Therefore some old writers referred to the trash or poison of mysticism and others spoke of its vagueness or crude. Hood s 1975 construction and validation of a measure of reported mystical experiences allows experimental studies of the factors influencing their induction. Mysticism in african traditional religion and in the bahai. Religion dictionary teaching tools the learning center. Mysticism is difficult to define, largely because it encompasses so many different practices and beliefs from catholicism to kabbalah. The scale was tested by hood and others in a comparative perspective. Evelyn underhill 18751941 was an english writer and pacifist who turned properlyrecognized for her fairly a couple of works on religion and non secular comply with, notably mysticism. Hoods mysticism scale is designed to measure the reported mystical experience of a wide variety of populations and help distinguish experience from interpretation. The classic example is the protestant ethic, where hard work and economic success is.
Christian mysticism score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Printed in 1482, this is the 1st and only 15th century edition, illustrated with 20 woodcuts 4 of which historiated initials by the augsburg kreuzfahrt meister in contemporary colouring. Heiler has given an excellent general characterization of the two types,3 but to. Drawn from the monastic tradition francis kline, ocso mw an introduction to christian mysticism.
Mysticism definition of mysticism by the free dictionary. Its purpose is the divine union with the godhead or the ultimate reality. Since that time he has done a huge a mount of research and is best known for developing what is called the mysticism scale, or m scale. The point of each chapter or lesson in mystical science is its practice point.
The practice point of the fifth lesson for in stance is not the acknowledgment of the vicarious jesus, but the self recognition that he practiced and urged all mankind to practice, that each one might do some. Content pages of the encyclopedia of religion and social. Hood developed a mysticism scale based on the theoretical work of stace. Belief in direct experience of transcendent reality or god, especially by means of contemplation and asceticism instead of rational thought. Behind it there is not only reading, discussion and.
Acknowledgements i wish to acknowledge my indebtedness, and offer my sincere gratitude, to the following. This paper presents two studies concerned with developing a brief version of the 32item god mysticism scale gms. Initiation into the monastic tradition 3 thomas merton. Hoods scale includes 8 mystical characteristics, each derived from staces book, mysticism and philosophy. Hood s 1975 mysticism scale was derived explicitly from staces common core criteria, and use of this scale in a programmatic line of research yielded a growing body of evidence that sustained staces interpretative position. There is no doubt about the fact, however, that inner selfdevelopment is a slow and gradual process, but ultimately worth all the effort it takes to achieve it. Hoods 1975 construction and validation of a measure of reported mystical experiences allows experimental studies of the factors influencing their induction.
The mystic will a method of developing and strengthening the faculties of the mind, through the awakened will, by a simple, scientific process possible to any person of ordinary intelligence by charles g. The construction and preliminary validation of a measure. The third and the fourth features constitute the third type of mysticism. Using an abridged version of hood s mysticism scale, we join the debate with a study of a much larger number of christian, muslim, and hindu respondents 1,920 college students living in tamil nadu, india. The second question concerns the connection between reported mystical experience. The hebrew bible patriarch and father of the abrahamic, monotheistic religions of judaism, christianity, and islam prothero 2008. Hood s mysticism scale, based on walter staces distinction between introverted and extroverted mysticism, was developed in the 1970s, and is a wellknown research instrument for mystical experiences. The unchanging testament the wisdom of vedanta jnaneshvar. A comparative study of mystical experience among christian. Hood 1975 perforned a principal components analysis which gave evidence of two factors underlying the m scale. Mysticism makes an indepth and comprehensive exploration of mysticism.
In practical mysticism author edward lee answers typical questions that have been asked of correspondents, instructors, and official representatives of the rosicrucian order, amorc, over his thirty years of employment at the. Hood s 1975 mystical experience scale is the most widely used measure in the field. Sep 27, 2010 practical mysticism by evelyn underhill. Western culture is preoccupied with the self the i or ego and that there is a world beyond our grasp. Mysticism is a major element of the mystery of iniquity. Mysticism in the twentieth century compiled and written by the venerable s. Mysticism is the scientific term for what has hitherto been described as pure or exclusive mysticism.
Department of psychology university of tennessee at chattanooga chattanooga, tenn. The mysticism scale has generally been shown to be a reliable and crossculturally valid measure of lifetime experiences chen et al. Exploringmyreligion quizzes and surveys exploringmyreligion. The second question concerns the connection between reported mystical. The dark night of the soul, stand, i think, as the culmination of the western tradition of mysticism. Hoods 1975 mystical experience scale is the most widely used measure in the field. Refers to the experience of loss of sense of self while consciousness is nevertheless maintained. Mysticism, a study in the nature and development of mans spiritual consciousness by underhill, evelyn, 18751941. Through mysticism men are drawn toward satan and his program under the guise of spirituality.
Evelyn underhill was an english writer and pacifist known for her many works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular christian mysticism. As used in the psychology of religion, it is the role of religion in shaping value orientations and motivation to succeed in work. The first question concerns the extent to which mystical experience is reported by religiously unaffiliated young people compared with christian affiliates and muslim affiliates. Hood s mysticism scale is designed to measure the reported mystical experience of a wide variety of populations and help distinguish experience from interpretation. Hoods mysticism scale, based on walter staces distinction between introverted and extroverted mysticism, was developed in the 1970s, and is a wellknown research instrument for mystical experiences. In an early essay, teilhard provides a road map through the intensely. Mysticism and spirituality page 211 mysticism and spirituality mysticism and spirituality are similar but not identical terms. The construction and preliminary validation of a measure of. The ideas and movements just mentioned are familiar, in one way or another, to most people. Mysticism refers to the experience of god, whereas spirituality is the whole process of growth from inauthenticity into full relationship with god. Hood 1975, 2009 is a wellvalidated instrument that was derived from the same theoretical basis as the meq, and it consists of.
