nn,1,2

1.4.2 mysticism

In the science of mysticism, there are scientific principals which operate to enhance the quality of human consciousness. It is a scientific study, the study of mysticism. In this science, there are objective and subjective components. In the objective realm there is the practitioner, the mode or methodology for transformation and the goal or objective. Now I have said it is a science, it requires scientific analysis. That is to say, there must be an objective or tangible measurement which can be taken as well as a subjective experience. There must be quantifiable evidence that a particular methodology, when applied, will produce certain results. In the science of mysticism, the desired result is the transformation of subjective experience. Now it may be argued that this is not an objective or measurable criteria. However, in fact it can be measured. Do you know how? It is measurable through the objective alterations in the behavior and perception of the individual who has employed the methodology. So you see, there must be objective and observable changes in the individual. These can be measured and compared, let us say longitudinally to the earlier measurements taken of an individuals' perceptual skills, subjective report of experience and objective behavior.

So a study can be done in the scientific sense of the objective phenomenon associated with the transformation of consciousness in the field of mysticism. That is why I say it is a science. It is not dependant upon belief or superstition. You may believe, you may not believe, it does not matter. If the methodology is applied and the practices done on a regular basis, there will be, over time, quantifiable shifts in perception and experience that may be objectively measured. So you see, there is an objective aspect to the science of mysticism.

There is another aspect and that is the subjective experience. It is the internal alterations in perception that occur as the individual becomes self aware. With the enhanced development of cognition, and the expansion of consciousness, subjective experience becomes altered and perception modified.

So when a person asks him/herself "Who am I?", there will be a shift in the subjective experience. The person who once considered themselves an individual, isolated, separated from all others, a tiny person, that person will subjectively experience an alteration in the perception of self. So that when this question is asked, they will find themselves saying "I am not this little person I had thought myself to be, I am united with my Divine Lord, I am one with the infinite. I have no beginning that I can remember, and no end. My forms have been infinite, my colors more numerous than the rays of the sun. I am resplendent in myself, pure, and without flaw. I am radiant and self resplendent. All creation exits within me. I had forgotten myself, and in my forgetting, I thought I was a human being, a small creature in the infinite play of my existence. But now I have awakened and I am recalling who it is that I am".

Like this, the subjective experience of the one who has pursued the study of mysticism will be fundamentally and permanently altered. Both subjectively and objectively the practitioner of the science of mysticism will, over time, be fundamentally changed. So if you wish to enter a scientific field of study which will challenge you in all spheres, then the field of mysticism is a very great area to pursue. Become a student of mysticism for your own welfare and the welfare of all beings.