Is Awakening a Mystical Experience?

The simple answer is no. I know that comes as a great disappointment to many who are fervently pursuing mystical experience. The simple fact is that Awakening is about Awareness and there is nothing mystical about Awareness. That does not mean that the moment of Awakening might bring with it what might be called a mystical experience. It also, does not preclude one having a mystical experience and being no wiser for it.

What then is Awakening? It is breaking free from thought identification. Okay, what is thought identification? It is the mistaken belief that the voice in your head that sounds like you talking to you – is you. This is a case of mistaken identity that has gone on for thousands of years. We have been held captive by this identification. It is as if a hypnotist lives in our heads that we cooperatively call “me.” This “me” identification makes it all very convenient for the voice to control us, to doom us to a life of suffering.

Awakening is the visceral ah ha that we experience when we break free of this identification with that little “me.” We then instantly realize that the world of little “me” was considerably smaller than the real world without the guidance of an internal commentator. This is so liberating that the various energies realized during this rebirth can be experienced in what only could be termed as mystical.

After this liberation from thought, life becomes supremely practical and down to earth. At this point there is no longer the question of the mystical. Now Awakening takes on a new dimension – that is that each moment presents us with a clear choice. We can either choose the drama that comes with thought identification or choose the abundance of Life itself as it presents itself through innocent perception. Now that’s living. And that’s mystical.