The origin of western mysticism mysticism and science. Responses to the mystical scale by religious jewish. The prevailing opinionamong theologians as well as in the mind of the ordinary manseems to be that judaism and mysticism stand at the opposite poles of thought, and that, therefore, such a phrase as jewish mysticism is a glaring and indefensible contradiction in terms. They are captured by lies under the guise of truth. Practical mysticism by evelyn underhill free pdf download. Responses to the mystical scale by religious jewish persons. Practical mysticism by edward lee the rosicrucian order, amorc.
Whethersundarsinghisagreatmaninthe senseinwhichhistoryemploysthatterm,history alonecandecide. On the basis of responses to his mscale, hood 1975 uncovered a twofactor model of mystical experience. The circle of presence 1 from the new interpretations of the world kathleen duffy ssj there were moments, indeed, when it seems to me that a sort of universal being was about to take shape suddenly in nature before my very eyes. Mysticism in african traditional religion and in the bahai faith. Similarly, the categories the scale was generated from were created by stace in 1960 to distinguish the core mystical experience. Lazar and kravetz 2005, although recent reports suggest some cultural variation in the specific structure of mystical experience anthony, hermans, and sterkens 2010. Hood 1975 perforned a principal components analysis which.
Mysticism ebooks collection pdf library of occult pdf, ancient, mystical, religious, magical sacred texts and. This questionnaire, the mscale, was shown by hood 1975 to have respectable internal consistency, and reasonable construct validity. The fourth type mysticism is unique and not described in the dictionary as m y s t i c i s m. Leland in memorium charles godfrey leland american author who died march 20, 1903 at florence, italy aged 79 the good that men do lives. The first factor was associatedwithfiveofstacesfeaturesofreligiousexperienceunityindiversity, inner subjectivity, timelessness and spacelessness, loss of self, and ineffabilityand was interpreted by hood as an. A spiritual biography elizabeth connor, ocso mw11 the way of humility andre louf, ocso mw12 four ways of holiness for the universal church. The scale has allowed hood to analyze mysticism in relation to a variety of domains such as church participation, selfactualization, nature experiences, personality correlates, gender, knowledge and experience criteria, death, the paranormal, the psychology. In meeting dr suzuki and drinking a cup of tea with him i felt i. Features five and six form the fifth and the sixth type mysticism collectively, not respectively.
Tanyi introductioni t can be inferred from the bahai writings that african traditional religion henceforth, atr is divine in. Mysticism in the worlds religions this book is both universal in its scope and discriminating in. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. She was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. Practical mysticism by edward lee the rosicrucian order. His mysticism scale, research form d m scale has 32 items, four for each of eight categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by stace 1960.
This study addresses two research questions concerning the level and the correlates of mystical experience among adolescents in germany. In meeting dr suzuki and drinking a cup of tea with him i felt i had met this one man. And so in this spirit of discovering workable answers to ageold. A call for reconciliation the divine universe reflections on the soul body and soul mystical theology. In practical mysticism author edward lee answers typical questions that have been asked of correspondents, instructors, and official representatives of the rosicrucian order, amorc, over his thirty years of employment at the organizations headquarters in san jose, california. Just as the christian type cannot be understood without reference to christianity, so the mohammedan type must be viewed in connexion with the outward and inward development of islam. The scale is actually a subscale of the widely used fetzer institutes multidimensional measure of religiousness and spirituality. Content pages of the encyclopedia of religion and social science. Take both surveys and help us evaluate the revised version. This is a revised version of the hood mysticism scale also offered on this site, immediately above, designed for ease of understanding. Classification of concepts and practices by enoch n. Christian and buddhist in meeting him one seemed to meet that true man of no title that chuang tzu and the zen masters speak of. Hoods scale remains popular today as a means of measuring mystical experience. Because of the nature of mysticism, firsthand objective studies of it are virtually impossible, and students must confine.
Oman we owe the isolation of the essential differentia. It consists of either six or 16 items, depending on whether the researcher is using the long or short form. Hood s scale includes 8 mystical characteristics, each derived from staces book, mysticism and philosophy. This mysticism scale, research form d m scale, has 32 items, four for each of 8 categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by. Hood entered the field in the early 70s when he was a young man. First published in 1911, mysticism remains the classic in its field.
It is the color of saffron and when burned gives off an odour indicative of its great mystic strength. This mysticism scale, research form d m scale, has 32 items, four for each of 8 categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by stace 1960. Publication date 1912 topics mysticism publisher new york, dutton. The dark night of the soul, stand, i think, as the culmination of. Hood is also well known for researching snake handling in the appalachian mountains. This is a 32 item questionnaire that is scored in a particular way and is calculated to test the veracity of staces theories. The first factor was associatedwithfiveofstacesfeaturesofreligiousexperienceunityindiversity, inner subjectivity, timelessness and spacelessness, loss of self, and ineffabilityand was interpreted by hood as an experiential factor. Hood s scale remains popular today as a means of measuring mystical experience. Pauls cathedral, london, published christian mysticism, which almost.