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mysticism
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The Ecstasy of St. Teresa soma sacrifice Diagram of chakras A Taoist ritual Tungus shaman Large stone statue of a reclining Buddha carved into a rock face at Gal Vihara, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, with remnants of brick structures in front. Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background. Rudolf Otto John Wesley
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The Ecstasy of St. Teresa
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, marble and gilded bronze niche sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1645–52; in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.

mysticism

religion
Also known as: mystical theology
Written by
Dan Merkur
Psychoanalyst and Research Reader in the Department of the Study of Religion, Universtiy of Toronto. Author of The Psychedelic Sacrament: Manna, Meditation, and Mystical Experience and Mystical...
Dan Merkur
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

mysticism, the practice of religious ecstasies (religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness), together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them. The term mystic is derived from the Greek noun mystes, which originally designated an initiate of a secret cult or mystery religion. In Classical Greece (5th–4th century bce) and during the Hellenistic Age (323 bce–330 ce), the rites of the mystery religions were largely or wholly secret....

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