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		Welcome to The Anchorage! AM I IN THE RIGHT PLACE? If you're feeling the discontent of having no spiritual direction and experiencing the nagging thought that you're missing something important ... If you don't have a Bible, don't understand scripture, or are intimidated by those who do understand it ... If you have a religion and a denomination but no meaningful relationship with God ... If you wanted to visit a website about the paranormal or occult and reached this site by mistake ... If you feel Mysticism threatens your own beliefs and want to keep tabs on what "the enemy" is doing ... If you instinctively believe that the Creator loves us and wants us all back with Him ... Whatever it was that brought you to this site, I hope sincerely that you will continue your investigation by cheerfully setting aside pre-conceived notions of Mysticism, and also your understandable intellectual need to categorize your set of religious beliefs. Life's loftiest goal, a relationship with our creator, is the one which takes the most humility, but there is also freedom and joy in focusing on union with God. This freedom and joy is what I want most for all, and though it's trying to explain the unexplainable, I hope what we do here will inspire you to realize your own ability to recognize God's love you. WHAT IS MYSTICISM? ". . . the experience of mystical communion or direct communication with ultimate reality reported by mystics; the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight); a theory postulating the possibility of direct and intuitive acquisition of otherwise (unobtainable) knowledge and grace . . ." (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary) WHAT IS MYSTIC DEVOTION? A person doesn't set out to become a mystic – enrolling in courses and getting a diploma that makes them a mystic. Mystics become mystics through a calling by God and a surprisingly well-documented process brought to life through God's grace. But people who have gotten that calling probably do not understand that it is a beginning, and may spend many years in confusion as to how to proceed. These things are decided by God, but by studying the history and works of past and present mystics, a seeker can recognize what they're going through and say “Yes” to God through the mystic process. Those who have not experienced a calling can also perfect their prayer and their spirit to make themselves receptive to what God wants for them. So there's great reward in mystic devotions for everyone, including the peace and joy of placing ourselves in the attitude of appreciation for God's presence in our lives. IS MYSTICISM RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL? All religions have their mystic elements; yet Mysticism isn't limited to being a religious exercise, but is more of an independent, personal spirituality. It's the nature of Mysticism to have a universal outlook appealing to the global community, because the Creator is the Father of all. Mysticism is about the unitive relationship each person can have with the Creator, who doesn't distinguish between us for this purpose. WHAT CAN MYSTICISM DO FOR ME? The hope of Eternal Life, thereby, is available to all, and the joy and promise of God's Kingdom can be demonstrated here and now on Earth -- we are chosen by God because we demonstrate our desire to be chosen, and to receive insight. In seeking a relationship with the Creator, we naturally secure the very virtues that open us up to a right-relationship with God and the ability to recognize His presence in our lives. Our own divinity, then, puts us in right-relationship with each other too. In this path lies the peace and joy that was meant for us since the beginning.

			MYSTIC QUOTE: “What is it you fear? Why do you not instantly cast yourself into the arms of Love, who only extended His arms on the Cross so that He might embrace you? What risk do you run in depending solely on God, and abandoning yourself wholly to Him? Ah! He will not deceive you, but He may bestow upon you an abundance beyond your highest hopes.” Experiencing Union with God Through Inner Prayer & The Way and Results of Union with God, by Madame Jeanne Guyon, revised by Harold J. Chadwick (Bridge-Logos Publishers, Gainesville, Florida, 2001)

© 2005-2008 Aubri Dennison

THE ANCHORAGE MYSTIC MINISTRY

First, seek God; then, seek God first

This current spiritual guidance sample is taken from the Devotional Mysticism course, Mystic Spirituality. To see all topics for the Applied Mysticism course, click HERE.

WHAT MAKES MYSTICISM DIFFERENT?

Mystic Spirituality – Subject #6

As said before, Mysticism is a process that blends well with established, church-type, religions or exists alone as a personal practice. But since spirituality and religion are not the same thing, and since there are also many different ways of exploring our spirituality, we need to see what makes Mystic Spirituality *unique. We use the five “C” words to explain.

Companionship – God is active in our lives and by His presence makes known His desire for a close, personal relationship with each of us. Some religions teach that God is too mighty and angry to reach out to us; some people think that “friendship” is too familiar a word and makes it sound as if we think of ourselves as equal with God. Mystics believe that God is a loving God who wants a friendly relationship with us and not *servanthood; that it's our own sin of pride that spoils this plan, and humility that makes it possible to get back to God.
Communication – God wants us to talk with Him and ask Him for things. Some religions keep a distance from God because they think this shows Him proper worship; some limit their contact with God to church services so that they can't be deceived. Mystics not only believe we can communicate with God, they also believe that God wants this kind of relationship very much and will protect us from deception.
Co-divinity – Having been made in the image of God, human beings have a *potential share in His divinity that will be fully claimed in the eternal kingdom but can also be experienced somewhat here on Earth. Religious scholars often take the concept of divinity literally, arguing that only God can be called divine. Many protest that if we had a share of divinity, human pride would be *justified. But in Mysticism, shared divinity doesn't mean we can be God; it means that because we are special creatures that are helped by God, we can *aspire to union with Him – that is, wanting only what He wants and thus becoming Godly because of this unitive relationship.
Combined Paths – God deals with us as individuals, and because of this, we do not all have the same role in His master plan and do not all follow the same course to get to Him. Fundamental religions teach that there is only one way to do what God wants and that way is the same for everybody. Mystics believe that each person's course is up to God to determine, and as long as a person is pleasing God, he is doing right despite how it may appear to others.

*Co-operation – God understands our weaknesses and is pleased by our desire to be one with His wishes – counting it as accomplished simply because we love Him enough to desire Him. Many religions tell us that we must do something to deserve God's favor and if we don't successfully do it, we will go to hell. To mystics, God's favors are an undeserved gift from Him to us and that we do good in the world out of love and appreciation for these gifts.

WORDS:

unique = different from everything else

servanthood = the state of doing the bidding of someone more important than you are

potential = able to develop into something more

justified = shown to be right and reasonable

aspire = hope to obtain

co-operation = two or more working together towards a common goal

THINK AND SHARE: Remember – there are no right or wrong answers. Ask God to help you learn and teach. Try to use at least 25 words in your writing.

Do you think that, having been made in the image of God, people can share in His creativity? If so, is it possible to create both good and bad things?

When a person chooses to follow a certain path to God and finds that someone else has a different idea of how that path should look, what might be a good thing for the two people to do about it?

Name a few situations in which it would be better to remain humble than to let your pride do the talking.

ESSAY: Have you ever felt like God wanted you to do something, but you didn't want to do it and so tried to ignore Him? How did it make you feel? Did ignoring God work for you? If this has never happened to you, explain how you might feel if it had.