Do not be passive mystics, but instead be valiant defenders of righteousness and aggressive in spreading the gospel of the kingdom. [1]
During the European “dark ages”, the church's decline led to a shift towards monasticism and legalism, while Christian mysticism embraced a spiritually vibrant but unreal and pantheistic worldview. [2]
The factors which induce mystic state are physical fatigue, fasting, psychic dissociation, profound aesthetic experiences, vivid sex impulses, fear, anxiety, rage, and wild dancing. [3]
The habitual practice of religious daydreaming poses great danger, as mysticism may become a technique of reality avoidance, albeit it has sometimes been a means of genuine spiritual communion. [4]
Mystics experience diffusion of consciousness with vivid islands of focal attention, leading to passive intellect and gravitation towards the subconscious rather than the superconscious, often resulting in abnormal mental manifestations. [5] True values of creature experience are concealed in depths beyond the single-eyed vision of material scientists and spiritual mystics. [6]
The practical validations of mysticism are evident in the enhanced physical health, mental efficiency, social integration, spiritual living, love for truth, beauty, and goodness, preservation of values, and heightened spiritual insight it brings to individuals. [7]
The practice of mysticism, cultivating the consciousness of God's presence, is praiseworthy, but when it leads to social isolation and fanaticism, it becomes reprehensible. [8] The cultivation of consciousness through mysticism can lead to divine inspiration or fanaticism, depending on the source of the revelation. [9] Mysticism is praiseworthy in cultivating the consciousness of God's presence, yet reprehensible when leading to isolation or fanaticism. [10]
See also: UB 100:5.