"Why Mystical Humanism?"
by Rev. Kimi Riegel
April 21, 2002
When I am asked what is your theological perspective, I
answer mystical humanist. “Why Mystical Humanist?” is the typical response. The short answer
is that while I believe we humans have the power to act within history and are
the only real power we can count on I am awed by the mystery of life. That
satisfies very few people. Thus this morning's sermon was born.
The
terms mystical and humanist in many ways stand in opposition to each other.
Humanism is a philosophy that rejects supernaturalism and stresses an
individual's worth and capacity for self-realization through reason, which is a
philosophy I value. Mystical, on the other hand, is defined as having access to
reality in a way that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the
intelligence. So it seems to be in direct conflict with the humanistic
philosophy, but then I have always been a both/and person. In my mind mysticism
and humanism form a paradox that holds all it means to be religious. For me
there are two aspects to the religious life: the
personal, mystical aspect in which the Mystery of life stands before us at all
times, seeking to be sought, and the communal, which concerns itself with human
relations. When speaking of the personal aspect of my religious life, ineffable,
amorphous, metaphorical, language may be used to try and discuss experiences.
But when speaking of the communal aspects of religious life, only the language
of Humanism makes sense to me.
It seems to me that humanity has gotten into a great deal of trouble not
being reasonable and stressing the supernatural. There are certainly times when
sitting around waiting for communion with “the holy other” is only going to
get one into more trouble. I believe no mystical union has helped the victims of
the wars in the
But then this little voice in the back of my head says Yeah but, the big
"Yeah but!!" Yeah but what about the people who are strengthened by
these collective acts of grace? Yeah but what about the "truth" that
is offered by these mystical traditions? Yeah but what about the times in my own
life when the mystical writings have spoken to me, have broadened my view of
reality, and have given me more hope?
Our rational mind is just part of what we need to appreciate life. We
also need the mystical. Reality is a mix of reason and imagination and fact and
mystery. In a paradox you can't have one without the other. We would not have
many of the scientific discoveries we have today if people weren’t able to
imagine beyond the senses. We, humanists included, need mystery to motivate us
to new ideas and keep us creatively moving on. But we need reason to keep us in
touch with the physical world, the world of our senses. Mystery reminds us that
there are some things we will never understand. Mystery keeps us humble. But
without some empirical grounding the day-to-day job of keeping our lives
together would be difficult. In the face of great personal mystery most of us
create facts using our imagination and test them out with our reason. We need
the mystical and the humanistic to be balanced people.
Some of my fascination with mystical traditions maybe an inability to get
my rational mind around the idea that all there is to the world is that which I
can rationally understand. Some of it may be the need to hold on to
transcendence and wonder. At least with the mystical traditions I am in good
company with my love of mystery, nature and senses beyond the basic five.
Whatever the pathology of my fascination for mystical traditions, when I
read from these texts I find new and different ways to appreciate the world. I
acquire hope, comfort, challenges to work harder and a peaceful understanding
that I don't get from physics journals. Some of it maybe the images that the
mystical writers use are more accessible to me, than the multi-syllabic language
of the sciences. There are certainly great sources of truth, such as Deep
Ecology, that span both the mystical and scientific tradition. And those
writings in fact are a great inspiration to me, but that's another sermon.
And really no matter why, mystical writings provide four things for me:
First they provide me with creative ways to view the world. Second these
creative ways often challenge me to live a bit closer to my values and be more
intentional in my actions. Third they are a source of comfort when I am
stressed. Fourth and perhaps most importantly they have truth in them. This
allows me to hold on to them and to quiet my rational mind. For me these four
are tied tightly together; the creative nature of a mystical passage gives me
comfort and the grains of truth quite the critic in my rational mind.
