The Modern Mystics
We live in a time in which increasing numbers of us are leaving our mainstream religions in droves, discarding archaic and outdated belief systems that no longer have meaning to us in our modern world. Yet this is not an atheistic movement. Quite the contrary. We are searching for reconnection with the archetypes that the mystics of the past have always sought out—the authentic transpersonal forces, who are poised and willing to help us and who want the best for us. This seems to be part of a progression forward (and upward) toward a new spiritual complex that is quietly taking form.
Given the number of websites and workshops devoted to exploring aspects of the old mystery schools of the past, not to mention the unending avalanche of books that have been written on these and related subjects during the past two decades, interesting questions arise.
As we come to the end of this cycle of ages and prepare for the beginning of the next, are we willing to draw on the wisdom of the old mystery schools, reworking and transforming it into something entirely new, refining this wisdom and enhancing it in a way that reflects who we are now as well as who we are becoming? From my perspective as an anthropologist who has spent large parts of my life living with indigenous peoples, this reworking must (and will) involve a re-enchantment of the world and a re-enchantment of ourselves as well. And yet just what does this mean?
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