Animals and Mysticism

"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows. "            -Henry Ward Beecher

Animals and mysticism are associated together in many religions, civilizations and arts. Throughout the history there are many examples which starts in B.C. Some of them are related to Shamanism and Shamanistic Mysticism. For example there are paintings of animals in the caves from 5800 B.C. in Catalhoyuk, Turkey. Apart from these neolithic sites, there are also cave paintings of animals and how they were hunted in South Africa which were done by paleolithic people.
The religion used animals as symbols and benefited from their powers. According to Merkabah Mysticism there is a symbol of a four wheeled vehicle driven by four living creatures, each of it has four wings and the four faces of a lion, man eagle and ox. These four living creatures have also been used as symbols in Christianity. They were the symbols of four evangelists. That is why they are very much used in church decorations. Zoe is the name of these creatures and they surround the throne of God in Heaven with other elders and spirits of God. Examples for that symbols were very much used in paintings in 16th and 17th century. For example in the painting of  Abraham Bloemaert which is called Four Evangelists, there is an ox as a symbol of one of the evangelist.
There is also imaginary and legendary animals such as unicorn, basilisk, dragon, griffin, phoenix etc. Each of them are also symbols, for example unicorn is the symbol of purity, while the phoenix is the symbol of re-birth. These imaginary animals and the idea that  "Each living thing has its own special meaning" originates from the Ancient world and the middle ages. The term called Bestiary came out from this idea. Earliest bestiary is a Greek volume called Physiologus from 2nd century. Aristoteles wrote a bestiary called Historia Animalium, Jorge Louis Borges wrote The Book of Imaginary Beings. Other writers who worked on bestiary areHeredotus, Plining the Elder, Solinus, Aelian etc.
One of the creature that Borges explains is called A Bao A Qu which is a creature that lives on the staircase of the Tower of Victory in Chittor. It may only move when a traveler climbs the staircase, and it follows close at the person's heels. Its form becomes more complete the closer it gets to the 
terrace at the tower's top. It can only achieve this ultimate form if the traveler has obtained Nirvana, otherwise it finds itself unable to continue.
Also, there are painters who made their own bestiary such as Leonardo da Vinci, Henri de Tolouse-Lautrec and Saul Steinberg.
Every single living animal has been used as a symbol or as the mediator between this world and the other world-the Nagual as the Carlos Castaneda puts it.
For example butterfly is a powerful symbol in myth and religion. In early Christianity it was a symbol of the soul. In China, it was used as a symbol of conjugal bliss and joy. In the Hopi tradition, unmarried girls of the butterfly clan wore their hair in the shape of butterfly wings. In Indian lore are storiesof how butterflies come when called by children of the Nez Perce tribe.
In spite of the fact that an animal has several symbolic meanings there is a consistency between the meanings.
Animals or in other words, creatures are also very important in mythology which Carl Gustav Jung
points out.
Carl Gustav Jung makes so much experiments about this issue of mysticism and going into the path of the "unknown". He, first of all goes into the ancient myths. He says everyone has his/her  own 
myth. And also myths are our inherited consciousness which takes us to discover our each individual mystery of life.
Jung uses dreams and symbols a lot to reach the unconscious psyche. Also that way he can reach to the archetypal images and associations. He says there are unconscious identification with animals. Animals are also very important symbols according to the ancient texts. For example the Eagle is a 
symbol of intermediary between the physical world and the outer world according to many 
civilizations like Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. Also according to Christian mysticism, eagle is a symbol of resurrection. To the Pueblo Indians the eagle was a bird of the sky with the ability to spiral upward until it passed through a hole in the sky to the home of the sun. It was associated with all the energies of the sun- physical and spiritual. To the Pueblo Indians honored six directions-north, south, east, west, zenith (above), and nadir (below). The eagle was the symbol of  zenith because of its ability to soar to great heights. From these heights it could survey all four directions. They became 
symbols of greater sight and perception.

Sources;
-Andrews, Ted (1993). Animal Speak. Llewellyn Publications

Mysticism III

Mysticism has a meaning which goes to the roots of the word mystic and mysterious. In greek, it means something that is to conceal, or in other words something that is hidden. In a more broader sense it can be used as the secret meaning of life, which is unseen. Almost all religions are related to mysticism. Mysticism can be used as an exploration of life to have a deeper experience.
For example, dreams are important to research in mysticism because according to Carl Gustav Jung, they are the communication of the outer -mystic- world with us. It has many secret meanings embedded inside, which may lead to transformation of the soul.
This issue of transformation is very much related to mysticism because in the end all the mystic experiences are to transform the soul. Writer and anthropologist Carlos Castaneda describes this by dividing the worlds of reality into two, Tonal and Nagual. Tonal is the physical world, and Nagual is the other world which is infinite and much more powerful than the physical world. He makes an allegory by saying that if Tonal is an island, Nagual is the ocean that surrounds it. But we, as human beings living in the center of the Tonal island and isolated us selves from the ocean that we don't even know that it exists.
Carl Gustav Jung makes so much experiments about this issue of mysticism and going into the path of the "unknown". He, first of all goes into the ancient myths. He says everyone has his/her  own myth. And also myths are our inherited consciousness which takes us to discover our each individual mystery of life.
This issue of discovery is like turning an ordinary metal into golden. Like doing Alchemy. So in other words, going into the mystery of life, one can turn into the pure golden nature of the soul.
Jung uses dreams and symbols a lot to reach the unconscious psyche. Also that way he can reach to the archetypal images and associations. He says there are unconscious identification with animals. Animals are also very important symbols according to the ancient texts. For example the Eagle is a symbol of intermediary between the physical world and the outer world according to many civilizations like Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt.

