Cultivate Mystical Experience In Passage Meditation

Hello and welcome to this Insight Timer course on Cultivating Mystical Experience in Passage Meditation. Over the next seven days, you will learn simple methods that when practiced and mastered – will bring you intuition, courage, peace, and greater love for life. All it takes is willingness and practice.

In this course, we will use texts from 7 different sacred traditions ranging from the Aramaic translation of Jeshua ben Joseph to Lao Tzu and Swami Ramdas. The same thread of invitation to sacred union (Alaha in Aramaic) awaits in all.

Author Elizabeth Kubler Ross – a noted Swiss-American psychiatrist said “If you are ready for mystical experiences, you will have them.”

Masters from many traditions have written about their transcendent experiences for centuries. And in many of these passages, the message is clear that the same connection is available within each of us – within you.

As the Sufi poet, Rumi expressed “What you seek, is seeking you.”

This process of connecting is one of attunement in which you create inner openness through intentional surrender to quiet the mind and peaceful breathing to relax the body. Then you absorb timeless truth through silent repetition of a wisdom passage.

Mystical experiences are serendipitous and occur in many ways. Intuitive answers, messages in dreams, and sudden downloads of love are some examples that have happened for students of this practice. The student’s tasks are straightforward. Be willing to believe in your own capacity for this sacred union, follow the simple instructions, be patient, and continue practicing daily. You will master what you continue to practice.

You have been invited to cultivate mystical experiences through passage meditation.

"If you are ready for mystical experiences, you have them." – Elizabeth Kubler Ross

"What you seek is seeking you." – Rumi

The secret then, as I have shared with you many times, is to practice seeking first the Kingdom. Never let a day go by in which you fail to ponder the great mystery of God’s presence. Never let a morning go by that you fail to begin your day, except in this way: "Surrender all thought of what you know and have believed. Rest in gratitude to the one who has birthed you. Ask only to be revealed for you greater truth, greater wisdom, greater capacity to know and extend perfect love, perfect trust, and perfect peace." – Jeshua ben Joseph

Leçon 1: Elements Of Mystical Experience

In this first lesson, we'll explore one definition and several elements of mystical experience. Mystical experience defined: a beneficial state of connection with a transcendent presence much larger than your individual self. Elements include serendipitous timing, an inner sense of knowing beyond intellect, and an indescribable feeling of transcending ordinary life.

I'll introduce a simple breathing technique that will enhance your practice as you move through the course. We'll expand our understanding of how this breath practice works and add other dimensions to it as we progress through the course.

We'll complete Day 1 with a passage meditation on the Aramaic translation of the Lord's Prayer which includes verses like this: "Lose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strands we hold of others guilt."

Leçon 2: What Are You Attuned To?

Our topic today is attunement which Webster defines as “to bring into harmony.” Have you ever noticed how certain music evokes a feeling of peace, joy, or love? Some people and places can have a similar effect. Those are examples of attunement.

Through some invisible process, the energy of that piece of music, that person’s demeanor, or the essence of a specific place resonates and harmonizes or attunes with that potential in you – which then activates a similar state of being. This same inner response can happen in harmful ways as well when you encounter angry music, alarming news, or places of trauma. Understanding that dynamic makes it vitally important to be aware of and intentional about what you take in each day.

Lao Tzu's "Holding to the Constant" is the passage used for meditation.

Leçon 3: Conscious Breath

Today, we’ll learn about the benefits of conscious breathing, a technique to improve your meditation when practiced diligently. We’ll also explore the metaphor of breath as spirit. One of the counterintuitive truths of cultivating mystical encounters is that self-mastery of mind and body serves to shrink the ego. Mastering intentional breathing is the first step in that process of self-mastery.

Quiet mind and peaceful body create room for the inner stillness necessary for mystical experience.

"The Lord of Life" from the Upanishads is the inspiring passage used for this lesson's meditation.

Leçon 4: The Power Of Mantras

In this lesson, we’ll learn about mantrams or mantras – their history, meaning, and benefits. There are different types and uses – for our purposes we’ll focus on mantram as holy name or prayer word. Webster defines mantra as “mystical formula of invocation.” These invocations, or prayer words, have been used for centuries by spiritual practitioners of many traditions – as a way to clear the mind of distractions and focus attention on a higher power.

One very common issue among all meditation practitioners is distracting thoughts, sensations, and emotions. Mantrams provide a simple effective antidote to distraction by giving you a word to focus on and return to gently each time the mind wanders. Using a word with sacred meaning enhances the effect – especially with consistent practice.

Spiritual masters have used mantrams for centuries to attain higher states of being. These potentials for inner calm, intuitive wisdom, and loving expression are within you now. Regular use of a sacred name or meaningful descriptor has been proven to declutter the thinking mind and open a channel to this inner higher power.

Swami Ramdas' beautiful passage "The Central Truth" is the text used in this lesson's meditation.

