the PDF of her book - National Aphasia Association

Forewords and Preface ix
Foreword
The Mystical Life
David Spangler
Author, Mystic and Spiritual Teacher
It’s not easy to define the life of a mystic. Mystics come in so many
different flavors and expressions, living a wide variety of lifestyles and
following diverse spiritual paths or even at times no overt spiritual path at
all. The popular image is that of someone divorced from the concerns and
tribulations of the world, spending his or her time in deep communion with
the Sacred, and floating about on clouds of otherworldly bliss. Even a cursory
study of the lives of many famous mystics shows how unrepresentative and
even ludicrous such an image is. Yes, these individuals did experience a
deep union of soul and sacred, but most of them were hardly otherworldly.
They were involved with the people and events around them, and many
of them were deeply engaged in social movements seeking justice for the
dispossessed of their time in history. They were moved by a deep conviction
of compassion.
It is true that most of the mystics of whom we are most aware lived
and worked within a religious context, so it’s not surprising that we think of
mysticism as a profession for spiritual people, people who have felt a calling
to a religious life. But anyone can be a mystic, for at the heart of the mystical
life is a simple experience: I am connected deeply to everything else, and the
wellbeing of the whole is my wellbeing also.
We are all aware of having connections, particularly with people in our
families or people whom we like or with whom we work; we’re all aware
that we’re dependent upon certain others to do things for us when we need
them. When I need to travel, I may be dependent on the employees of the
airline company—and particularly upon the pilots of the plane I’m in—to
assure I and my baggage arrive safely at my destination. When I’m sick, I’m