This topic came up in another thread, and it is something I am curious about.
What do you consider to be mystical thinking?
Do you have thoughts and beliefs that reflect this concept of mysticism?
Which function(s) do you think contribute to your mystical thinking and describe how do you approach it?
What do I consider to be mystical thinking?
Eek...I'm not so sure there is such a thing. I think I just think. I don't believe that mysticism has to be connected with palm reading, astrology and so forth. I think it is merely having the ability to see past the surface. For example, I attend a lot of festivals where I sketch people. They sit in a chair and I draw them and while I draw them, I begin to "understand" things about them, things they aren't even aware of. I've seen people break down and cry while I drew their faces, because I made a comment about their eyes or about how I can tell they are a family person and so on and so forth.
Do you have thoughts and beliefs that reflect this concept of mysticism?
Yes. I do.
There is nothing so hidden that it can't be revealed with time, patience, a teachable and open spirit and a relentless desire to understand. Perhaps, the key to mysticism isn't in seeming mystical or attempting to prove what you can do, but just in being open to what's already there. Or maybe, it's just the culture I come from. In my world all things are connected. Life is like a bike wheel with the core being the center and all things radiating out from it to form a never ending circle. I was raised to believe that the veil between the spirit world and the physical world is very thin. I was taught that the spirit world is always trying to communicate with us, but we have to be willing to listen to it. Everybody has the potential to be spiritual/mystical but it's just stronger in some people than others because they hone it.
Which function(s) do you think contribute to your mystical thinking and describe how do you approach it?
I guess it's just a matter of careful observation and intuition combined, that coupled with a genuine compassion for people, a caring for their well being. For example, when I draw people, it's like they're getting their palms read while I draw their faces, but I don't go around claiming to have some mystical power and I'm not into astrology. I did read Tarot cards for a while at the urging of a friend, and I was really good at it, but I quit. I quit because it broke my heart how people wanted some "magic bullet" or "card" to tell them who they were, to define them, to guide them. I realized that in doing that I was enabling people to be spiritually crippled, even lazy. I wasn't really helping them. I felt a strong conviction that people need to learn to pray for themselves, to meditate on their own, move their own chi and so forth. I came to the realization that everybody has the ability to know truths about themselves if only they are honest enough to really look and then accept what they see. Maybe personality typing is kind of that way, too. Maybe we all have an image of what we want to be. But there's nothing wrong with what we are. For example, I'm an INFJ. I was one before I knew I was one. In college people told me I was "mystical". I was amused. I didn't see where they got that, because to me, I was just me--well, normal. At least I was normal for me. Then a professor enlightened me that my experiences weren't normal. Who knew? In my family they were normal. In my culture, they were normal. I think mysticism is partially being able to look at yourself and others without being judgmental [not the same as a judging function], because only then can we begin to see things objectively.
I get really tickled at a lot of people who run around doing all sorts of things to be "mystical" and "spiritual" and I think, "Geesh, people, just open your eyes and get outside your own desires." But then again, maybe I'm no different. Who knows? I know one thing, anyone who possesses himself/herself to be wise is probably foolish or at least very near-sighted.
***Oh, and I don't really mind if others question my sanity. You would find me amusing and maybe entertaining! My insanity has served me well. I just get online because, well, I have an insatiable desire to learn.