Among all the models of thinking we study, mysticism is an exceptional phenomenon, and this exclusivity is manifested in the fact that here the pursuit of knowledge or the solution of cognitive problems is carried out to the limit of the possible and therefore faces such difficulties that make this model of thinking practically inaccessible to the vast majority of people . But nevertheless, mystical thinking represents a rather deep layer in human thinking; it underlies archaic models of thinking and does not lose its significance today.
The words “mysticism”, “mystical”, “mysticism” in everyday speech or everyday ideas of people express any incomprehensible or beyond the imaginable phenomenon, which is very often associated with the action of certain “otherworldly” forces. This understanding has some justification, because The Greek word “mistikos” means “mysterious”. But such an understanding significantly distorts the idea of mysticism as a model of thinking or as a cognitive “strategy.”
Mystical thinking comes from the recognition that the world as a single whole, as the deep connection of all things and phenomena, seems to be an incomprehensible mystery in the full sense of the word – after all, if what we consider a mystery, in principle, can be discovered or solved, then it is not not really a secret; the secret, if it is such, cannot be revealed, because its hidden content is beyond the expressible. But nevertheless, the recognition that the hidden deep connection of all things and phenomena is incomprehensible does not mean that no cognitive interests or tasks can arise in this direction. Mysticism in its philosophical manifestation is the comprehension of exactly how guidelines should be created, tasks set and how cognitive interests in the sphere of mystical thinking and knowledge should be realized, to what extent mystical knowledge can lay claim to truth. The cognitive guideline here is not the analysis and explanation of the types or levels of connections between the phenomena of the real world (which we see in rationalism), but a synthetic vision and understanding as “embracing” the infinite integrity and coherence of everything that exists. Therefore, mystical knowledge presupposes, first of all, self-knowledge, aimed at exploring the boundaries and limits of what is possible for human consciousness, soul and spirit, because it is our limitations (bodily, mental, spiritual, spatio-temporal, etc.) that become an obstacle to understanding of the limitless and limitless. Provided that these limitations are overcome, human consciousness and spirit only approach the possibility of mystical perception and understanding of reality, penetration into the deep essence and meaning of what is happening.
In this regard, it is necessary to immediately separate mysticism from the closely related occultism (occult knowledge formed on the basis of occult thinking) and esotericism (esoteric, i.e. special secret knowledge about the movement of spirits and the spiritual powers of man), because they have fundamentally different goals and paths of knowledge. Occult thinking and esotericism can, to a certain extent, be considered one of the archaic forms or manifestations of mystical thinking, but this does not apply to the relationship between occultism, esotericism and mysticism as different cognitive attitudes and principles.
Occultism, in its original meaning, is a closed knowledge based on some kind of cult associated with the veneration of certain divine forces, spirits, with admiration for one or another secret force or element, etc. The goal of occultism is to create special secret knowledge and corresponding practices that allow a person to navigate and act in the limitless field of action of these secret forces or elements. Such knowledge, as a rule, has three main directions – the art of prediction and interpretation of signs, medicine and theurgy (knowledge about the movement of spiritual forces and how they control human life and also the magical art of bringing the soul into contact with spirits). It must also be based on a kind of “theoretical” basis, which is given in theogony and cosmogony – the teachings about the absolute, about divine principles, about the implementation of these principles in space and time, etc. In some “practical” aspects, such knowledge can be correlated with magic or its elements, which involve ideas about a sympathetic connection between things or phenomena (for example, the idea that a trace left by a person or his image is connected with the person himself), ideas about substantial transfer in space and time (for example, the action of an amulet or talisman), etc.
In its historical development, occultism acquired various forms, the most famous of which were its “scientific” varieties: such as astrology and alchemy. It should be noted that despite the fact that occult knowledge, being an echo of archaic models of thinking, does not stand up to criticism, it retains its relevance and popularity in the modern world. This can be explained not only by the fact that people most often do not think critically and are very gullible, but primarily by the fact that it is occult knowledge that is focused exclusively on an individual approach in assessing a situation or a person’s condition, which was well formulated by the famous researcher of mythological and cult thinking Kurt Huebner: Physics can explain why a brick fell out of a wall, but it (and no other science) will explain why it fell on this particular person. Only the occult sciences see such an explanation as one of their main tasks, although, of course, the question of how exactly this task is accomplished is very problematic.
Esoterics is secret knowledge about the foundations of spiritual life and spiritual harmony, about spiritual comprehension of the depths of divine or higher wisdom, embedded both in certain religious doctrines, in doctrines that synthesize various religious positions, and in non-religious ideas about the Higher Worlds. This explains the differences in esoteric doctrines that have existed from antiquity to our times. An attempt to overcome differences, i.e. to discover the unity of esoteric doctrines was carried out in esotericism, a direction that determines the conditions and methods of unifying esoteric doctrines (E. Shure and others).
Occultism and esotericism can be related to each other when: firstly, one type of knowledge presupposes the other (because theogony and cosmogony become their common basis or because training in the occult sciences requires the achievement of a special spiritual level), and secondly , together they form a common worldview and way of understanding reality – theosophy.
So, at first glance, it is quite difficult to find differences between mysticism and theosophy, especially between mysticism and esotericism (when it comes to spiritual self-knowledge), so these positions are often not attempted to be distinguished or are generally confused. However, there is a fundamental difference here, and it lies in the fact that occultism and esotericism are ultimately focused on achieving specific, definite knowledge or results that can be presented, finalized, and, most importantly, used; mysticism presupposes an extremely cautious position in understanding the deep relationships and connections of everything that exists, which establishes their fundamental incomprehensibility.
Mystical knowledge, although it presupposes quite certain “moves” (such as self-knowledge leading to self-awareness, internal control, expansion of the possibilities of perception, etc.), still places a fundamental role on Revelation as the opportunity given from above and the ability to gain insight, enlightenment in which the truth is revealed. And a person cannot foresee or predict to whom and why this gift is revealed. Mystical knowledge is a path into uncertainty, when a person starts from everything that seems clear or possible, definite or reliable, crosses the border of formulated knowledge or even the border of the imaginable (apophatic path, apophatic), while intuitively “catching” the integrity and coherence of this uncertainty.
The mystical path of knowledge can be carried out both within the framework of a particular religious doctrine and outside this framework. But even when he is “attached” to a religious doctrine, it is still accepted not within a rigid confessional framework, but in a semantic, essential vision of the Divine principle. The truth of the mystical understanding, in this case, is seen in accordance with the creeds. The truth of non-religious mystical understanding is revealed in the internal figurative consistency of ideas and metaphors, the symbolic coherence of this understanding.
European mystical philosophers include Bernard of Clairvaux, Hugo of Saint-Victor, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Jacob Boehme, and Meister Eckhart. However, in the teachings of many philosophers of antiquity, the Middle Ages, etc. one can detect elements of mysticism, sometimes quite compatible with their rationalistic attitudes. Eastern mysticism has its own ideological characteristics, its deep and more ancient history, but the principles and meaning of mystical knowledge are common and even universal for both the East and the West.
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После романа 
