I S B N 978-1-57863-601-3

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JON MUNDY, PhDAuthor of Living a Course in Miracles

Begin Your Sp i r i tua l Adventure

MYSTICISMA COURSE IN

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MUNDY

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Awaken Your Inner Mysticand Experience Miracles

In today’s hectic world, mystical experience is easily missed,

misinterpreted, or misunderstood. It lies hidden in the most ordinary

aspects of life, yet is a source of spiritual truth. In this book, Jon

Mundy explores the tenets of mysticism and the teachings of

A Course in Miracles, a book now regarded as a modern spiritual

classic. Here, the ideas in the Course are illuminated through the

teachings of a host of different thinkers and traditions, from the

Persian mystic Jalaluddin Rumi to Mother Teresa.

“If you want to know about mysticism and miracles, this is the place to look.”

—Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love

“In this masterful work, Jon brilliantly brings big-picture truths down to earth and makes the divine practical. You will rarely fi nd

a better blend of wisdom, heart, inspiration, and vision.”

—Alan Cohen, author of A Course in Miracles Made Easy

Both informative and inspirational, A Course in Mysticism and Miracles reveals that life’s journey can be fi lled with experiences

of wonder, awe, freedom, and bliss. Its insights affi rm that a life of

peace is available to us all.

This edition first published in 2018 by Weiser Books, an imprint ofRed Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:65 Parker Street, Suite 7Newburyport, MA 01950www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright © 2018 by Jon MundyAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-601-3Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Jim WarnerCover photograph Shutterstock © Andrey TiykInterior by Frame25 ProductionsTypeset in ITC Stone Serif

Printed in CanadaMAR10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Preface

Mysticism is the pursuit of a spiritual and intangible quest; the finding of a “way out” of illusion or a “way back” to

absolute truth. It is an intimate personal adventure. Mysticism is the art of arts. It is the most romantic of adventures.

—Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism

Why pick up this book? Why read any further? Maybe you

already know something of the mystical. Maybe mysticism,

for you, means remembering something you already know.

When you read the teachings of the world’s great wisdom

literature and know of the wisdom of A Course in Miracles,

a conversation naturally emerges regarding the similarities

between the teachings of the Course and a host of teach-

ings from different mystics and philosophers across the ages.

Spend some time reading the Course and you’ll soon say:

“Who wrote this?” It is clear that no “body” wrote it. It came

through the mind and the hands of Helen Schucman, a pro-

fessor of medical psychology at Columbia University. Having

known Helen, however—as brilliant as she was—these sen-

tences are not her ordinary way of speaking or being.

In the 2016 movie Arrival, when aliens land on Earth, the

first thing they must do is establish a means of communica-

tion. Not only are they confronted with a language barrier—as

A C O U R S E I N M Y S T I C I S M A N D M I R AC L E Sxii

there would be, say, between someone who speaks Chinese

and someone who speaks English—there is also a tremendous

gap between the way the aliens think and the way those they

find on Earth think. This boundary must be crossed before

real communication can begin. Twentieth-century philoso-

pher Ludwig Wittgenstein once pointed out that, although

we cannot even begin to imagine how a lioness thinks, if her

eyes are fixed on a gazelle, we have some idea of what she

has in mind. So it is that mystical “thinking” also transcends

“words” and our current ways of seeing, understanding, and

being. Yet we can still grasp its meaning.

