(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Mystics

            
            
             In medieval mysticism the body was on of the most important components. Many mystics would starve themselves, inflict pain on their bodies and do other horrible things to bring about their visions and experiences. One of the mystics that practiced such things was St. Francis. To teach himself and ingrain into his head not to do certain things he would do unpleasurable things to his body to suppress evils. Over time St. Francis was able to deny evil thoughts and actions more and more. A specific example of this was in The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi. Friar Bernard was praying to God in the forest when St Francis called to him. He didn't respond and this angered Francis. He soon realized from God that Bernard would not answer him because he was praying with God. For punishment St. Francis ordered him to step on his mouth and neck three times. This is typical for mystics during that era. Another group that focused on the body was the catars. They believed that every earthly thing was satanic and evil. But this idea brings about a difficult view of Christ. How can the son of God consist of any evil? If the body is evil and God took the form of a man then Jesus" body must have been evil. This is an idea I have a hard time understanding, let alone believing. It seems throughout the history of religions, heresies and mystics there has been a demonstration of infinite gullibility throughout mankind. Anyone with an idea and a little charisma can get hundreds of followers.
             For every mystic there is a basic progression in which the soul will develop which is called the "mystic way". The section in the CR titled "Mystics of the Church" describe this process in three stages. It begins with purgation, which is the stage that deals mostly with pleasure and pain. In order to fulfill this aspect of the mystic way one must detach themselves from their material possessions and physical interests.


Essays Related to Mystics

1. Modern physics in the face of eastern mysticism

The universe is viewed as a web of relations between the parts of the unified whole; this, Capra argues, is true for the mystic and physicist. ... In the Western thought, one acquires scientific knowledge through experimentation and for the mystics one gains knowledge through experience. ... The Eastern thought is comparable to this theory since the mystics also transcend the three dimensional world into a four dimensional world. ... All of the above ideas and similarities can be seen as the divergence of the Western world view with the Eastern mystic thought. ... The mystics see the world...

  • Word Count: 2014
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. The Corporate Mystic

The Corporate Mystic The book that I chose to read is The Corporate Mystic by Gay Hendricks, Ph.D./ Kate Ludeman, Ph.D. ... The book states how a non-mystic and a mystic would handle the problem. ... However a mystic would: face squarely what happened, accept the situation, make a choice, and take an action. These two comparisons show a major difference between a non-mystic and a mystic. ... They mystics believe that it takes discipline to protect your time. ...

  • Word Count: 1984
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Religious Experience- Rudolph Otto and William James

The mystic seems unable to maintain the experience for a great length of time. ... During a religious experience James describes the mystic as being passive this is to say that although the mystic is fully aware of what is going on they tend to "lose themselves" in the experience. ... The consciousness of the mystic becomes blended with the reality of the divine. ... Otto says that the mystic is "sucked into" the divine and cannot stop it, it simply overwhelms them. ... Essential to the experience is the knowledge that the mystic is just a small part of a greater whole. ...

  • Word Count: 1099
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. battles

This is made evident when analyzing the works of Christian mystic, Margery Kempe, and Sufi poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, who despite the difference in gender and culture, shed light on the meaning of Truth through acts and words of devotion and love for a common God. Margery Kempe, who did not consider herself a mystic, led a normal life until a traumatic event thrust her into a life-long sojourn for truth and holiness. ... Jalal al-Din Rumi, a member of the mystic sect of Muslims called Sufi, wrote several poems in his lifetime. ... In the final stanza of the same poem, Rumi sheds some light on ...

  • Word Count: 616
  • Approx Pages: 2

5. A Glimmer of Hope

Sylvia Plath uses stunning imagery to describe the return of hope and faith from her tormenting depression in her poem Mystic. From the very beginning, Mystic is a poem about something that Plath is possibly trying to sort out and unable to grasp. ... From this point, Mystic seems to jump on the positive side. ... Mystic is a poem that takes the reader trough a journey of emotions. ... Therefore, she chooses the title Mystic for this person to represent that something she was searching for. ...

  • Word Count: 1168
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The Holy Grail

Although many have died searching for this mystic object, some still keep searching. First answering the question what is the Holy Grail to when Jesus had his last supper then to King Arthur sending his knights out on a mystic quest to find the grail to where the grail could possibly be today. ... From then on Joseph and his descendants guarded the Holy Grail until a mystic knight from King Arthur's court went on a quest to find the ancient grail. ... He did make a prediction that whoever the mystic sword belonged, was the rightful owner of the Siege Perilous seat at the round table. .....

  • Word Count: 1378
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Mysticism

I feel that James wanted to believe mystics but didn't actually fully understand it. ... James does come to three main conclusions about his ideas and theories of mystics that he believes. ... In other words, the person who has the mystic state, now knows, and doesn't question. The second conclusion that he came too was that outside people do not have to accept what mystics say or preach. If enough people believe what one mystic says about something because they had a vision, that only appeals to a certain number of people. ...

  • Word Count: 2044
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

8. After Apple Picking by Robert Frost

Even before we think of either a summary or a critical an appreciation of "After Apple Picking", we must remember that Robert Frost is a landscape poet. His poetry is always enriched with the depiction of agrarian and natural scenes. In "After Apple Picking", he presents a simple theme that how peac...

  • Word Count: 647
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. On the Beach

On the Beach By Nevil Shute The New York Times Book Review On the Beach, by Nevil Shute, was written just before the height of the cold war between United States and Russia in 1957. This book centers on an officer in the Australian Navy, Peter Holmes, and a submarine captain in the American Navy...

  • Word Count: 408
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question