Dedicated to my fellow mystic, Ari Abraham

A mystic walks in circles. Their path is always curved. They rarely reach the extremes. They walk in the middle. Their words, their instructions, and their description of life are in a constant flow of change. What is true today will be replaced by a different truth of tomorrow. For a mystic, the fact that today is summer doesn't mean tomorrow it won't rain. The logical mind will carry an umbrella; the mystic might choose to get wet.

Religion is logical. Dos and do nots. Black or white. Follow these instructions and find yourself in heaven; follow the other preacher, and you go to hell. Only two options. One or the other. For the mystic, there is so much more. Life is far greater than being limited to darkness and light. To rights and wrongs.

We fear living in color. It is so much easier to have only two options. It makes so much more sense and a much smaller margin for error. If you follow this concept, you'll realize that relating to life with nothing more than on and off guarantees that death will never be an adventure. That life is no more than an impatient period of time in between the yes and the no.

The mystical experience is, by definition, mystical. Mysterious. Unknown within the limitations of the mind. It is an invitation to experience life in a whole new way. A new approach you haven't imagined, felt, or thought of before. An expansion of a vertical horizon. A multilayered surface. A path with no beginning nor end.

'But how?!' - asks the mind. 'Tell me what to do? Show me where I'm wrong and how to get it right.' There is nothing to get and nothing to do. It is a tremendous force of energy, lots of action, but absolutely no doing. No… "getting". If anything… it is to be "gotten". To open to life in such a way that you become the opening through which life "gets" itself.

Mystics live in the now. But a now that doesn't know boundary. It's not a now that exists as a response to a past or a future. It isn't the middle way. Again, that idea bears a remarkable limitation. Limiting the present moment to nothing but a fleeting experience. The mystic lives in a vast space of now-ness. An unlimited expression of infinite possibility. It is a field of endless potential. Anything and everything can occur.

The landscape within which the mystic travels changes faster than their ability to formulate thought and articulate description. At best, they can smile, offer a poem or a melodious tune. It has often been said that to learn from a mystic, one has to learn as if inhaling a rose. Receive the fragrance and allow its aroma to change, transform, and sweeten your experience of life. But in reality, you can't ever truly learn from a mystic because you, as you are, are the most mystical, most magical, most unexplained phenomena you will ever encounter. All a mystic will ever do is point your finger right back at you.

You might explain the superficial, might have an idea or two. But the how? the when? the what? And definitely, the who… you'll never grasp. Those will never be contained. These questions were not meant to be answered. Those answers were not meant to be taught.

If you find yourself in the presence of a mystic, really – there's nothing you can do. Smile, sing, and offer your own tune. Nothing more, nothing less. Inhale their mystery and look for your own. Witness their heart and resonate with your own. Don't look for straight lines. Don't try to understand them using a calculative, evaluating mind. It's simply not the proper tool. Listen to their hearts melody and be inspired to dance. Witness the colors of their silence and find the courage to paint your dreams.

Mystics are a symptom of life. They are found at the feet of the mountain and in the depths of the sea. In the vastness of the desert and the thick of the forest. A mystic can't open your heart or walk the journey for you. All they will ever do is remind you that what you seek has already happened. That what you look for has been right there all along.