In this treatise on the path of the mystic, we explore our inner landscape and how this interfaces with our outer world.  Firstly, we need to realize that there has always been something of a misconception that enlightenment brings total understanding and that the mystic is privy to hidden or occult knowledge which is only revealed to the favoured few.  This fallacy is actually an illusion and is not attuned to the holistic principle as such.  It is, however, one of the strategies employed by the ego in order to feel ‘in control’ and to have power over others; so not to be denied or dismissed – merely to be recognised as an archetype of the Imposter … who seeks to betray the essential Self.

On an experiential level, it can often be a stage that one has to go through, as in mythical terms we have to ‘conquer our demons’ in order to move on.  In this way the ego is subjugated and in service to the Soul, therefore in the life of the mystic, the emphasis is on the inner journey. This involves the rites of passage which are often precipitated by events in our outer world, and also affected by relatively unconscious attitudes and the dynamics of the subconscious mind.

As we make our transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius, we need to see the path of the mystic in this context – which is in the archetypal role of the Witness.  As an impartial observer we are ‘enlightened’ by a view or perspective that is emotionally free and unencumbered by a personal agenda.  Therefore one can learn from a role model or by the process of osmosis.  The life of a mystic can be compared to living as ‘part of a hologram’ rather than having to experience everything in terms of ‘cause and effect’.

As we learn to live fully in the present we no longer need the linear frame of reference as part of our expectations.  In thinking more laterally, we are naturally exposed to a shift in our energy field – and this automatically releases any blocks – thereby expanding what is inherently within and facilitating our potential on many levels.  For the itinerant mystic this represents a journey – but with no known destination.  The boundaries that were previously imposed as a form of protection now represent barriers and fragmentation as we seek a more unified consciousness in our sacred quest for wholeness.

In shamanic terms there is a need to ‘straddle’ both worlds as we seek to integrate the inner and outer consciousness.  In engaging with these polarities of being, the mystic is able to build the bridge – sometimes known as the Antahkarana forming a link from the brow chakra (Ajna) and the upper octave of the heart chakra (Anahata).  In this way, a form of resonance is established between the higher planes of consciousness and the way of the mystic becomes the instrument of the divine.