not distort our sight.” ~Evelyn Underhill
Organic Process of Transcendence
The Mystic Way is an “organic process of transcendence” because it is a natural one. It doesn’t involve drugs or hypnosis. Those things produce fantasies, not transcendence. And simple meditation, while it can be one step in the process of transcendence, is not the complete process as believed by many. Underhill mentions Jacob Boeme in the quote above. Jacob Boeme had his transcendence when the sun reflected off a metal bowl and into his eyes. Now that is not a recommendation that we all go out and try to repeat what happened to Boehme. He was fortunate that he wasn’t blinded by that “accident.” St. Francis was watching the sunrise when he had his awakening. While they don’t often mention it, those in mystical schools know that many others were practicing some form of spiritual sun gazing to awaken their spiritual Self. The Essenes did it, as did the Pythagoreans, just to name a few. It is an important part of the Mystic Way in any real spiritual school.
Illuminated Apprehension
Today, apprehension generally refers to a fear of something unpleasant coming, but I think that when Ms. Underhill wrote about mystical apprehension, she meant it in a more general way as having some knowledge or insight into the future, whether pleasant or not. She further defines it as a “cleansing of the doors of perception” meaning that the veils of materialism and materialistic beliefs are removed for the mystics, allowing them to see the reality of a thing or being. In addition, their spiritual senses are functioning and reveal things hidden to the physical senses.
As Man Moves Forward
We have gone through centuries when religion and spirituality have slowly been reduced to a very small part of our lives, or worse yet, religions teaching material things rather than spiritual ones. Thankfully, that trend seems to be ending and more people every day are rediscovering the need for a spiritual life as well as a physical and mental one. It is not easy when we and our governments are so much under the control of the big multinational corporations that emphasize the material. Fortunately, we have the power of the promised Sun of Righteousness shining down upon us now and helping people to awaken their spiritual Selves. There will, of course, be resistance from the forces of darkness, but the Light will prevail.
From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette