Reading from Freethinking Mystics with Hands by Tom Owen-Towle, p.3

Unitarian Universalists are suspicious of that which is felt but unprovable… It is often difficult for us to confess that we dwell in a universe utterly beyond our creation, our control, and even our comprehension….Yet our mystical bent would posit: There is so much we do not know that remains mysterious…The universe is wondrously, terrifyingly inexplicable. And we like it that way.

Listen to the sentiments of Jacob Trapp, a preeminent UU mystic, from his book Return to the Springs: “I like to think of mysticism as the art of meeting reality…It is an experience that comes unbidden…it is not the intellectual conviction that Being itself is my being, but rather an ineffable experience of that Oneness, flooding in to overwhelm our illusion of aloneness, separateness.”

….[But] we consummate our UU religious journey through the employment of our hands. Ultimately, we are measured by….the breadth of our justice-building and peace-making….Holding fast to our mission as free-thinking mystics with hands…

Sermon

         Summer offers us an opportunity to experience Nature like no other season. The warmth of a summer day simply invites gaiety, frolicking, and outdoors activity. In the season that invites us to be carefree, we are more likely to experience an “alternate reality”, an unfamiliar mental space so engaging that we may want to return to it intentionally but find it elusive. This happened to me in June on a visit to a very dear friend in Southern California. I’ll call her Caroline.

Although we had exchanged audio-tape “letters” and occasional telephone calls, we had not seen one another for five years. We were very excited to spend a whole day together before I returned to Massachusetts. After a leisurely breakfast she asked me what I wanted to do. I thought briefly and said, “You often talked of walking in the Back Bay. I would like to go there.” She hadn’t been there for a few years and was glad at my request. The “Back Bay” is a protected area of wetlands in Newport Beach, California. At high tide, the bay water comes in and covers some of it. At low tide you can walk on some of the pathways amongst the high grasses and shrubbery, some trees, and a few hills. The path is squishy with sea water in places. It was a hot day but a cool breeze fanned us. As we walked, we caught up on our lives in bits and pieces, sometimes shouting as we went single file to navigate boggy areas.

Caroline said on and off, “I wish I could remember where the stream is. I’d like you to see it.” At a fork in the path, she said, “I think it is this way.” Soon we did indeed come upon a wide stream bubbling over stones and mud. It was shaded with small trees and bushes.

“Oh, it’s a shady bower,” I exclaimed.

“A bower” she repeated “It sounds poetic. But are you game to cross?”

“Cross?!?” I thought, as my eyes widened. The stream was about 20 feet wide. Across it was a 4 by 4 beam. Although it was sturdy enough it looked awfully narrow to me. I thought about high wire performers. Not my style! Could I really walk across on 4-inches of wood? I looked down at my feet—they’re about the same width but the other side of the stream looked far away!

Caroline stepped on the bar sideways and began slide-stepping carefully sideways. Sideways! I hadn’t thought of that and was shocked and amused that sideways had never occurred to me. I imagined I’d be putting one foot in front of the other with arms outstretched for balance. She made it look so easy. I noticed that the four by four bended and bowed when she was close to the middle. She was soon on the other bank and stepped gingerly onto the firm ground. She grinned and challenged, “Do you think you can make it?”

“Well, I suppose the worst thing that can happen is that I fall and end up in the mud in my white pants and few inches of water and I’ll have to paddle across to the other side. So here goes!” Copying her, I stepped slowly sideways in a sliding motion. I noticed I was holding my breath, which made me laugh and get a bit unbalanced. I steadied myself and breathed deeply and looked into the water below and then it happened. The rushing sound over the stones increased and seemed to completely fill my ears. The wind seemed to whistle loudly around me. The water seemed to separate into expanded droplets, sparkling like jewels. A wave of gratefulness passed over me. I felt part of the wooden beam, the rushing water, the wind. I was hardly aware of standing on a too narrow beam in the middle of a stream. I have no idea how long I stood there. Then I heard Caroline’s voice softly call my name, “Ann, Ann, are you okay?” I couldn’t speak but I began side-stepping again. In the middle, the 4X4 moved up and down but I kept going and finally reached the other side.

