A Wandering Ascetic: Mystical Encounters
Much of Emily Dickinson’s poetry was aroused by the very limited view she had of the garden from her bedroom window. She did not get out much. Yet she wandered more than most. In this case, she recounts a rather mystical encounter:
I’ve heard an Organ talk, sometimes
In a Cathedral Aisle,
And understood no word it said –
Yet held my breath, the while –And risen up – and gone away,
A more Bernardine* Girl –
Yet – know not what was done to me
In that old Chapel Aisle.
I am not sure what I mean when I say, ‘mystical encounters,’ but I imagine that Dickinson is referring to one here. The voice of an incomprehensible organ spoke not to Dickinson’s understanding, but to that place inside of her where desire and commitment wrestle to make up their mind. The rather unsuspecting nature of an organ and an ‘old Chapel Aisle’ create an element of surprise and mystery. Why should a building and instrument cause Dickinson to claim that she had “risen up” and “know not what was done to me,” compelled in a new moral direction?
We often tell children stories of such mystical encounters. Great journeys are full of them. Frodo Baggins and The Lord of the Rings, the rabbits of Watership Down, The Chronicles of Narnia all depict stories of personal transformations that occur through rather mysterious adventures. That is not to mention more overtly religious transformations of Paul and the Damascus Road, Jonah and the whale, or Moses and the burning bush.
These more legendary mystical encounters may serve to overshadow the value of more subtle personal experiences like the one Dickinson’s poem brings to mind, but they also can serve to inspire a new perspective on the immediate world around us. Life is full of possibilities. For some, venturing outside to explore the complexities of a spring rain provides a place of inner reflection and renewal. Others go to the theater or enjoy a particular wine or food in order to escape the sometimes thoughtless routines of life. Others still, like Dickinson, seldom need to roam further than their own garden to be moved by life’s mysteries.
While the term ‘mystical encounter’ will no doubt be saved for just a few of life’s experiences, the expectation that any moment could offer such a soulful stirring may change the way in which we see the world around us.
*Bernardine is a reference to a particular monastic order otherwise called Cistercian.