I had my first mystical experience at the age of 30 months. As I chanted during a Catholic Latin Mass, I was one with the Sacred, the presiding priest, and every person in the pew. I remember feeling the embrace of Divine as I intoned with the priest and answered with the congregation. I felt the melody of divine love that filled with wonder and awe. It wasn’t until my sister elbowed me that I came crashing back into the mundane.
You see, at 30 months, I did not realize that this experience was out of the ordinary. I did not know that mystics were the few in number who lived in communion with the Sacred and regularly experienced wonder and awe. I didn’t understand that my experience of communion — unity with all — was out of the ordinary. A somatic memory of this event was lodged into my being. I promptly forgot about this experience only to have it resurface decades later.
I shared this experience in the forward of my first book. It was then that I finally identified this experience as mystic. Since then I have spent some time glancing over my shoulder into other memories. What have I discovered? That what happened to me as a 30 month old was not an isolated event. It was a true, poignant, unfiltered memory of how my inner mystic connected to all. I had only to open my eyes to recognize how I truly interacted in the world.
Being a mystic is not for the exalted few. It is available to all of us when we open our eyes and see the wonder and awe of the world. When we peer into our life with mystic’s eyes, we see with empathy and compassion. We know with certainty who we are, what our our responsibilities to the world are, and how we are required to interact in the world.
As a mystic, we connect to the Sacred in everything we do. We travel the web that connects us and all of creation to the Source. We understand the necessity of this connectivity. Using the power of our empathy, our compassion sparks across that web — the whole becomes stronger than any part or any combination of parts. This knowing is foundational to a mystic’s engagement in the world.
For a world that is so connected on a material level, we have forgotten the old unity that connects us to one another through our body, mind, spirit, and heart. The web is weakened as siloed webs are created. Chaos reigns; the web of all unravels. The mystic voice that cries to be heard is falling in a chasm of deaf ears. And, I wonder, do we have to destroy the web in order to recreate it? I do not know the answer to that question. But, I hope not.
What will bring us back to the old unity? It will happen when we see wonder and awe reflected in the eyes of everyone we meet. It will happen when we acknowledge the wonder and awe reflected in all of creation. Rediscovering the older unity will occur when we courageously address our fears of scarcity. When we stop judging and defending, we will find those pockets of peace and calm within the chaos. And, in those pockets we will accept our inner mystic and respond with wonder and awe in each interaction. We will be a daring paradigm of mystics powered by wonder and awe and manifested in empathy and compassion.
Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is a Mindful Coach, Neural Synchrony™ Facilitator, Compassion Consultant, Professional Speaker, and Author who weaves her inner wisdom into all she touches. Vanessa offers Neural Synchrony™ sessions to assist clients in navigating their life paths with intuition. Her books are A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships and Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action. Contact Vanessa for keynotes, programs, and consultations.
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