Leçon 5: The Power Of Love - Capital L

Today, we’re contemplating Love – capital L. What does Love with a capital L mean to you? “Love – capital L is a state of being in connection with our Higher Self – is demonstrated through action, and more felt experience than mental understanding.

It’s important to approach this topic at that level of felt experience – not just intellectual comprehension – but felt sense in the body. Many mystics, saints, and sages through the ages spoke of union with this mysterious Divine Force – Love – capital L.

The Sufi poet Rumi wrote, “Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.” How do we do that? For years, I believed that love was a byproduct – an involuntary response that was sometimes available and often elusive. Mothers had it more for their children than anyone – and lovers had it for each other – pause – until it faded as they “fell out of love.” With study and practice, I’ve come to understand it’s more nuanced than that. Love can be cultivated – like a garden.

We'll use several lovely poems from the Sufi Mystic poet Hafiz as inspiration for this lesson's passage meditation.

Leçon 6: Life Is A Shared Mystical Experience

So much of life today support the worldview of separate individual finite lives in a material universe. From this perspective – evolution is a purely physical phenomenon while consciousness, wisdom, and love are temporary byproducts produced by neurochemical processes in the human brain. But are we looking at it backwards?

Neuroscientist Dr. Tony Nader in his book “One Unbounded Ocean of Consciousness: Simple Answers to the Big Questions in Life” puts it this way: Consciousness is not a product of a nervous system, a brain, a body, or anything- it is the fundamental reality.

What do you believe and how does that affect your life? I encourage you to invest time in answering that question for yourself.

Leçon 7: Ask, Act & Allow

Mystical experiences come in many forms and can be seen with eyes of curiosity or a framework of disagreement. It's your choice. In fact, that’s one of your most valuable life gifts – choosing your own understanding. I choose to walk in the footsteps of the poets, prophets, and teachers and see with eyes of wonder.

That path and these practices have given me a growing number of episodes of conscious contact with a power greater than myself. Though each one has been different, there are commonalities between all of them: each is beyond comprehension in a logical framework, elude precise description, and was marked by a profound felt experience of wordless wonder.

My guess is since you’re listening to this course – you’ve had similar times in your life and would like more. I encourage you to continue seeking them and include this formula in your practice: ask, act, and allow.

Ask for opportunities to experience connection with Divine Mystery. Act on the intuitive nudges you receive. And allow the mystical experience to come to you in its own time. Find trusted friends and loved ones to help you cultivate this capacity. Don’t give up.

Reviews

Very well put together, beautiful texts and really life affirming

Insightful. I’ll definitely be using your advice and guidance during me Spiritual practice. Thank you for your wisdom and encouragement.

Thank you, I will go through this one again. Much love for the wisdom shared.

Thank you so much for offering this course. Just before the last one I got sidetracked with some things going on in my life and so many other offerings here on Insight Timer that I never finished the last day until just now. It was what I believe to be non coincidental nudge, as I returned here by stumbling upon it as an “unfinished course”. As a result I am going to start again at Day 1. Blessings on your beautiful journey. 🙏

Thank you very much!! I enjoyed every minute of your teaching 💕🌷

Thank you so much for creating and sharing. The whole course was opening, comforting,gentle and enlightening. I looked forward each day to sharing time with you and the profound teachings you put forth. Absolutely beautiful. 🙏🏼 I will be starting again at day 1.

A lovely course delivered In a beautiful and accepting manner

I loved how this course honored so many beautiful traditions and showed their unity and our interconnectedness.

This is such a good course - it was tied neaty to daily living and can be easily assimilated - thank you! 🙏

Subtle lessons. Expansive results

Namaste 🙏

Such a soothing voice to learn from. Great cadence and inflection…and those are only the physical attributes.

The mystical experience was easy to feel in these lessons and throughout the day. The poetry choices were spot on!

Thank you

Very thoughtful and enlightening. Very grateful for this course.

Fabulous
Thank u

What a great course! I will definitely repeat it again. It was such an unexpected but awesome and eye opening experience. Thank you so much for putting this together. The delivery was not only informational and touching but also very unique. I completely loved it. 🙏🧘‍♀️☯️💟

I appreciated the arc of the course, wonderfully sourced material, and the gentle delivery. Received information that will help help deepen my practice and helped further my connection with spirit.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge of Divine love. I hope to begin this course again, it helps me to have a deeper understanding of my heart and was very touching. I really enjoyed the last prayer....

A refreshing and warm way to stimulate new perspectives

Beautiful course. Loved the interfaith perspective.

This course was affirming of my own experiences and also encouraged recognition of and opening to even more mystical encounters. It also is a great reminder to hang in there when life gets difficult and that with practice and patience, the Light shows the way out. This course reminds me to increase my awareness of the connection we share with each other and all of life………..that awareness, in itself is a balm! Thank you, Matt, for your beautiful way, words, and insights!