Mystical Moments: 10 Ways to Feel More Engaged and Alive

By Andrew Andestic
Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Wenever you enter into it ta!e wit you your all."
#$alil %i&ran
I had to learn the hard way that you dont have to walk across hot coals or move to the desert and eat locusts and
honey in order to have a mystical, life-changing experience.
As a young man ' was an(ious and driven) always loo!ing aead to anoter goal) always oping to find
some ultimate e(perience. ' &elieved tat life was a callenge tat needed to &e constantly tac!led. *ften)
tis meant feeling overwor!ed and pulled+apart) and ' failed to en,oy te ,ourney of life.
I joined the Peace Corps with the nave goal of saving the world and finding some kind of grand purpose. Instead,
the complexity of our worlds pro!lems !efuddled me.
I went a!road to help people and they ended up helping me.
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"rowing up surrounded !y wealth, I didnt understand true kindness until my poor neigh!ors shared their simple
meals with me. #aised in a culture where we are encouraged to hoard our wealth, I did not understand generosity
until strangers welcomed me into their crum!ling homes and offered me gifts right off their shelves.
As '-ve gotten older) ad !ids) and e(perienced successes and failures) '-m still learning tat te true
measure of our lives is te way we en,oy te simplest e(periences.
Perhaps the gap !etween rich and poor does not matter as much as the gap !etween those who can enjoy the
moment and those who cant. $nd this is what the great mystics have always said.
$fter trying to clim! mountains, I learned that sometimes the simplest, most down-to-earth things, like how you eat
an orange or enjoy the smile of a child, are the moments that make life ama%ing.
A mystical e(perience is any e(perience were you pause and touc te perfect) wonderful present moment
in a tangi&le and fres way. .ife is full of great opportunities. /e an instant mystic. 0ere are ten simple ways
1nudity and drums optional2.
1. Play with a child. Play like a child.
Children are the ultimate &en masters. 'hey come out of the wom! fully enlightened, completely living in the
moment, taking every experience in without all the extra layers of thought and worry we pile on. 'hen, sadly, they
!ecome adults.
(ut you can get some of this !ack !y dropping the rake, the !ills, and the dishes in order to push toy cars, throw
leaves, and make snow angels. )ose yourself in the moment. $ct silly. *ake a fool of yourself.
*ystics often are mistaken for idiots. +o kids availa!le, I can loan you three, or Im sure you have a friend or
neigh!or who would o!lige as well.
2. Laugh hard.
-umor is a great way to shake off painful emotions and transcend the everyday.
$fter a tough day, my wife and I will hit the internet and watch a few Saturday Night Live skits or some of the Colbert
Report just to loosen us up and remind our heads that life should not !e taken too seriously. $ family tickle fest
never hurts either.
3. Attend a new spiritual service.
-istorically, church functioned as a weekly stopping point for people to reflect and connect. 'hats great. (ut church
can !ecome a rut, especially if you go every week to hear the same !ook read !y the same person who usually
says the same stuff.
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'ry a new service. .nitarian. /iccan. (uddhist. Catholic. I recently tried out a 0uaker service. /e sat in complete
silence for an hour. $t first, I was petrified. I wanted to run out screaming. (ut then I settled into this !eautiful state of
relaxed peace.
4. Read a mystical book by an enlightened person.
'here are so many great spiritual !ooks out there that can help you step out of your frantic, everyday life and get
you to look into to the soul. 1ckhart 'olle is a current !est-selling author with lots of good stuff. 2r. $nthony
3e*ellos Awareness is wonderful and challenging. I love reading $llan /atts as a way to stretch my spiritual
imagination.
Pick up a &en !ook, like Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, and pu%%le over some of the classic riddles 4called 5oans6. 7r gra!
a classic in mystical living !y the likes of (rother )awrence, *eister 1ckhart, #umi, or )ao '%u.
. !alk alone in the woods or by a river.
+o headphones. +o talking. /alk slowly. 8oure not working out your !ody9 youre working out your soul. .se
a simple mantra or mindful phrase, like :In-7ut, 3eep-;low, Calm-1ase, ;mile-#elease,< to stop your incessant
thinking.
;piritual master 5rishnamurti once summari%ed the essence of all mystical practices in two words= :dont think.<
/hen youre alone in nature, your ego falls away, leaving you with yourself.
". #targa$e.
-ead to the country at night and lay out under the sky. ;targa%ing is a great way to remem!er the vastness of the
universe. Inside us is that same vastness. /e are made from atoms that were once part of the cosmos.
(eing mystical is not a!out floating away on a cloud of euphoria. Its a!out fully !eing in the perfect moment. 'he
stars are there every night. $re we,
%. Listen to a great symphony or opera.
$ mystical experience can !e any experience that forces you to slow down and activate new parts of your !rain,
triggering insight and expansive thinking. I love indie-rock, !ut after a long day of work, music without words gives
space for my spinning !rain to slow down.
&. 'ast.
2asting has !een used as a mystical practice for centuries !y nearly every tradition out there, and that was !ack
when food was hard to come !y> Its a great way to test your self-control, learn to deal with difficult feelings, let go of
ingrained ha!its, and commune with those less fortunate in the world. $nd its free. 47f course, with eating disorders
on the rise, please make sure this practice is right for you !y consulting with your doctor.6
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(. )olunteer.
"et outside of your life, literally, and wrap yourselves up in someone elses. I recommend spending time with the
elderly, people who were alive !efore iPhones and "oogle 4hard to !elieve6. Consider not telling any!ody what
youre doing9 otherwise, volunteering just !ecomes another way to strengthen the ego.
1*. +editate.
*editation is the mystical practice used for millennia !y countless great spiritual thinkers. Its !een proven !y
scientists to extend life and increase happiness. Isnt it worth giving a try,
;top your mind for a few moments. )ook for the one inside you who knows you know. Count your !reathing. .se
one of 'hich +hat -anhs simple mindful meditations= :(reathing in, I smile9 !reathing out, I relax.<
(y meditating, you change yourself and the world. 8ou transform your soul with silence and transform the planet !y
creating a small, !ut powerful, pocket of peace.
If you really struggle with sitting still and calming your mind, use some light yoga. 'here are many great instructors
out there who com!ine meditation techni?ues with yoga. 'ry ten or twenty minutes for a few days in a row. +otice
the changes. 8oull !e surprised.
$ mystical moment is simply any moment when you are fully alive, in the present, em!racing what is happening.
3oing dishes can !e a mystical experience> (ut if all else fails, theres always sitting naked in a cave !eating a
drum.
Photo by Cornelia Kopp
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