the modern mystic
CORE BELIEFS
1.The belief that everything and everyone is part of a pattern and thus interconnected.
2. The belief in the existence of an alternate reality, often referred to as the 'other world', the 'spirit world', the 'dreamtime', or simply, 'the sacred' by the traditional peoples. Modern mystics often refer to it as 'nonordinary reality'.
3.The belief in the ability of some individuals to achieve transcendent states of consciousness in which it becomes possible to enter into this alternate reality for problem-solving and the healing of self and others. This belief is usually accompanied by a strong desire to personally experience the alternate reality.
4. The belief in the existence of spirit helpers and spirit teachers who reside in the alternate reality.
5. The belief that everything, both living and inanimate, is imbued with its own personal supernatural essence or soul. This includes the certainty that everything everywhere is aware and thus 'minded' to some degree.
6. The belief in the existence of an impersonal supernatural power or vital force that is highly dispersed throughout the Universe, but which can be highly concentrated in certain places, objects, and living beings as life-force.
7. The belief in a personal energy body around and within which the physical body is formed. This energetic aspect can be perceived by those with psychic awareness as an aura, and modern mystics know that it can be enhanced through centers located within it--the chakras and meridians in Eastern thought.
CORE VALUES
8. Modern mystics hold a strong concern for social justice and the quality of life at all levels of society, both nationally and internationally.
9. Social tolerance, individualism, and spiritual freedom are highly valued ideals.
10. Strong support is felt for women's issues as well as the safety and well-being of children and the elderly. The rebuilding of families, neighborhoods, and communities are seen as major areas of concern, and human relationships are perceived to be of more importance than material gain.
11. Spiritual, mental-emotional, and physical balance and harmony are seen as critical to the well-being of the individual, the family, the society, the business firm, the nation-state, and the planetary community as a whole. Accordingly, it is understood that humans must live their lives in ways that contribute to this balance, rather than following lifestyles or pursuing goals that create its opposite.
12. Modern mystics are environmentally savvy. The survival of the environment and by association, the human species, is number one on their list. They carry a deep respect for Nature and are seriously concerned with stopping corporate polluters, reversing greenhouse warming, and discovering the limits to short-term growth so that the world community can achieve the long-term ecological sustainability upon which the future of humanity depends.
13. Accordingly, the value of simple, natural living is seen as a high ideal.
14. Modern mystics tend to hold strong feelings of disaffection for Western allopathic medicine. These concerns are being greatly enhanced by the increasingly negative effects on the quality of healthcare being introduced by the business-oriented and profit-motivated Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs).
15. While all are very much aware of Western Medicine's often miraculous achievements, most of us have strong interests in alternative and preventative healthcare modalities (holistic, shamanic, transpersonal, herbalist, acupuncture, ayurvedic, and meditative, to name only a few). These therapies are seen as 'adjuncts to' rather than as 'replacements for' Western Medicine.
16. No one today can deny that the world's social, political, economic, and religious problems are reaching critical mass. Modern mystics believe that the ultimate solutions to all our problems will be achieved through the current spiritual reawakening as it progresses from the personal to the global. They know that it has the potential to propel humanity into the next phase of its evolution as a more aware life form with more expanded abilities.
17. Finally, virtually all who hold these beliefs and values are seekers of the direct, transformative experience of transcendence, and it is really this that defines us as mystics.
The members of this growing social movement are searching for ways to organize their lives in a personally more satisfying manner. Paul Ray's study suggests that we should take hope, for we are traveling in the company of an enormous number of allies who are everywhere, in every community, and at every level of society, revealing that this steadily-escalating social phenomenon has all the appearances of a spiritual revolution.
The sheer number of people involved suggests that the modern mystical movement, of which the so-called New Age is a part, is not a fad. Rather, a true Transformational Community is emerging, one whose beliefs, values and trends are already in the process of shifting the cultural norms of Western Society.
The majority believe that the individuals involved in this movement are the 'seed people' who may determine the shape of the world's spiritual orientation and practice for much of the next 2000 years. If true, the history of the planet will be profoundly and inescapably changed by the spiritual resurgence going on in the Western world. The results will be felt at every level of society, in every country, and will, by association, determine much of the politics and individual lifeways of the 21st Century.
Hank Wesselman
