Defining the Divine Encounter: What Constitutes a Mystical Experience?
NEW YORK, NY – The nature of mystical experience-a direct encounter with the divine-remains a deeply personal and often elusive topic. While definitions vary, a common thread emerges: an intense, overwhelming sense of God‘s presence. experts emphasize distinguishing these rare experiences from everyday spiritual moments, offering guidance for recognizing and appreciating them.
Mirabai Starr, interviewed on the topic, describes mystical experience as something that “transcends language and concepts,” yet consistently inspires expression through art and poetry. A more academic definition, she notes, is ”a direct experience of the divine.” The author agrees, adding that it feels like being “overwhelmed with God’s presence in an unmistakable way.”
Though, not every profound spiritual feeling qualifies. Everyday joys-the wonder of a newborn, reconnection with a friend, thankfulness for art-are avenues for divine communication, but are not, in themselves, mystical experiences.
The author recounts a personal experience at age 9 or 10, while biking to school. stopping in a wildflower meadow, they felt a “tremendous sense of peace and joy” and a desire to connect with the source of that beauty. It wasn’t a vision, but a distinct shift in perception. “I still had my feet planted firmly on the ground, and I knew where I was, but it was definitely…different,” they recall.
Mystical experiences are considered rare, and discussing them can be discouraged, according to a Jesuit friend, Bob Gilroy. The advice offered is to remain aware and grateful when such moments occur.
Mirabai Starr asserts that “mystical experience is our birthright,” and that humans are “made for moments of union and communion with the sacred, with the divine, with God.”
