27 Dec Exceptional Human Experiences
I was surprised to find these three areas of life put together into one threshold until I heard the lecture (Erickson, class video) explaining that these three are potential exceptional human experiences (EHEs) that take us out of the mundane and put us in touch with something bigger. Science wants to control things in a laboratory, and you can’t just make an EHE happen, although certainly if you provide the right set, setting, and intention, you may be more likely to. These experiences are subjective, but we can explore qualitatively by inquiring into the experiences people have reported. Jung may be seen as a middle ground between the psychological and the spiritual.
Creativity as a portal to the mystical may be accessed as an opening to something beyond our ego’s understanding. Not the “small c” creativity where we are working something out in our minds (although I would argue this is not necessarily a small c), but rather the “big C” creativity of the romantic genius, the visionary. This would be considered tapping into the creative process of the universe.
In terms of the romantic genius, Gilbert (2016) talked about how this persona has been characterized as tragic, that creativity must go along with suffering, and that she doesn’t think this is helpful. Many artists and creative people are not suffering and are producing useful and good work. Gilbert also adds in her written piece that to her, creativity is a form of enchantment, not entirely human in its origins.
Cameron (2016) writes that the heart of creativity is an experience of mystical union. She quotes Oscar Wilde: “The true mystery of the world is in the visible, not the invisible.” I remember being stunned when I first read this quote – it changed my world. I had been steeped in Eastern religions, or rather, Western interpretations of Eastern religion, which hold the world as not-real. When I read Wilde I realized that truly the mystery is this paradisiacal world we live in.
I practiced with the Morning Pages, although not in the morning, and I do want to establish the Artist Date although I think it will probably be a monthly thing rather than weekly as she suggests. Unless reading about and watching videos about art and artists counts, then once a month must be part of my schedule.
Richards (2014) wrote of discovering the sacred with entheogens. It was fascinating, first because this article came out of Johns Hopkins, which used to be a strong bastion of the old guard and would never be caught talking about the sacred, and secondly, because Richards points out that drugs as a study of the mystical offer potency and reliability, things not easy to measure with other EHEs. This quote was amazing: “We now know how to facilitate the occurrence of mystical forms of consciousness with maximum safety for many, if not most persons who desire them.” I believe there are other technologies that facilitate mystical experiences for anyone who desires them also, although they are not as easy to measure. As Richards also says, “Altered states of consciousness have been triggered by many intentional and unintentional techniques.” This is an important article for my research on EHEs during mystical sex.
Ataria (2014) wrote about the dark night of the soul, which is always a possibility on personal and spiritual growth paths, and Jung shared his in his vivid memoir. Although this passage is experienced as painful and dark, most who have come through such an episode attest to its healing and creative power.
The video (Global Spirit, 2019) of the panel of mysticism experts from various traditions – Christian, Sufi, and Judaism – shared that mystical experiences are available to everyone and perhaps are happening all the time, but that for some people, they allow it to penetrate and change their lives. I was moved to find out that Maslow had changed what he earlier termed “mystical experiences” to “peak experiences” so that the field of psychology would find the concept more palatable. I also resonated with this quote: “One can reach a certain plateau and then the peaks are not so high anymore and then everything becomes an experience of the Presence.”
Kripal (2001) spoke of “the rational mystic.” He stated that the mystical always comes down to something secret, and that the history of religions is the history of the exotic and erotic. If we would have known that as kids we would certainly have been more interested in attending Sunday School.
Alex Grey (2021) on creativity said that art begins with a deliberate intention sparked by an inspiring force. Art is solidified intention. He also speaks to what Daniels would call the extending line in that Grey believes that art should hold a purpose to serve and enrich the common good. (Modern secular art does not appear to have this goal.) He ends with this beautiful quote: “Each object, carefully handmade with devotional energies can be a clear transmitter of spiritual light, a battery of soul-centered love energy.” I wondered out loud in my discussion post whether or not we could see the papers we write in this program this way.
For the project for this threshold I did the freewriting for twenty minutes each day. I found this practice partly freeing and helpful to get into a flow state, and partly a waste of time. I have so much writing I need to be doing for school and other projects of mine, and I’m not really interested in my own personal struggles much anymore. I’d rather be working on something that could uplift or inspire someone else. Quiet, secret journaling doesn’t do that. It was quite helpful for me earlier in my life, although I probably used it mostly to complain, and I do recommend journaling to clients who are so inclined.
I’ve studied dance a lot, but not of late, and decided to dance for my creative project. This was ecstatic and joyous, and made me remember that ecstasy as a state is only a few deep breaths away. One of my tantra teachers used to refer to the conventional world as “the anti-ecstasy forces” and no doubt that is why they teach us to breathe with a shallow, anxious breath.
© 2023 Catherine Auman
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