Mysticism
Seeking transcendent union
Mysticism is the pursuit of direct, personal experience of the divine or ultimate reality—union with God, the cosmos, or transcendent truth through contemplation, meditation, or spiritual practice rather than reason or doctrine.
Mystics across traditions report similar experiences: dissolution of the self, ineffable insight, profound unity with all existence.
The term extends to any belief system emphasizing intuitive spiritual knowledge over empirical evidence: Her mysticism made her skeptical of purely scientific explanations.
Used dismissively, mysticism suggests woolly thinking or obscurantism.
Islamic spiritual mysticism
- KabbalahJewish esoteric tradition
- GnosticismSalvation through hidden wisdom
- VedantaHindu philosophy of ultimate reality
- ZenMeditative Buddhist school
Taoism · Hasidism · Neoplatonism · Hermeticism · Rumi · Teresa of Avila · Hildegard · Julian of Norwich
Surpassing usual limits
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- divine unionSpiritual oneness with deity
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- illuminationProvision of light
ecstasy · gnosis · nirvana · samadhi · moksha · satori · communion · revelation
Focused attention practice
- contemplative prayerSilent, receptive spiritual practice
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
visualization · asceticism · retreat · silence · solitude · vigil · zazen · yoga
Imagined or prophetic sights
- tranceSemiconscious, unresponsive condition
- altered statesModified modes of awareness
- raptureOverwhelming ecstatic feeling
- ecstasyOverwhelming intense delight
levitation · stigmata · voices · apparitions · dark night · ineffability · timelessness · ego dissolution
Concealed from view
- hidden knowledgeInformation deliberately kept concealed
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- arcanaEsoteric specialized knowledge
- alchemyMystical metal transformation
magic · symbolism · cipher · veil · revelation · adept · master · seeker
Sufism
Islamic spiritual mysticism
- KabbalahJewish esoteric tradition
- GnosticismSalvation through hidden wisdom
- VedantaHindu philosophy of ultimate reality
Zen · Taoism · Hasidism · Neoplatonism · Hermeticism · Rumi · Teresa of Avila · Hildegard · Julian of Norwich · esoteric
transcendence
Surpassing usual limits
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- divine unionSpiritual oneness with deity
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
illumination · ecstasy · gnosis · nirvana · samadhi · moksha · satori · communion · revelation · awakening
meditation
Focused attention practice
- contemplative prayerSilent, receptive spiritual practice
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
mantra · visualization · asceticism · retreat · silence · solitude · vigil · zazen · yoga · whirling
visions
Imagined or prophetic sights
- tranceSemiconscious, unresponsive condition
- altered statesModified modes of awareness
- raptureOverwhelming ecstatic feeling
ecstasy · levitation · stigmata · voices · apparitions · dark night · ineffability · timelessness · ego dissolution · cosmic consciousness
occult
Concealed from view
- hidden knowledgeInformation deliberately kept concealed
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- arcanaEsoteric specialized knowledge
alchemy · magic · symbolism · cipher · veil · revelation · adept · master · seeker · path
Mysticismrationalism
Reason as knowledge source
empiricism · scientific method · reason · materialism · skepticism
Mysticismmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · atheism · naturalism · nihilism · disenchantment
Mysticismskepticism
Disposition toward doubt
critical thinking · analysis · reductionism · dissection · calculation
- Jewish mysticismEsoteric Hebrew spiritual tradition
- religious mysticismPursuit of divine union
- Christian mysticismPursuit of divine encounter
mystic, mystical, mystically, mystics, mystery, mysteries, mysterious, mysteriously, mysteriousness