The word ‘mysticism’ is used with a number of different meanings and carries different connotations to different minds. To some it is simply a type of confused, irrational thinking. In the popular mind it is associated with spiritualism and clairvoyance. To some it is bound up with visions and revelations. Others use it as a religious attitude which does not care for dogma or the outward forms of religious observance. Some would limit its use to that rare state of consciousness which is found in pensive or contemplative people.
So why does it interest us in the 21st century?
Perhaps it is because we associate it with the endeavour of the human mind to grasp the Divine essence or the ultimate reality of things, and to enjoy the blessedness of actual communion with the highest.
Perhaps it is because we feel restricted by the dogma of religion and are trying to look beyond these restrictions.
Perhaps we are trying to experience an all-embracing reality that pervades and transcends the world of phenomena in which we live our earthly lives.
Whatever our interest the Swedenborg Open Learning Centre offers a new course on this subject. 
- It looks at different writers’ concepts of mysticism.
- It explores some of Emanuel Swedenborg’s mystical writings from his theological works.
- It introduces the student to Eastern mysticism (Buddhism, Taoism and the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism) and Western Mysticism (Greek and Christian mysticism, Sufism and the Kabbalah and the Zohar of Judaism).
- It describes the writings of five mediaeval mystics (Meister Eckhart, Nicholas of Cusa, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross) and three twentieth century mystics (Wilson van Dusen, Matthew Fox and Evelyn Underhill).
All this is done with Swedenborg’s mysticism as a backdrop.
To find out more about this tutored distance learning course tel. 0161 766 2521
