Multifarious State
An exploration of the motions within a mystic or human
This is a collaborative conversation with Anira✨Cycle Breaker about the term “mystic” and what she called “multidimensionality”. Her post is attached below if you haven’t read it yet.
I find it’s amazing how a message can inspire someone in unexpected ways. When I presented my initial idea on how to redefine the term mystic, it sparked quite some conversation. And I’m truly grateful for having had Anira translate something that has lived in my head for a while already, and in such a way that it actually sparked me to polish my original concept further. Thank you for the gift Anira :)
Before I respond to her post, I’d like to give a bit of backstory to the original note that I published.
When I posted my note, I figured that finding shared language was the first step towards introducing my concept of MysticNet; by defining what we actually mean with the term “mystic” and making it more inclusive. Many of the current definitions of the term (in English) are strongly influenced by monotheism — in particular Christianity. And while religious people can be mystics, the monotheistic lens isn’t the only way to interpret our exploration of the mystery that we live in. I.e. a monotheistic viewpoint would call our cosmos a universe, whereas many psychics experience our cosmos more like an omniverse — consisting out of layers, realms, dimensions, and planes. So I thought it would benefit the world to have the term to be more inclusive. But I also needed to introduce a framework together with the term, to ensure the definition would land as I intended it. Which consequently brought up the idea of multidimensionality, however I personally call it:
The Multifarious State
It’s my belief that in order for us to properly understand how we can interact with each other as mystics, that it helps to understand that we’re all multifarious creative beings as humans. It’s an understanding of ourselves that the hierarchical setup of society has suppressed. So in order to reconnect to that base layer of our psyche, I started conceptualizing what it means to be multifarious.
So far, I recognize that psychics and witches tend to speak of this state as “multidimensional”, while the alchemists and polymaths tend to speak of this state as being “multifaceted”. To me, these are the reflections on interpretations through a masculine or feminine lens. And I’ve found that when I’m centered within myself — with both energies in a balanced expression — that I use both terms. Which is why I refer to it as being multifarious — you can shift between being multidimensional and multifaceted.
Some other ways to highlight the duality is: exploration and investigation, creative and analytical, etc. However, the deeper you go in a mystic journey, the more intense these shifts become. Meanwhile, you also become aware that you can hold multiple of these expressions simultaneously. I.e. imagining how to analyze a quandary, while processing it into words; which is what we call being a ‘writer’.
Or as Anira said:
I believe that we can be all at the same time, and/or at different stages. Time is non-linear. The past, present and future are all happening at the same time.”
This adds another dimension to the mix: time. However, time is just a construct we made up that’s based on the motions we observed in our physical reality. It was merely intended to figure out how we order (sequence) our day or interact with our environment. While what we experience inside of our selves is a different thing altogether. We can jump through emotions that are connected to a variety of moments in time (memories). And when I connected deeply with this particular process, I found out how to access my clairvoyance.
It’s why I call being a mystic a state of being — as there is no motion in my ‘thoughts’ unless I choose there to be. My neutral state of being is motionless.
Also consider this: When you are in a devoted relationship with your partner, do you stop being their partner when you focus on something else? For me that is a state which I keep in stasis, until I would decide otherwise.
Which then brings me to where Anira mentions:
We don’t have to limit ourselves to one archetype, we can experience multiple.
Personally, I try to stay away from speaking about archetypes and stereotypes, because we all have different perspectives on what a type is. Instead I refer to roles, because I act those out as though I’m in a movie — while remaining my-self. When I say I’m a writer, it just means I engage in stringing together words; it doesn’t mean I think I’m resembling myself to Shakespeare; which forms the term “writer” into a particular archetype. In the same way, I can see myself as a human — which highlights that there’s something beyond acting as a human, since I can observe that role that I’m playing. Etcetera.
But then I was surprised and intrigued by this statement:
Being multidimensional may mean that you embody the mystic in the morning when you are practicing interconnectedness
It made me realize that as we’re constantly moving around our roles, and are thereby breaking out of the boxes that both society and we ourselves place us in. Even if we do remain devoted to the state.
It brought a vision to mind of how it all interacts, a motion of shapes that dance and interact together, while expanding and contracting.
When you then take a look at the image above, imagine that every shape is moving around within the field of magick. Cubes are states you hold in stasis, while you engage and release roles like being an alchemist or psychic. Those roles are ever in flux and therefore resemble blobs. Meanwhile, none this has to do with time, but rather with choice and intention.
This is how I currently envision what I’m experiencing and how I go about the framework for the definition of mystics.
A Layer Deeper
The term “mystic” as I presented it currently holds three roles, which sometimes are, and sometimes aren’t related to being a mystic. I can be dealing with psychic experiences, which are still magickal, but aren’t necessarily mystical. I may not be fully aware of them; meaning I’m not devoted to exploring them further. This is similar to how a farmer who’s aware, can be engaging with the magick of nature — while a monocropper tends to miss out on magick altogether. For me it all comes down to awareness and choice: presence.
And when we’re truly centered in our consciousness: time doesn’t exist. It’s the moment when we become unified with all and nothing. In the drawing, this is the white square on which the field, states, and roles exist. It’s only because we play being a human, that we need to compartmentalize our experience, in order to engage with our physical environment. It’s what shapes our reality.
And…. to make things mystical: the white square of consciousness that holds the drawing exists somewhere as well. It’s why my experience says there’s more than unity consciousness — I call it “the beyond” for lack of a better term.
In short though, I imagine a mystic as someone who explores their multifarious state, by reflecting on the variety of surfaces that this state has — facets. While also exploring the many dimensions of the roles we play, within these particular facets of the expression of our being. As a psychic, you also explore several dimensions in your exploration of the realms. While as an alchemist, you explore various facets of concepts in your studies. To me these terms all scale across the states and roles, both within an individual and across our interactions with each other.
And that’s all I have to say so far on what it means for me to play a mystic.
Conclusion
I originally was planning to share my concept of MysticNet as well, to show how we can globally network together as mystics. And while I have a lot of ideas on how to grow this network, I realize that as an individual I don’t currently have the stability in my life to do it justice.
The initiative will require a lot of input from my side and I don’t have the means to drive and organize a starting network. I had hoped to approach this initiative immediately as a synarchy effort, but I’ve found too much resistance to the idea of collaborating freely. Most people still expect some form of compensation for efforts or are otherwise guarded, and that’s a shared reality that does need to be faced.
Unfortunately that also means that MysticNet will be released only when I have found a team to run it with, and the necessary resources to keep it running until it can run by itself. Like a conventional startup. But I figured that we can at least keep the conversation going and grow our community of mystics, for when that day comes. Which is why I did decide to share this insight on the multifarious state.
As such, I’d love to know if I communicated my view clearly and if it sparked anything in you. I’m not claiming my perspective to be a singular truth. My explorations in mysticism have so far always shown that it’s about the journey, where the idea of destinations is merely to create direction.