Search for the Meaning of Life Essays and Reflections on the Mystical Experience

Willigis Jager believes all of us are familiar with mystical experiences - any time we've found ourselves saying, "I'm not sure what this means, but I know it happened to me." Jager even insists that spirit is more "real" than matter - that it is the primordial stuff from which the visible world is made. For him, mysticism is simply the best way to experience the image of God in ourselves & the handiwork of God in all creatures. This collection of gem-like reflections distills Jager's most popular messages along with responses from his hearers. Jager draws on a variety of sources from traditional Christian mystics to contemporary Zen masters. He describes the basic routes people travel on their mystical quests, including controlled breathing, quiet sitting, reciting mantras & rosaries - methods that lead to states of "non-thinking" that may produce lucid, even life-transforming insights. Jager also surveys the great Christian mystics including John Cassian & the Desert Fathers, Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross, & Madame Guyon, along with lesser-known mystics persecuted by institutional church leaders. Jager provides guidance in learning how to pray contemplatively - prayer that brings one into the presence of God rather than the more conventional one-way conversations with God. The healing power of mysticism is compared with the techniques of psychoanalysis, with a particularly insightful approach to the demonic & its relation to depression. One theme shines through all Jager's reflections: the invitation of the cosmic Christ to truly become his brothers & sisters - sons & daughters of God, not just adoring fans.Jager, Willigis is the author of 'Search for the Meaning of Life Essays and Reflections on the Mystical Experience' with ISBN 9780892437740 and ISBN 089243774X.