The practice of Rational Mysticism is one that is not that far removed from what thinking and intuitive folks have been doing for a long time.
Somehow the ‘cult of the mystic’ and the New Age of Anti-Intellect has taken the philosophical and the spirit of ‘questioning’ out of the quest for ‘enlightenment’.

Imagine if you will the newly evolved Homo-sapiens scrabbling around in a largely hostile world trying to survive. The world is a mysterious place and scary things happen.

At first, too preoccupied with the business of survival, this race of intelligent animals thrive on their instincts, then upon their flexibility and ingenuity and latterly on their ability to share and communicate with each other. Explanations about how things happen and observations based upon the things that happen in the natural world slowly come together as a series of beliefs, practices and behaviour’s which serve one purpose. Survival.

Early religious practices and spiritual doctrine would have been very pragmatic. In outline, appease the forces of nature and good things happen.

As human society developed it became possible for people to give their attention to other things and at some point a society developed where particular skills could be honed by some and ‘classes’ of tribes folk created. The hunters, the builders, the artists, the priests….

Again religious and spiritual ceremony would have been of a very practical nature – designed and conducted for clearly defined purposes. It doesn’t take too large a leap in the imagination to see how a practical view of the world could be at one with a ‘mystical’ view of the world.

Now come forward in time a few thousand years

People have the same basic drives, but society has had time to contemplate itself  and turn some simple mystical ideas into dogma, doctrine and political structures. An artificial divide between practical and mystical has developed. The ‘priests’ and ‘spiritual’ classes maintain a ‘divine right’ to intercede between ‘God’ and ‘man’ on ‘everymans’ behalf…

Opinions as to the nature of the divine vary and a whole host of prophets to come forward to give their own particular spin on ‘spiritual’ practices. Some carry more favour with the earthly powers, or the ‘will’ of the people, so become popular and survive. They evolve and the words spoken by the enlightened-ones become enshrined; static; deterministic….

Now it’s not simply about the survival of the race, but the survival of a particular group or sect who share a set of spiritual values and beliefs. We see the start of Holy or Righteous conflict.

Come forward in time…

Some people start to question the nature of the world and the magical explanations the priest class provide. At first they explore within the limits of their beliefs and cultural frameworks. Later they develop a systematic way of investigating ideas. Astrology becomes Astronomy; Alchemy becomes Chemistry…

People now have a way of ‘testing’ ideas; of questioning experience and of making statements of practical certainty.

This is a situation which challenges the power of the priesthood, after all they have ‘divine knowledge’ which is beyond questioning and testing. The philosophers and scientists who dare challenge the ‘truth’ are at first dismissed and then, when their voice becomes louder, subject to torture and death.

But just as ‘spiritual’ truth is said to find a way,. the ‘practical truth’ of the philosophers also found a voice. This voice became louder and, actually, offered far more practical solutions for everyday problems. The shift from spiritual pragmatism to scientific pragmatism.

Laboratories replaced temples; technologists replaced priests; healers became doctors.

Yet whilst all of this brought good things on a practical level it wasn’t always as emotionally satisfying. For some the science of discovery sat perfectly well with the mysticism of creation. For others the these ideas could not co-exist.

The religious cast claim that ‘Man is trying  play God’

The science cast claim that ‘Magic is Dead’

It is decreed that neither party can be ‘wholly right’ even though one can be ‘wholly wrong’

Twenty-Ten


“We want to move beyond the limits of the mind and connect with the spiritual light that shone on Atlantis for you are children of the Pleiades. Question not the nature of your experience and accept the inner truth that is yours….”

“I will tell you your purpose and connect your to your higher-self’

“Together we can reject the lies the scientists have told us for years; we can simply share our experiences and I will tell you what they mean…”

Now whilst these are not direct quotes they are what can be said to be the ‘subtext’ behind some of the things speakers have said to some of the New Age groups I have attended.

Translated it all sounds like…

Don’t question your experiences; let me create a framework in which you can have them and I will tell you all you need to know for my ‘source’ is of the ‘non-physical’ and of a ‘higher vibration’ than you.

Of course there may well be a price tag attached for the conference that follows, but the intent is ‘from the heart and spirit’ and not from ‘the mind’.

Ask questions in such groups; apply a little ‘rational thinking’ and you are quickly put down or told that your ‘heart chakra’ must be blocked because you are thinking and not feeling!

This is the same trick that the priest class used when they played the ‘heresy’ card only perhaps today there is no immediate threat physical of torture.

WHAT A LOAD OF BOLLOCKS!


It’s manipulation, pure and simple

Now what happens if we

• accept that it is OK to ask ‘HOW DO YOU KNOW’ and question ‘SOURCES OF INFORMATION’

• accept that personal experiences are given meaning through the framework of our beliefs and that it is STILL OK to question the meaning, relevance and nature of that experience

• agree that imagery, metaphor and allegory are part of our experience and vehicles through which we can explore meaning