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Definition: mysticism from Philip's Encyclopedia

Belief in a perception of reality that is elevated above normal human understanding. It may involve some form of spiritual search for unity of self with God or the universe. It is found in most major religions, and exponents of mysticism (mystics) may experience trances, dreams, or visions. In India, mysticism has long been important in Hinduism, and is based on Yoga. Mysticism in Judaism is apparent in Hasidism and the Cabbala. Mystics in the Far East have mostly been followers of Taoism or Buddhism.

mysticism

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(mĭs'tĭsĭzӘm) [Gr.,=the practice of those who are initiated into the mysteries], the practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God , the Absolute, or any unifying principle of life. Mysticism is inseparably linked with religion. Because of the nature of mysticism, firsthand objective studies of it are virtually impossible, and students must confine themselves to the accounts of mystics, autobiographical and biographical, or, as the mystics themselves say, they must experience for themselves. The terms mystic and mysticism are used very broadly in English, being extended to mean magic, occultism, or the esoteric. There are certain common fallacies current about mysticism: that mystics are not “practical” and that they are revolutionary; on the contrary, many of the greatest mystics have been both intensely active as well as submissive to authority of whatever sort. Nor is the “solitary thinker” necessarily, or even usually, a mystic. There is no accepted…
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Full text Article mysticism

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
A conscious and intuitive awareness of God, the divine or ultimate reality, achieved through direct personal experience. The word ‘mysticism’ derives from the Greek mystes , meaning ‘a person initiated into sacred rites’. Elements of mysticism exist in most religions, both Christian and…
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Full text Article mysticism

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(mĭs'tĭsĭzӘm) [Gr.,=the practice of those who are initiated into the mysteries], the practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God , the Absolute, or any unifying principle of life. Mysticism is inseparably linked with religion. Because of the nature of mysticism, …
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Full text Article Mysticism

From The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion
Mysticism is a specific type of religious experience that is difficult to explain because it concerns an individual’s special metaphysical relationship with the deity. Because mysticism deals with the ineffable, many scholars of mysticism frequently decline to define it. Nonetheless, it is safe to…
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Full text Article MYSTICISM

From Global Dictionary of Theology
Mysticism as a widely distributed religious phenomenon may be broadly defined as an immediate awareness of the presence of God that is “without the usual internal and external mediations found in other types of consciousness” (McGinn). A Christian understanding of mysticism presupposes its own…
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Full text Article mysticism

From Encyclopedia of Ethics
While ‘mysticism’ typically involves some experience in which the mystic attains a particular insight or understanding (whether through contemplation, prayer, or immediate illumination), there is no acceptable comprehensive characterization of mysticism as such. This article will deal broadly with…
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Full text Article MYSTICISM

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Austrian-born American physicist Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science, but man needs both. Mystical experience is necessary to understand the deepest nature of things, and science is essential for modern life. What we need, therefore, is not a synthesis, but a dynamic…
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Full text Article mysticism

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Religious belief or spiritual experience based on direct, intuitive communion with the divine or apprehension of truths beyond the understanding. It does not always involve an orthodox deity, though it is found in all the main religions – for example, Kabbalism in Judaism, Sufism in Islam, and the…
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Full text Article mysticism

From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
a doctrine or discipline maintaining that one can gain knowledge of reality that is not accessible to sense perception or to rational, conceptual thought. Generally associated with a religious tradition, mysticism can take a theistic form, as it has in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, or a…
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Full text Article mysticism in Judaism

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Judaism
Judaism has always included a stream of mysticism, dedicated to a symbolic and esoteric study of Torah rather than a historical, narrative, or legal approach. Jewish mystics emphasize an immediate, individual experience of God. Their goal is not merely intellectual understanding of Torah and…
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Full text Article mysticism

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
The theory and practice of religious ecstasies. Traditionally conceived as the spiritual quest for union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God and the perception of its essential oneness, mysticism is now understood to encompass many other varieties of ecstatic experience and perception, including…
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