To know God first-hand is the feat of highest attainment, one worthy of incarnation.[by]quest[/by]

Christian mysticism is a path of reverence and devotion that leads to God, the very aim and endeavor of every Christian heart. It teaches us how to have individual, empirical, enlightening experiences. These must grow naturally, from Living the Life with ever-growing dedication. Striving for a greater union with God will bring us to deeper devotions and insights that will illumine our consciousness.

Mysticism is often called the path of spiritual union, the way of spiritual love, the path of devotion. Some call it the path of the heart. These terms depict partially and very superficially what mysticism truly covers. Mysticism is the endeavor of the soul to draw nearer to God. For that reason it uses all of an individual, and claims his total being. Of all the approaches to God, it is the only one that knows synthesis.

The awakening of the soul comes as a result of mysticism and having touched it.[by]1968.01.21[/by]

In Christian mysticism there is the possibility of realizing a state which transcends normal consciousness and which puts us in touch with those faculties within that make real our communion with God.

The Coronation, Jonathan Wiltshire

In all the teachings other than the path of mysticism you will see self mentioned greatly. That is true of psychology and it is true of each of the Eastern paths. The whole emphasis is on finding the self. We are not self-sufficient. We are made by God and therefore God is the one who will be our fulfillment. When we have found God, then we will understand ourselves with the right command and perspective.

When we touch the real depths of Christianity we will be mystics because our greatest desire will be to love God in a self-forgetting way.[by]1959.04.05[/by]

To understand mysticism, we must experience it. Mysticism is a path of direct and first-hand knowing God. The way is long, the path is steep, yet none is so joyous. On the mystical path, when an individual is sincere, an Inner Light begins to glow within him, the very light of the Spirit of his consecration. This is because the individual has broken through his own barriers. He has let the light shine through because the desire for God has eclipsed his own self-love. It has enabled him to forget self and to be recovered, as it were, in God.

[video=1979.10.21_Christian Mysticism and What It Is (What Should Mysticism Mean to You)_Flower A Newhouse.mp4]What Should Mysticism Mean to You?[/video]

The whole goal, the sole purpose of mysticism, is to search for God, to be united with God and to have God use us fully, completely, deeply without any reservations. This is always what God does when He finds the person ready and when we do not erect closed doors against Him with our own opinions and limitations.

Our Lord Emmanuel, the One who was Jesus, is uniquely able to awaken and inspire us on our journey towards enlightenment. Following His way with ever-growing dedication and striving for a greater union with God will bring us to deeper devotions and insights that will illumine our consciousness.

[audio=1979.10.21_Christian Mysticism and What it Is (The Mystical Language)_Flower A Newhouse.mp3]The Mystical Language of Christ[/audio]

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Characteristics of a Mystic

The signal characteristics most observed in consecrated mystics are these:

Simplicity
Humility
Self-surrender
Self-giving, beyond ordinary measure
Generosity
An unusual need for God
The will to lift human experience for one and for all

[section]

Publications Available on Mysticism

[reference=works1]This first in a three-volume set of Flower A. Newhouse's Collected Works opens with her insights into Christian Mysticism.[/reference]

[reference=insights]In Mysticism and Inner Instruction, Flower A. Newhouse explores this path of finding God wherever you are.[/reference]

[reference=quest]These lessons include an inspiring chapter on Christian Mysticism.[/reference]

[reference=694-1]A recorded lecture from 1979 by Rev. Flower A. Newhouse about the history, meaning and language of Christian Mysticism.[/reference]

[reference=348-2]A lecture from 1968 where Flower A. Newhouse compares traditional Christianity to the path of Christian Mysticism.[/reference]

[reference=107-2]A lecture from 1959 where Flower A. Newhouse explores a mystic's direct, first-hand experience of union with God.[/reference]