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 Bridging the seen and unseen realms

 

Becoming a creative mystic

A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2009 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

 
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The relationship between creativity and mysticism essentially boils down to mysticism allows us to stand at the door way to unseen creative ability and creative power.

Mysticism is that aspect of humanity whose focus is on accessing and developing a relationship with the Source of Creation. Mysticism and the mystical experience lies at the root of all religious and spiritual traditions and practices. Mysticism is typically characterized as a belief that through love a man or woman can achieve a direct and immediate consciousness of God, Divine Truth or whatever we may call it, without the use of reason or any of the ordinary senses. The mystical is of the nature of a direct, intuitive or subjective perception beyond the ordinary range of human experience. It affirms the idea that truths about the unknown and unseen elements of Creation may be directly apprehended by intuition and/or meditation. It is an experience having a spiritual character or reality beyond the comprehension of human reason. The world in which the mystic lives is unknown to most individuals and it is a path into the unknown on which most individuals do not venture. As one can come to see in exploring their creativity, such truths can be readily gained and they can be accessed through relatively simply techniques using our intuitive guidance.

Creativity is about exploring the unknown. It needs to be remembered that creativity takes us into the unknown and the unseen realms of Creation at each and every level of our being and of Creation. Mind is of little value in any truly creative endeavor since mind only knows the past. To explore the unknown, we need to surrender to the flow of energy created by the intention we hold so as to not become lost in the unknown. It is to step out of mind to opening ourselves to feeling, become aware of the awareness which lies in what we feel and learn to navigate from the heart. It is to use our intuitive guidance for it is the most powerful tool for any creative endeavor. Since the world in which the mystic lives is unknown for most individuals and it is path into the unknown most individuals do not venture. So one should not be surprised if they stumble into a mystical experience as they explore the depth and breath of their own creativity. Accessing our unlimited creativity takes one to the source of their being and it is almost inevitable we will stumble into the Source of Creation. From a creativity perspective, accessing the deep undercurrents of Creation can give, but not necessarily, what one calls a mystical experience every time they are entered. This is one reason why it is essential to be able to be in a state of spontaneous and innocent childlike play of discovery and exploration when we enter these states for ultimately we are consciousness at play.

Here an important note needs to be made. It was said above, that "[Mysticism] It affirms the idea that truths about the unknown and unseen elements of Creation may be directly apprehended by intuition and/or meditation." In a creative endeavor it is essential we use and follow our intuitive guidance. However, relative to meditation, meditation is of the mind. If we think about it, we meditate based on an options mind think will give us the mystical experience we desire. It is here the essential difference between mysticism and creativity arises. Although mystics will look to follow their heart they do so based on what their mind believes is the path they must follow. That is, the mystics does not surrender totally and freely to the heart. Rather, they surrender to those aspect of the heart which align with the beliefs the mystic holds about what they are trying to obtain. This is why the typical mystic is found existing within some religious or spiritual tradition where as the shaman, who is a form of mystic, lies outside such tradition. The shaman, however, is usually bound by the cultural beliefs of the tribe in which they find themselves.

The creative experience quite different because it knows no tradition, social, religious, spiritual, philosophical or others wise. Rather the creator goes wherever the energy leads and to create is to move past all the limits and boundaries of mind. Any traditions is only a collect of beliefs and limits and barriers created by mind. To create is to step beyond all such limits and boundaries. Hence the statement above, the relationship between creativity and mysticism essentially boils down to mysticism allows us to stand at the door way to unseen creative ability and creative power. But to enter and step through the doorway, one has to give up all the beliefs of the tradition which brought the mystic to the doorway.

Relative to creativity and mysticism the heart is usually associated with love and mystics and the heart is symbolic of the flow of energy that lies at the source of our creative power for creative power lies in what we feel. As such, one can see why conscious creativity as described within the Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity understanding and material can be called applied mysticism and the mystic is only one who embraces such an understanding. Or, one who applies the understanding about our unlimited creativity is only a creative mystic. It can be said, the creative mystic is a mystic who elects to consciously create.

Applied mysticism is not about becoming a mystic. Rather it is about becoming a conscious creator in that we access the truth of our own being. It is to access through our own heart, the symbol of the flow of our creative life energy, the source of our creative powers in our current life and consciously act on what we know to step into the world and change the world based on the intuitive understanding you have gained. Here it needs to be noted that this is the piece that has been missing in almost all mystical traditions. Contrary to what may believe, most mystics have not learn how to step into the truth of their own being including understanding why they have an ego in the first place. Rather they follow the teaching of their tradition. Following any other in any way does not allow one to access and step into the truth of one’s own heart and what is provided by their intuition to act on that truth in the world. Rather, the mystic tends to follow someone else’s truth, usually the truth found within the tradition or the path of their teacher rather than their own truth.

In this regard, from a creativity perspective, the shaman whole learns to follow heir own truth within their culture come the closest to becoming a conscious creator and living and being the truth of their own being in the world than mystics. Most mystics withdraw from the world and the disciples of the mystic do the mundane work in the world, not them. There are reasons for this withdrawal and it has to deal with the level of their creative powers that they have, or have not, accessed and the particular focus of their attention and awareness which needs to be maintained. The problem is that we can’t live our truth from the mind and what it thinks and what it has been told. It has to be done through the heart and through feelings. Living a mystical truth in the world as the world currently exists is extremely difficult. To do so is to walk the ultimate left hand path. It is much easier to withdraw from the world than walk the truth of one’s being in the world. The intent and purpose of the Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity understanding and material provides a doorway for individuals to enter this mystical world if one so choose and yet remain in the world. If we act to became a conscious creator we can expect to have mystical experiences. However, if we become a mystic we will not necessarily become a conscious creator.

