Mysticism and ecology are both terms that get overused without much consideration from popular culture. Perhaps it's because both concepts in their pure form surround and permeate, like æther, many realms of thought. In an effort to validate our own small places in the cosmos, we all grasp at the æther without understanding its true character.
To become an ecologist, one must set aside political or emotional biases and study hard science. To appreciate mysticism, one must set aside doctrine and cultural prejudices and observe the spiritual world.
ecology: the branch of biology dealing with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
mystic: a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity or identity with or absorption into the Deity or the ultimate reality, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the understanding.
~Barber, Katherine, ed. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. (1998). Toronto: Oxford University Press Canada.
Mysticism is not a specific religion or set of beliefs. It does not emphasize a particular concept of God or human nature. It has found expression throughout history in many independent cultures, from the ancient Far East to aboriginal American people to Medieval European Christianity to modern psychology.
Rather than teaching doctrine, it asserts that truth will become evident to those who seek it through contemplation and personal contact with the Divine. This experience, widespread if not universal, presents compelling evidence for the reality of the spirit. It has guided an overwhelming number of the world's great thinkers, artists and humanitarians. And rather than condemning the masses of humankind, it presents a vision of goodness and hope.
All written material and images are ©1997-2001 Van Waffle. This page updated Feb. 11, 2001.
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