This morning's reading is a classic example of these gifts. It is a story
of light and the gathering of light. The image of the good things in life being
light and the bad being dark is problematic for me as is the whole notion that
there is a God. But that's my rational mind getting in the way. When I tell it
to go relax and just enjoy the images of a world with scattered pieces of good
everywhere it is a peace-inducing story. The story is a beautiful one of hope
and creativity. It doesn't say that the world is perfect or that anyone one is
really in control. We are all in this together, both the divine and the little
person like me. We are all struggling to gather the pieces of light. The job of
healing is something we must all engage in. It is a story that reminds me that
its up to me to work to improve the world, but even my little piece is
important. It challenges me to find the piece of light that is mine to locate
today. It challenges me to be watchful for my part to play in the gathering of
light. There is truth in this story for me. I can find evidence that in fact it
takes everyone to get somewhere. It is a fact that the rewards are not going to
come all at once, but instead in pieces.
Sure this story came from 16th century Jewish thought when there was a
need to explain the expulsion of the Jews from
I think once
we understand that an experience of the Mystery of Life is as important an
element in the religious life as is rational knowledge, the next step is to
"plunge” into the Mystery of Life. This is the most difficult step for
Humanists, because plunging into the Mystery of Life is often seen as an
irrational act. It is to participate in the world in untested ways, whether it
is exploring a new religious practice such as meditation, forms of worship that
make us uncomfortable – such as dance - or perhaps communing with nature or
reading mystical texts. And thus we must understand that what we find depends a
good deal on the type of spectacles through which we view life. Ramakrishna, a
Hindu mystic, teaches a simple lesson. He says that if you look at a white light
through a red medium, you will see a red light; through a green medium, you will
see a green light. Likewise, if you look at the Mystery of Life through Xian
eyes, you will see that Mystery manifested as Jesus. If you look at it through
Buddhist eyes you will see Ultimate Reality. If you look at it through Humanist
eyes, you will see it differently yet again.
The Jewish mystical traditions, of which Hasidic and Kabbalistic teaching
are two streams, are particularly attractive to me because they connect humanity
to the divine. Through their lens "God is structure and form of the world,
holding the world together and being present in the world at the same
time".
My favorite Kabbalist was
Abraham Abulafia. Other than the fact that his name is fun to say he had some
interesting ideas. He felt that the way to mystical union was through reciting
the various permutations of the name of God. The letters were to be recited in a
strict format to obtain union with God. His goal was not the emptying of the
mind but the filling of the mind with God. This, he wrote, would begin the
process of untying the knots that kept us separate from God. To him most of the
Universe was God, a god that was constantly around us. It was just a matter of
relaxing the knots or removing the protective sheath and we would become one
with that which comprises everything. This was a returning to the whole that
transforms divinity and the mystic.
This metaphor for the mysterious forces in life makes sense to me. If
there is a life force that sustains us it is most logically all around us. It
makes sense to me that when there is contact between the human and this
"Mystery of Life” each is changed. It makes some sense that this
“other” is always present. Of course my rational mind clicks in and says how
ridiculous this all is and certainly there is nothing that flows through us and
sustains us spiritually like fish in water.
But then I read an article on Dark Matter in the Smithsonian magazine.
Apparently science, in its rational and infinite objectivity, has discovered an
invisible substance that makes up most of the universe. Without such a
substance, there simply isn't enough matter in the universe to account for the
gravitational pull that exists. It is an unseen substance that apparently flows
through us. It is present around us all the time. The scientists are
calling it dark matter. Now some are trying to discover whether this substance
is an entirely new substance or more of the same stuff as we. So maybe Abulafia
was right, maybe this stuff is God. I know this seems, far fetched and now I'm really
stretching the point. But the only way I
have ever been able to define the Wholly Unknown is, as something that is
invisible, every present, that holds us up yet has no direct effect on every day
life. My mind says that nothing like this could exist and then along comes the
Smithsonian. It is a Mystery.
My rational mind doesn't like mystical writings, but I am not only a
rational mind. Mystical writings can bring challenges, comfort, and truth and
they are important as we try to connect imagination to reason and mystery to
fact. So for now I will hang onto my humanism, which doesn’t believe in the
supernatural, and my mysticism, that insists we are all connected through a life
giving force. Calling myself a mystical humanist may be just hedging my bets,
but the paradox keeps me going.