On this point an important distinction needs to be made here. To mentally know we are an infinite multidimensional being as one discovers in the mystical experience is one thing. To act on that knowing even when your enculturated mind and society can not fully embrace what that means is something completely different and will result in a completely different experience of Physical Creation. The difference is a great as night and day. In fact, the proverbial comparison of light being equated with awareness and understanding (enlightenment) and darkness equated to unawareness and lack of understanding is an attempt to bridge the magnitude of this difference.

But the issue is not about a mental understanding, awareness and enlightenment as opposed to a lack of understanding, unawareness and unelightenment. It is the difference between knowing and not acting on what we know versus knowing and fully acting on what we know in spite of what our mind thinks. The issue is acting in the world and, in particular, acting on the truth of our being not the truth of another or a tradition.

For example, to say there exists a God within another is very different than living and acting from that truth. To act on that truth is to realize we, as is each individual, are the perfect expression of that God and are having the perfect experience desired by that God that resides within the individual. So there is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with what we are experiencing no matter how joyful or painful it is. This is true because it is what the God within Who created and desires, for whatever reason, to experience what we experience.

More importantly, the individual who stands before us whomever they be - lover, enemy or an annoyance and irritation, or the experience we have is exactly what this God within has chosen to create and experience. To deny what is before us and the experience we have in any way and/or to deny the role of the God within creating it and is to deny what is within our own being and the creator/Creation and creation/Creation. But this is true for each aspect of our life. He or she who stands before us, whomever they are and whether we like them or not, is exactly what we have asked to experience. If we read and act on what is in this material, we can see for ourselves the truth of these words. For many, these words are too much to be believed and just another impossibility to be faced. Yet what is said here is the truth that lies within the Story of the Rainmaker, the Hawaiian Ho’oponopono techique and the need for us to take responsibility of what we experience.

The creative mystic

Relative to this discussion, to live in full alignment with our creative passion and fully surrender to flow with our creative life energy and the desires of Creation such that there is no separation between the two is to what is best called the creative mystic

As discussed above, the mystical is of the nature of a direct, intuitive or subjective perception beyond the ordinary range of human experience. It is an experience having a spiritual character or reality beyond the comprehension of human reason. A mystic is one who has had such experiences and lives in a world of these types and kinds of experiences. It is a world of oneness where everything is interconnected. The mystic tends to be very detached and as such seems to live in a world of spirit and the unmanifested.

The creative mystic does this and more. The creative mystic is the mystic who lives equally across all levels of being. They are both a rainmaker and like the wind coming with nothing and leaving with nothing, wherever they go and wherever they find themselves. They fully embrace and live their creative passion for they know they are one with it and it has a purpose and is reflective of a role to be played. Yet they also have a parallel passion for all of Creation and for each and every aspect of Creation to freely express its uniqueness.

To talk of the creative mystic, is to talk about what has been called agape. Agape is that intense love that consumes the one who loves. The concept of agape has not survived in any way in common English usage, it can best be described as that form of love that a human consciously holds and experiences that melds them with the Divine while in Human form. Words cannot begin to do it justice for it is seen as something beyond the physical experience. It is the ultimate mystical experience.

Given that definition of agape provided here, we can see there is a spectrum to what agape represents. If agape is that all-consuming top most point where what can be called the creative mystic resides, there are lesser forms of this all consuming love in two ways. One is an all consuming love across a our being, entering each and every facet of our life, but we are not of the realm of the creative mystic. The other way is similar in that there may be an all consuming love in one area but not necessarily all consuming across all realms of our entire being. Rather it is in one area or aspect of our being for example in the spiritual dimension of our being. In this case we would be at the equivalent level of a mystic.

Probably the best description of an individual who is mystical in only a portion of their life is that artist or musician. They seem to be in communion with the Divine in their "work" but the remainder of their life does not possess that same mystical balance that a mystic would experience. It is these "lower" forms of agape that are best addressed by the concepts of enthusiasm and/or passion for a subject. We can be enthusiastic about life and living. We can have an all-consuming passion for being in physical form or one can be enthusiastic about a subject, topic, object or person. There are a variety of all-consuming ways to focus our attention and awareness. We only need to assure, however we choose to live, that we learn to creatively walk going into and out of balance between the heart and the mind as appropriate to our creative endeavor.

To move to live our creative passion we will move toward the realm of the creative mystic. Living our creative passion as discussed in this Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity material is not meant to create mystics rather it is just to access and release our unlimited creativity. However, living it will call us forth into mystical experiences and the experiences we have can be very similar. Similarly, our creative passion may encourage a few potential mystics to undergo their journey further into their own heart and become who they were meant to be - a creative mystic, a co-creator of Creation with unlimited creativity. In any case, the goal here, is to create balance in our live and the lives of others to be fully in tune with, and living, our creative passion with the free unfettered expression of our creative spirit.

Related topics
Shamanism and the shaman
Mysticism and the mystic
Becoming a creative mystic

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