Most of us are part-time mystics.

      We have "moments" of inspiration and insight. The difference between people like Hayden and Jesus and us is that we don't seek such moments.

      Our mystic moments occur in two ways.

      First, we have "natural" mystic moments. Sunsets, emotion-stirring stories, fireside in the evening, music, the quiet at the end of a day, sunrise, the birth of a baby. We hiked to Delicate Arch and were in touch with the ages. Edward Abbey, once a park ranger at The Arches, wrote of his experience:

For a few moments we discover that nothing can be taken for granted, for if this ring of stone is marvelous, then all which shaped it is marvelous, and our journey here on ear, able to see and touch and hear…is the most strange and daring of all adventures.

      Second, we have "tactical" or contrived mystic moments. These are the things we do for ourselves to achieve feelings of detachment from ourselves, peace, inspiration, oneness. I feel sure that church ritual was developed to produce feelings of awe and wonder. The Catholic Mass is a ritual Catholics return to, sometimes each day, to re-experience certain feelings. For others the way to the mystic is by meditation. We have ways to re-create moments we have had before.

      What are your ways of experiencing mystery? What lifts you out of yourself to a feeling that you are part of something grand?

      Third, we have relationship moments. Christianity is unique in that its number one ritual is a table ritual, a family and friends ritual. There are mystic possibilities whenever people break bread together. For Jean and me the ritual of happy hour and a before-bed-time talk with brandy have potential mystic moments. We wouldn't miss them.

      Christianity teaches us that the way to connect with life is by serving others. "Love one another as I have loved you." "The greatest of all will be servant of all." "The last shall be first." "Make peace with your brother, then bring your offering."

      The way to the holy is by way of service, of doing something for others, of losing oneself in relationship. The way to the mystery is often by way of the soup kitchen, or some simple act of kindness and caring. "In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these, you have done it unto me."

      There is debate about when experience of the "mystic" has anything to do with God. Mystical feelings are universal among humans. You can have them whether you are religious or not. Anthropologists say that they may be part of our survival mechanism. Without the ability to transcend our self-centeredness our species cannot survive.

      "For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies…For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and minds' delight; for the mystic harmony, linking sense with sound and sight…we lift our hymn of grateful praise."