What is a mystical experience? Is it necessarily religious?
Mystical experiences of some kind are not uncommon in the population at large. In fact, large surveys show that about one out of three persons has experienced some kind of “mystical” or “religious” event at some time in their life. The book suggests that when a person takes up the mystical path in a more formal manner, there is a sense of engagement in an ongoing practice which reestablishes, by the deepest of insights, some kind of direct relationship with the Ultimate Reality principle (however this may be defined). Over the centuries, a wide variety of experiences have been reported by persons who commit themselves to follow a mystical path. William James described these events, as have many others. Those experiences at one end of the spectrum tend to be superficial and to affect mostly the sensibilities. Other events tap the deeper levels of comprehension that most cultures would regard as having semi-“religious” or existential overtones. Zen emphasizes the latter kinds of deeper e