About A Course in MiraclesA Course in Miracles presents itself as “a manual for a spe-

cial curriculum, intended for teachers of a special form of

the universal course. There are many thousands of other

forms, all with the same outcome” (M–1.4:1 see reference key

on page xiv.). The Course is but one of many thousands of

spiritual paths—indeed, thousands upon thousands. There

have always been those, like 13th-century Persian mystic

Jalaluddin Rumi, who have brought us different spiritual

truths. In fact, many of the ideas contained in the Course

are reflected in the teachings of a host of different thinkers

and traditions that both pre-date and are contemporaneous

with it. This is especially true for those who engage in what

is called non-dualistic thinking—Gnostics, Neoplatonists,

Advaita Vedantists, Zen Buddhists, Sufis, Kabbalists, Tran-

scendentalists, those who expound New Thought philoso-

phies like Christian Science, Unity, and Religious Science,

and, more recently, those who favor the work of Mari Per-

rone in A Course of Love. Interfaith work and/or what is also

P R E FAC E xiii

called Interspirituality is clearly the wave of the future. In

the end, no religion wins. God wins, which means everyone

wins, as our will must ultimately be the same as that of God.

Everything not of God is illusory—what the Course calls “the

dreaming of the world.” The Course, like all mystical teach-

ings, calls upon us to awaken from all dreaming.

Since its release in 1976, A Course in Miracles has come to

be regarded as a great work of art and a 21st-century spiritual

classic. More than three million copies now exist in twenty-

seven different languages. What is unique about the Course

is its incredibly high level of psychological sophistication. It

is truly a document of the 21st-century—one that gives us

ever-deeper insight into the working of the mind.

This book explains what mysticism is and identifies the

basic characteristics of mystical experience—the loss of sub-

ject/object identity, a sense of timelessness, release of the ego

self, and experiences of wonder, awe, reverence, freedom,

happiness, and bliss. The Course is a manual for the awaken-

ing of mystic vision without dogma, rituals, and the fetters of

traditional religion. While there are many dedicated teachers

of the Course, there is no hierarchy within its followers—no

bishops, no central organization, no chain of command.

This book contains quotes from and/or stories of more

than 200 different individuals and sources. In the back of

the book, you’ll find an alphabetical listing of the mystics,

philosophers, poets, and personalities discussed, along with

a sentence or two about their lives and who they are or were.

Reference KeyQuotations and paraphrasing from A Course in Miracles,

unless otherwise designated, come from the third edition,

A C O U R S E I N M Y S T I C I S M A N D M I R AC L E Sxiv

published by the Foundation for Inner Peace. The location

of each quote or paraphrase appears immediately after the

reference, followed by a listing of the chapter, section, para-

graph, and sentence. For instance, in the example T–9.III.4:1,

“T” means “Textbook”; “9” is the chapter; “III” is the section;

“4” is the paragraph; and “1” is the sentence. For this pur-

pose, the following key applies:

T references the Textbook

W references the Workbook

M references the Manual for Teachers

C references the Clarification of Terms

S references The Song of Prayer

In references the Introduction

A Course in Miracles is referred to throughout this text

simply as “the Course.” In a few instances, I have added

bracketed words to clarify vague terms or pronouns cited out

of context. Although some parts of the Course are delivered

as poetry, here I cite them in prose form for clarity’s sake. All

Biblical quotations are from the King James version, the one

referenced within the Course and one of Helen Schucman’s

favorite translations.

Introduction: Why Mysticism and Miracles?

The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not.

W–49.1:2

Two early 20th-century mystics, G. I. Gurdjieff and Ramana

Maharshi, both said that what is important in life is hav-

ing a clearly defined living question. As A Course in Miracles

expresses it: “The test of everything on earth is simply this:

‘What is it for?’” (T–24.VII.6:1). We can think of this ques-

tion as the “how” and the “why” of life. We thirst for the

truth because only truth will satisfy the soul’s deep longing

for God. How did we get into these bodies? In this world? At

this time? What are we supposed to do here? Does life extend

beyond the limitation of our bodies or do we just have a

birth, a dream, and then death?