I know I haven’t described this experience very well. It is really indescribable in words. I can recall it in my mind and re-experience the feeling but I believe it is beyond mere words.

Caroline asked me what happened but I just couldn’t talk about what I had experienced. We continued our walk in silence and slowly resumed our sharing.

We ended the day with a visit to my favorite beach, Corona del Mar, crowning this with dinner at a top notch Sushi Bar. What a great end to a memorable day. But I was to return in my mind again and again to my experience on the beam in the middle of the stream.

I recalled the words of the philosopher J. Krishnamurti speaking about an experience when he one day felt himself become part of the great oak tree and the wind and he looked out at the world from the perspective of the tree. In his lectures, Krishnamurti usually focused on the illusions we live with so we can understand them and let them go. He encourages us to improve the self so that we make the world a better place. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to deny his mystical experience because it was true for him. (Krishnamurti, You Are the World) He didn’t try to explain it. He simply said that all things are connected, interdependent.

These are transcendent experiences of great intensity. I have felt at one with nature before, but this was an intense being with, perhaps immersed in the elements around me.

In the reading this morning, Unitarian Universalism minister, Jacob Trapp, says “I like to think of mysticism as…an experience that comes unbidden…it is not the intellectual conviction that Being itself is my being, but rather an ineffable experience of that Oneness, flooding in to overwhelm our illusion of aloneness, separateness.” Tom Owen-Towle, accepts this and yet insists that it is the work of our lives in justice- and peace-making that are the most important.

I do agree with this. Yet transcendent experiences can be empowering and expanding and hopeful. I believe I experienced a level of reality crossing the stream sideways that confirms for me that the consciousness of humankind is far greater than it seems. I believe we are deeply connected with all things and these experiences remind us of a greater self. Deepak Chopra calls this “the transition zone” or “quantum domain.” (Chopra, pp 4-9)

Mystics report far greater visions than mine. Perhaps theirs are a deeper or higher reality, an experience of the divine. Perhaps I’ll have a magnificent infinite-love God experience one day. But for now, my Back Bay, Newport, California experience is enough. It gave me pause and I wanted to share it with you in case you have had a similar experience and perhaps it might validate yours.

As many of you know, Unitarian Universalism has six sources from which we draw our inspiration. Do you remember the first one? It says, “Direct experiences of that transcending mystery and wonder…” This is the source from which I drew my inspiration this summer in California.

We are so very fortunate that our religion encourages us to freely explore what life offers at its deepest level. Let us consider all the sources from which we are encouraged to draw our inspiration. [Dear Reader, We read our sources (which I think of as our “scripture”) from our hymnbook. They are printed below for your convenience.]

Sources from which Unitarian Universalists draw their inspiration:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life.

Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Note: There was a lot of disagreement at the 1995 General Assembly with the last one, but it was voted in by majority vote. You might consider whether there is a source missing for you. What would you add to, or subtract from, this list?

As our reading this morning urged us: May we all be “free-thinking mystics with hands.”

References

The following has inspired and informed this sermon:

Dear Reader: The most important source is my experience in Newport Beach (California), which I hope helps to validate some of your own experiences. Please share some of your experiences with me.

Chopra, Deepak, M.D. How to Know God: The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries, New York, N.Y: Three Rivers Press, 2000.

Owen-Towle, Tom. Freethinking Mystics with Hands: Exploring the Heart of Unitarian Universalism, Boston: Skinner House Books, 1998.

Stevens, Jose, Ph.D. “The Seven Bands of Consciousness: How to Access and Use Them Effectively,” Power Path Seminars May 2004 Newsletter from Pivotal Resources.