Opening the Inner Eye:
Abrahamic Mystical Traditions
with Dana Sawyer
Be sure to check out our two other lecture series: Asian Mystical Traditions starting January 11th, and Looking at Mysticism Today starting April 5th!
In all cultures everywhere, there have been those who, from time immemorial, have had extraordinary experiences they believed to have revealed life’s ultimate purpose. Many of these mystics, including Rumi, Meister Eckhart, Shankara, Teresa of Avila, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Ibn Arabi, are well known to scholars and their teachings continue to inform the lives of millions. However, Cardinal Newman once warned that mysticism “begins in the mist” and “ends in schism,” due to the fact that the often paradoxical teachings of the mystics have sometimes led to breaks from doctrinal faith.
What is the nature of mystical experience? Is it an apprehension of sacred truth, a heresy, an expanded state of consciousness, a paranormal state of psychology, or merely a delusion born of stress or mental illness?
In this short lecture series, we’ll explore answers to all of these questions and more. In the first two series (Asian Mystical Traditions and Abrahamic Mystical Traditions) we will cover how mysticism has been explained, appropriated and sometimes marginalized within six of the world’s religions. In the third series (Looking at Mysticism Today) we’ll cover how mystical states of consciousness are being investigated today, and how they’re increasingly being appropriated by those who identify as “spiritual but not religious.”
Abrahamic Mystical Traditions:
This fascinating three part lecture series will cover:
February 22nd, 6:00-7:30: Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah - it’s history, ideology and practice.
March 1st, 6:00-7:30: Christian mysticism of the Gnostic tradition, including gnostic trends today
March 8th, 6:00-7:30: Sufism and Islamic mysticism, today and in the past.
Fee: $50 for the three part lecture series
(Please note all workshops are non-refundable)
Dana Sawyer is professor emeritus of philosophy and world religions at the Maine College of Art, and has studied comparative mysticism for decades. He first began studying mysticism as a student of Hindu swamis and Tibetan Lamas while spending several years in India. He has published articles on Hinduism, Buddhism, mysticism and the Perennial Philosophy in Tricycle: the Buddhist Review, Yoga Journal and Parabola magazine, and has taught regularly at the Esalen Institute, the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and other retreat centers.
REGISTER HERE
Be sure to check out our two other lecture series: Asian Mystical Traditions starting January 11th, and Looking at Mysticism Today starting April 5th!