There are people who say they know the answers to these

questions. They have experienced “insights”—sometimes a

momentary knowing, sometimes longer, deeper, more pro-

found experiences that led to an inner conviction and a living

awareness of eternal life. Some have experienced “awakenings”

that have lasted for days and were so profound that they were

not able to talk or eat. To go through such an “awakening” is

A C O U R S E I N M Y S T I C I S M A N D M I R AC L E Sxviii

to be transformed. When thus awakened, they often feel the

need to share what they have seen, but find it very hard to

put it into words. Likewise, you may experience an insight

with such profundity that you stop for a moment and peek

into eternity—through disciplined study and contemplation;

through simply getting quiet; through falling in love; perhaps

due to the death of a spouse; perhaps while fishing or driving;

or perhaps for no clear reason at all. That is when your mind

takes a picture of something you can never forget.

A Little BackgroundFor over forty years, I simultaneously followed two profes-

sions: I was a parish minister and I taught classes in philoso-

phy, religion, and psychology at several colleges. During the

summer of 1970, I trained in yoga with Swami Vishnudeva-

nanda; in the summer of 1971, I left on a trip through India

on which I spent time with Sathya Sai Baba, Muktananda,

and Osho. While meditating in an underground man-made

cave at Muktananda’s ashram in Genishpuri, I was guided

to go back to New York and assured that I would find what I

was looking for there. The whole experience left me wanting

something more. By this time, it was clear to me that God

could only be found within, but I still needed to look for

deeper clarity and understanding.

My first book, Learning to Die, appeared in 1973. Helen

Schucman, the scribe of A Course in Miracles, and William

Thetford, her supervisor at Columbia University School of

Physicians and Surgeons, came to a lecture I was giving on

mysticism and near-death experiences. At the time, I was

one month shy of my thirtieth birthday and knew that my

own experiences paled in the face of Helen and Bill’s deeper

xixI N T R O D U C T I O N

understanding of the spiritual path. They were, however,

quite kind. Helen welcomed my enthusiasm for mysticism

and appreciated the fact that I was a theology student.

One spring Sunday in 1975, Helen sat me down with Bill

Thetford and another of her colleagues, Ken Wapnick, in Ken’s

tiny studio apartment in New York. There, she told me how the

Course had come to be and how it affected the other people

in the room. After this initial meeting, Ken and I decided we

would continue to get together for further discussions at Gen-

eral Theological Seminary, where I was living, teaching, and

doing postgraduate work. From that night on, Ken became

my primary teacher and “older brother” in this earthly jour-

ney. When he died, Ken left us a mountain of information

in printed books, audio recordings, and video productions.

Exploring this treasure is marvelous fun and I still listen to his

many CDs as I drive. Ken left us more than words, however;

he also left us an example—a demonstration of how to live in

truth and find our way back Home. For those who knew Ken,

one word describes him above all others: kindness.

Helen became a kind of informal therapist for me, help-

ing me sort through my feelings and deal with my too-fre-

quent romantic upheavals. A few weeks after our meeting,

Helen met Judy Whitson, who later became the President

of the Foundation for Inner Peace, which published the first

edition of the Course. Judy and I had been friends since the

1960s and were both working with the American Society for

Psychical Research. Judy arranged for the xeroxing of 300

copies of the Course—called the Criswell Edition—so a small

group of us could start reading it and practicing the Work-

book lessons prior to its publication in 1976.

A C O U R S E I N M Y S T I C I S M A N D M I R AC L E Sxx

Old NewsWhat the Course says is not new. It simply provides an expansive view. ( Jon)

Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Pearlman once said: “An

amateur practices until they get it right. A professional prac-

tices until they can’t get it wrong.” The more a student prac-

tices a musical instrument, the more perfect and beautiful the

sound. Likewise, the more the principles of the Course are

understood and applied, the deeper we experience a sense of

divine order. The Course is sophisticated and erudite, unpre-

tentious and profound. It tells us over and over that the path

is incredibly simple. We, however, are not simple. Understand-

ing the Course requires that we purify our thoughts and delib-

erately remove all blocks to an awareness of love’s presence.

