Are You a Marketplace Mystic?

Are you by any chance a marketplace mystic without realizing it? It took me a long time to discover my own penchant for the mystical path. And it took longer still to realize that I needed to follow it while living in the practical world of daily marketplace reality. When I became clear about this, life immediately became much more workable and much easier to navigate

Let me define what I mean when I say 'mystic'. I am referring to a person who is conscious of life as a mystery that is ultimately beyond human understanding - and - a person who connects with this mystery daily and embraces its Presence as sustenance for the soul.

When I say 'Marketplace Mystic', I mean a person who knows how to find the mystery in the obvious, and the sacred in the mundane, without choosing one as better or more desirable than the other. Whether that awareness of the mystery arises through the sound of a dog barking in the still, early hours of the morning, the feel of heat on your fingers from a steaming cup of coffee or tea, the sight of a leaf gracefully falling from a tree to its place on the ground, or the fragrance of freshly cut grass, each moment of being present to the incredible mystery of it all stops the mind and takes you home - if but for just a blink of an eye.

How do you know if you are a Marketplace Mystic?

• If spiritual commitment defined by dedication to monastic living or surrender to a guru is not of interest to you, you may well be on this pathless path.

• If you desire to bring your spiritual understanding into your daily life through conscious living and understanding from the heart, you may well be an emerging mystic drawn to living in the everyday world.

• If you hold the external world and its challenges as equally important to the internal world and its challenges, this paradoxical path may indeed be your way to bring social, political, and spiritual potential into a seamless and creative partnership.

• If you are concerned with how to consciously live in the moment’s mystery, with understanding and acceptance of your role in it, this heartfelt approach may help you open your heart and release its capacity for true compassion.

• If you are concerned with how to be both a human being and a divine being simultaneously - at the office, at home, and in the privacy of your mind - you may find the mystical path offers you guidance and support rich in practical possibilities for creating a better world.

Make no mistake – this is not an easy road to find yourself traversing. As you become more aware that this pathless path may indeed be yours to explore, you will be glad to know that you are not alone. And, you are not crazy. You are among many kindred souls for whom believing alone is not enough. You need to personally experience as much about God, the universe, and the nature of reality as you can uncover – as crazy and embarrassing as that may seem to your probably well-educated cynical western sophisticated mind.

If you find yourself drawn to the mysteries of life, the easiest way to get there quickly is by traveling through the land of Paradox. Traditionally, paradox has always been left to the end of the spiritual journey. Yet, our current love affair with creating new technologies and the effects of that passion - technology then recreating us - has caused Paradox to enter our daily awareness in a way it has never done before. Because of this, we can now sit down at the table with Paradox and discover its fundamental and pivotal role in helping us create a better world and a better mankind - while simultaneously knowing that our world, and all of us who are in it, are indeed the mystery itself, continually unfolding in the spectacular mystery of Now.