Mysticism II

Mysticism is a term which comes from the Greek meaning to "conceal". It refers to something that is hidden, not revealed or secret. Many religions, belief systems or practices may be aligned under the term of mysticism. In which Taoism is one of them. Taoism has a profound background from Ancient China. "Tao" has a meaning which is unspeakable about, which is the essence of life. One of the most influential Taoist Lao Tzu says that Tao looses it's meaning when it is tried to be put into the words. Another influential Taoist monk is Chuang Tzu who lived in 300 BC. He has famous quotes which shows a way to explore the inner world-the world within.
This issue of exploring the world within also have been a matter of other influential people in the world. Such as 20th century's important psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung.
Jung says that man born with his own individuality and his own world, but later on he looses it by the effect of the outside world. He gets distanced to the world within. In which, he states, if he delves into within he might think that he is insane and in fact, he becomes insane according to the outside world.
Carl Gustav Jung says that there is a world of archetypes which exists apart from humanity and what he says is close to what Platon says. And indeed, Jung insists that it is possible to get in touch with them.
For example he was in touch with Philemon- a bearded man with wings- the ancient archetype guiding spirit. Philemon was visiting him from time to time.
In mysticism there are also other animal like creatures, or ancient animals which are referred in the ancient texts that are sacred and wise such as Phoenix.
There are some painters in the art history who used these animals in their paintings. Actually Jung himself painted the Philemon. Another Jungian painter Peter Birkhauser also used dreamlike creatures and dreamlike states.

Mysticism I

Mysticism is a term used to describe what is beyond this physical reality. It can refer to dreams, parallel universe, shamanism, religion, paranormal events and so on. The most important twentieth century psychologist Carl Gustav Jung used mysticism as a huge part of his researches. He found out about archetypes which are unchangeable entities that exists in another reality and are in contact with human beings. He had his own archetype beings which were teaching him and giving knowledge about many things such as dreams, souls, death etc..   Term mysticism also comes from ancient texts, there are many mystical animals, mystical creatures which are described as wise beings-wiser than human beings. So that they teach a way to humanity to extent its potentials. Mysticism also refers as a part of eastern cultures and religions. Religion also sources itself out of infinite divine power as well as mysticism.

Creativity can be very much related to connecting on an outsider energy. This energy was named in the ancient times as damon or genius so that whatever the result of the creator's, he/she was not taking the responsibility on the outcome completely. Because creation was related to an external force, in other words external mystic entity. The reason why the creators can be more easily go into depression or melancholy is that they think now, since Renaissance, that they are creating on their own. However this is not the case because they are just a conductor of infinite power. This is one aspect of the creativity, the uncontrollable inspiration that comes and uses human beings to reflect as a conductor of the infinite world. So creativity is actually beyond us.
Actually everybody is creative and has the potential to create but the school system does not help to flourish children's creativity.  So when someone as a child believes that he/she is not creative , he/she continues to keep that belief a whole lifetime. So that person in the end turns out to be someone who's saying "I am not creative". And someone like that can not embrace the infinite power when it comes, because they don't believe that they have potential to be a conductor. They have that phobia, and they have the barriers which makes them to think that the creation only belongs to certain people.
Creativity is very much related to imagination and self-confidence. Everything in this world is a result of a creative mind and this creative mind helps humanity to change and improve. But in the other hand, commercials and advertising sector is consuming the creative minds to sell their products. So again, human mind found a way to use creativity as a tool to capitalism.
But I think, when the creativity is used as a form of art, that has a very purifying result. It transcends human reality and it helps people to be more connected to their very essence.

Creativity is very much related to one's instinct to express the inner world of his/her. It is the result of letting the right brain function more than we-as human beings- usually do. When the inside noise that left brain creates stops, there is  a place left for creation by the right brain which eventually leads to salvation and creation. Creativity is a very important source of one's freedom. Because by creating one can reach to her/his higher self and infinity. In that way, one can understand the richness of his/her potential. To begin with a creation one begins by 'imagining'. Imagination is the first step of  creation. When imagination meets with the physical world, it becomes a creation. Now it reflects to our world, which is transmitted from the very essence of human beings' soul.
Another important component which ties the creation and imagination is the 'inspiration'. Inspiration helps to create one's desire.
Creativity can be made by using words and/or visuality most of the time. But also it is very much enriched by the knowledge. Because when the knowledge expands, the vision expands too and this in the end leads to creativity. So when one see, read or learn more, the potential of his/her creativity increases, too.