Spirituality and Mysticism

dervishes to the Dalai Lama to rishis living in caves in the Himalayas.  And there are different systems of spirituality that have been developed over hundreds and even thousands of years in religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, certain branches of Christianity and Judaism, and so on (although most of these systems contain historical accretions as well as vital spirituality).

 The system I will use is based on a modern form of Sufi mysticism that incorporates the wisdom of other systems, but it is modified to be consistent with the insights we will glean from physics and neuroscience.  Sufism is an ancient way of knowing that does not correspond exactly to any of the better-known religions.  It might be described as the religion of experience.  The Sufis, ideally, are those who accurately understand and experience all levels of existence, particularly those associated with the deepest emotions.  A more traditional definition of Sufism would be that it is the mystical, esoteric branch of Islam, a branch that started with Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali, flowered in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and continues today.

 It is my hope that making spirituality-mysticism consistent with science will clarify it so it is both accessible and appealing to many more people than it has been in the past.  In fact, despite the materialistic bent of our society, I believe it is an advantage for the aspiring mystic to be living in the age of science, for as we will see, physics can help to clarify the metaphysical structure of existence, and neuroscience can help in distinguishing between physical brain-body effects and nonphysical insights, and in understanding spiritual practices.

BELIEF