superluminal said:
I wonder, however, if non-critical thinking (e.g. mysticism) isn't somehow a deep part of being human. But I don't remember a time in my adult life that I wasn't a critical thinker (skeptic). Maybe some of us are just naturally that way and the rest are... not? Would education in critical thinking really make a difference? Or would it be more like trying to train people into a different eye color?
There is no conflict between mysticism and science,
the problem nowadays is that the science of 2000 ad is in conflict with the science of 2000bc (bible).
For example, hinduism has no problems at all with modern science, because all their gods, etc., are symbols of some dynamics of the universe (as are all gods in all mythologies, by the way) and they are aware of it (the gods in the East are more "elemental"), you can perfectly put Kali dancing in a black hole and the symbol doesn't change the meaning.
Mythology (and rituals as a part of mythology) and mysticism is a psychological tool to put one's mind (subjective reality) in harmony with the objective reality. It has nothing to do with actually telling what the objective reality is. And it works best when the information on the objective reality is up to date.
In the bible days the people had knowledge of their objective reality as they had, i.e., very poor due to the lack of appropriate technology. And even today we still don't know many things.
But jews, christians and muslims have made the mistake in interpretation and take their mythology for a fact and there lies the problem,
i.e., they read and interpret it wrong, thus they think that what is a symbol, for example, representing a state of mind (kingdom of god) is an actual, factual place.
It's one of the things you become aware of when researching world mythologies.
The problem with mysticism nowadays is that:
1. It for the most part is outdated, we are just developing too fast on the scientific level, and the mind doesn't keep up. We are like cave men with chainsaws.
2. The second part of the problem is that many people in the west and middle east interpret it wrong, there was some point at time when these people (at the days of early judaic times) became confused and forgot the meaning and purpose of their own mythology.
Ask any high hindu, buddhist (or other eastern) priest and I can assure you that he will laugh at anyone suggesting their gods are actual beings.
3. Our civilizations (there are about 6 distinct civilizations today) generally have gone into an economical and political stage where the mental enjoyment of life is limited to power and sex, so people don't have the time to sit down and think about these things, they just want to buy quick answers and don't think about their own place in the universe any more. And voilà, they buy a little book and it sorts that out (sort of).
The big three (judaism, christianity, islam) are stuck in their metaphor, they can not get past it and they don't even get the message it transcends any more, and even more - the judaic message (and as a source and basis for the other two) is flawed, dangerous and stupid, but that is another discussion.