Mysticism

thumb|upright=1.2|Liber Divinorum Operum, or the Universal Man of St. Hildegard of Bingen, 1185 (13th-century copy)

thumb|200px|right|Dervish with a lion and a tiger, Mughal painting, thumb|200px|right|Ottoman Turks|Ottoman Dervish portrayed by [[Amedeo Preziosi, , Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României]]

Neoplatonism, also called late platonism, is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of distinct ideas based on a form of Platonism as much as a series of Platonic thinkers coming primarily from a certain ancient historical period. Among the common ideas it maintains is monism, the doctrine that all of reality can be derived from a single principle, "the One".

advanced emotion, subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of their awareness

thumb|right|alt=Crowley wearing the ceremonial garb of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, 1910|Aleister Crowley in 1910

Yarsanism (), Ahl-e Haqq (; ), or '''Kaka'i''', is an inherited, syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over half a million to one million in Iran. However, according to one source, there are as many as 3 million followers in Iran. The numbers in Iraq are unknown. However, according to one source there are 120 to 150 thousand followers in Iraq. The adherents are mostly Kurds, as well as some Shabaks, Laks, and Lurs.

The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheistic, pandeistic, or panentheistic faiths to suggest that the spiritual world permeates the mundane. It is often contrasted with theories of transcendence, in which the divine is seen to be outside the material world.

17th-century ideas heretical to Catholics

subtle energy channels described in yoga and Tantra

any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state

are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto.

Self-realization is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see also self-actualization). In Hinduism, self-realization is liberating knowledge of the true self, either as the permanent undying Purusha or witness-consciousness, which is atman (essence). In Buddhism, it is knowledge of the absence (sunyata) of such a permanent self.

set of metaphysical beliefs and associated practices

spiritual belief and a scientific speculation that everything in the universe is fated to spiral towards a final point of divine unification

concepts of worship and devotions towards God

annihilation of self

Hindu spiritual movement in the Indian subcontinent in the 13th century.

in religions, the wholly non-material aspect of a deity's nature & power

Numinous () means "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring"; also "supernatural" or "appealing to the aesthetic sensibility." The term was given its present sense by the German theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto in his influential 1917 German book The Idea of the Holy. He also used the phrase mysterium tremendum as another description for the phenomenon. Otto's concept of the numinous influenced thinkers including Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and C. S. Lewis. It has been applied to theology, psychology, religious studies, literary analysis, and descriptions of psy

Henosis () is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Neoplatonism, henosis refers to the unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One (Τὸ Ἕν), the Source, or Monad. The Neoplatonic concept has precedents in the Greek mystery religions as well as parallels in Eastern philosophy. It is further developed in the Corpus Hermeticum, in Christian theology, Islamic Mysticism, soteriology and mysticism. Henosis is also an important factor in the historical development of monotheism during Late Antiquity.

thumb|Artistic rendition of a classical "mystagogue" A mystagogue or mystagog (from ) is a person who initiates others into mystic beliefs, and an educator or person who has knowledge of the sacred mysteries of a belief system. Another word for mystagogue is hierophant.

literary genre/technique

complete loss of subjective self-identity

Henology () is the philosophical account or discourse on the One that appears most notably in the philosophy of Plotinus.

different forms of mysticism in Jewish history

altered state of consciousness characterized by euphoria

unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits

experience interpreted within a religious framework