Mysticism, Thick and Thin

Everyone can sense the divine, not just a select few. The chapter argues that the classical mystical experience—marked by a sense of rightness, mental enlargement, conceiving the inconceivable, sudden joy, and sustained satisfaction—is common to all people in some degree. It queries whether this greatest prize is denied to most and concludes it is not, suggesting we are all mystics without needing to be contentious.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This chapter suggests that we are all mystics nowadays but we need not be contentiously so. It queries the mystic vision, asking if it is conceivable that just this, allegedly the greatest prize of all, is denied to the vast majority of mankind. The chapter suggests is that it is not so denied — everyone can, in some way, sense the divine. The chapter brings up other concepts related to the subject: the empty void of seeming meaninglessness; the emergence of rightness or pattern and the accompanying enlargement of the mind; the conceiving of the inconceivable; the sudden joy, the sustained satisfaction. It argues that these are the acknowledged marks of the classical mystical experience and they are common in some degree to us all.