It requires that we put aside all judgments, attack thoughts,

defensiveness, and deceptiveness. Most of all, it requires prac-

tice, practice, practice—until you simply can’t get it wrong.

Mysticism and the EgoI once asked Ken why he thought the Course came to us when

it did—during the last quarter of the 20th century. He said

that he did not know for sure, but he was sure that it could

not have appeared until after the work of Sigmund Freud, the

father of psychoanalysis. Freud understood the ego very well

and described in some detail how it works. Before Freud, men

like German Idealist philosopher Johann Fichte maintained

xxi

that a study of the ego was fundamental to philosophy and

to the then newly emerging field of psychology, but no one

before Freud had spelled out the workings of the ego in such

detail and with such amazing clarity.

While there are similarities between the use of the word

“ego” in the Course and in Freudian psychology, the usage is

not the same. In the Course, the word is used in ways more

akin to how it is used in non-dualistic, mystically oriented

philosophy, in which the ego is a false self with no lasting

reality. By contrast, Freud thought that we were damned to a

life with the ego—absolutely stuck with it. There was no exit,

no door to freedom.

In The Future of an Illusion, Freud writes: “The idea of

God is an illusion based on an infantile emotional need for a

powerful supernatural paterfamilias”—that is, a strong father

figure. Freud’s atheism kept him from seeing that God was

the answer to this dilemma. By contrast, the Course teaches

that “allegiance to the denial of God is the ego’s religion”

(T–10.V.3:1). If Freud had studied Eastern philosophy or mys-

ticism, as did Jung, he might have seen the way out. The pres-

ence of God is an absolute ingredient in awakening. Without

God, we’re lost. Mystics are lucky. Although perhaps not yet

realized, they know that the search for God is the only way

to go. And it is in that search that we experience miracles.

This is much like the teachings of Meister Eckhart, a 12th-

century Dominican often regarded as the greatest of the medi-

eval Christian mystics. “The world,” Eckhart tells us, “is an

emanation from an ultimate, indivisible being with whom the

soul is ‘ultimately’ united.” Charged with heresy by the Inqui-

sition, Eckhart spent the last two years of his life defending

his mystical teachings and died before he could be executed.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A C O U R S E I N M Y S T I C I S M A N D M I R AC L E Sxxii

(He is thus referred to as “Meister,” not “Saint.”) Eckhart epito-

mizes the teaching of all mystics in this admonition: “Become

in all things a God seeker and a God finder, at all times and

in all places.” Albert Einstein, a mystic in his own way, put it

more simply: “I want to know the Mind of God.”

Viewed from the perspective of medieval mysticism,

the Course is “the Philosopher’s Stone”—the Magnum Opus,

or “the great work”—that truly answers the riddles of the

Universe. It represents a process by which we can learn of

the truth of our being, find freedom from our insanity, and

be reassured of eternal life. Like all mystical “systems,” the

Course is a path, a way, a process, and a passage. It is a story

that tells us of the grand destiny and points the way to the

path out of hell. Ultimately, the answer to the riddle we call

life is simply a matter of a willingness to live in harmony with

the Divine. That is the miracle. We are simply called upon to

remember—or better, re-cognize—what we already know.

The True MysticAt the core, everyone is a mystic. Everyone longs for God

and our eternal Home. Once, when I was teaching a class on

mysticism, I described a thinker as “a true mystic.” A student

asked what I meant, forcing me to contemplate the qualities

I ascribed to mystics. I settled on four major characteristics

that are common to them all:

A true mystic looks for God above and beyond all worldly endeavors.

A true mystic is willing to go through a deep inner cleansing of the soul, accept responsibil-

xxiii

ity for decisions, and begin living in accordance with the Will of God—which is our own will.

A true mystic dedicates his or her life to spiritual growth and to the process of being free of illu-sion in favor and recognition of reality.

A true mystic is a lover of the Absolute.

Evelyn Underhill called true mystics “the heroes of our race.”

I N T R O D U C T I O N