Psychological Processes Involved

We have seen that for Milner, both creativity and mysticism involve the paradoxical existence of "I" and "not-I." Can it be said that creativity is a particular kind of mystical experience, albeit not usually labeled as such? Some scholars adhere to this view. Ellwood (1980), for example, suggested that to be interpreted mystically an experience must be had in a context in which the mystical interpretation is the most available - that is, "no mysticism is independent of community" (p. 141). Furthermore, he argued that in terms of physiology and behavior,

secular and religious ecstasy are about the same ... the same glands are activated, and the same raw feelings are engaged. What differs is the trigger and the symbolic interpretations used to sustain the state of consciousness and feeling. In mysticism, that interpretation is religious, (p. 34)

Similarly, psychiatrist Hermann Lenz (1983) posits that artists, mystics, and persons having delusions report the same basic experience, including a feeling of abnormal significance, illusions or pseudohallucinations, a sense of mission, suspension of time and place, extremes of mood, and sudden and passive appearance. In Lenz's investigation, however, the deluded person becomes less socially effective as a result, whereas mystics and artists become more effective. More specifically, in cases of delusion the individual experiences loss of personal freedom, fundamental disturbances of human relationships, and failure to communicate with the surrounding world. Mystics and artists, on the other hand, for Lenz, retain the

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ability to experience faith, hope, and doubt, and thus the capacity for growth. Here it is helpful to make a distinction between "delusion" and "illusion." Illusion, in Horton's (1974) use of the term, never connotes the dilapidating disintegration or paralyzed belief characterized of delusion. Rather, as an aspect of transitional experience, illusion is an adaptive ego mechanism of defense.

Is there а 'Ъаэю experience" common to mystics and artists alike? Before this question can be answered, the issue of whether there is a basic experience common to mystical states must be addressed. Is there one type of mystical experience (the perennialist perspective) or are there many (the constructivist perspective)? Because they are more commonly promoted, I will limit myself here to perennialist views. A number of definitions of mysticism stress unity or being one with the ultimate as a central feature (Ellwood, 1980; Stace, 1960; Zaehner, 1957). One often finds reference made to William James's (1902/1961) four marks of mystical experiences: ineffability, noetic quality, transiency, and passivity. Underbill's (1931) view, also well-known, entails five stages on the mystical path: awakening or conversion, self-knowledge or purgation, illumination, surrender or the dark night of the soul, and union. For Underhill, union - the true end of the mystic path - is characterized by a "peaceful joy, by enhanced powers, by intense certitude" (p. 205). Alternatively, Merker (1999) presents four stages in the context of spiritual awakenings: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. In Merkur's illumination stage, a "creative solution manifests as the content of one or more religious experiences" (p. 61). James, Underhill, and Merkur thus share the idea of a mystical illumination stage that is noetic in nature.

Some descriptions of mystical experiences emphasize the feeling of ecstasy. Based on 63 interviews with acquaintances in England, for example, Laski (1961) used the term ecstasy to describe a "range of experiences characterized by being joyful, transitory, unexpected, rare, valued, and extraordinary to the point of often seeming as if derived from a preternatural source" (p. 5). Maslow (1968) also noted similarities between peak experiences and mystical or acute identity experiences: in both cases individuals feel integrated with the world, function effortlessly, are free of blocks and fears, and are spontaneously creative. Neither Laski nor Maslow equated ecstatic states with mystical experiences, however. Similarly, Hof (1982) suggested that the common three features of ecstasy - expansion of consciousness, increased intensity, and the experience of pleasure - also are found in some types of mysticism.

Other descriptions of mysticism stress experiences of emptiness, sheer awareness, or contentless consciousness (Forman, 1999; Franklin, 1998). R.L. Franklin (1998), for example, posits that pure consciousness events (PCEs), central to understanding mysticism, consist of "wakeful contentless consciousness" (p. 234). He indicates that many PCEs have a feeling tone, which range from a "quiet, though still attractive, experience to a much more intense bliss" (p. 235). Where PCEs are experienced without feeling tone, they may be regarded "as a special case where the flavor is flavorless" (p. 235).

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Psychologically, one might say that the PCE experience is caused by a fusion between subject and object. Deikman (1982), for example, explains that mystical states are characterized by the feeling of undifferentiated unity - "an experience in which the unusual division between self and other of objects ceases to exist. The experience is one of extreme bliss, of ultimate fulfillment..." (p. 35). The mystic is said to draw on the receptive mode of the self in which self is undifferentiated, consciousness is characterized by diffuse attention and blurred boundaries, and increase of alpha and theta waves can be measured. Deikman is clear, however, that the receptive mode is not the goal of mysticism - both receptive mode and object mode are necessary for further spiritual development. Because the object mode of the self- characterized by self-centered awareness, logical thought, sharp perceptual and cognitive boundaries, and increased beta waves - often dominates consciousness, certain mystical techniques can be thought of as promoting a shift toward increasing the receptive mode to achieve a greater psychic balance.

Although creativity has captured much scholarly attention since the 1950s (Heehs, 1997), its experience has been of less interest to psychologists than its nature and ways to foster it. Definitions of creativity abound: one that seems generally accepted by psychologists runs as follows: "A term used in the technical literature in basically the same way as in the popular, namely to refer to mental processes that lead to solutions, ideas, conceptualizations, artistic forms, theories or products that are unique and novel" (Reber, 1985, cited in Johnson-Laird, 1988, p. 202). Childhood, education, personality traits, and culture have been investigated for their influence on the creative process (Gardner, 1993).

Concerning the basic experience had by those who create, we find numerous similarities to the states experienced by mystics. Ecstasy, for example, has been used to describe the feeling of being creative. As May (1975) explains, "Ecstasy is the accurate term for the intensity of consciousness that occurs in the creative act" (p. 48). Ecstasy, for May, involves the total person, with subconscious and unconscious acting in union with conscious, bringing together intellectual, volitional, and emotional functions. The term reverie is also used in the context of creative expression (Harman and Rheingold, 1984). Neurophysiology provides an additional parallel between mysticism and creativity. Harman and Rheingold (1984), for example, attempt to locate creativity by low frequency alpha and theta rhythms.

Harman and Rheingold also use the terra flow in the context of creativity:

Many creators have spoken of a state of being in which ideas and inspirations seem to flow into them in a stream, or bubble up from a source. Many of these men and women are widely separated by time, nation, and field of interest, but the words in which they describe this state are surprisingly similar. That this is more than just a metaphor is apparent. Perhaps the moment of flow indicates a moment when we have total access to the unconscious idea processor ... (p. 27)

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The concept of flow allows us to make additional parallels between mystical and creative states. Csikszentmihalyi (1990), in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, explains that flow is the "state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost for the sheer sake of doing it" (p. 4). Flow "is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake" (p. 6). Central to Csikszentmihalyi's notion of flow is the element of order in consciousness, characterized by the ability to focus one's attention at will.

Flow is marked by certain feelings found in mystical states. In particular, mystics relate the experience of loss of consciousness of self; in flow experiences people "stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 53). Quoting a member of a Japanese motorcycle gang, Csikszentmihalyi relates that at times the loss of the sense of a separate self is accompanied by a feeling of union with the environment: '"When we realize that we become one flesh, it's supreme ... At such a moment, it's really super'" (p. 63). Csikszentmihalyi explains that during flow one does not really lose the self, but rather loses consciousness of the self. He writes: "This feeling is not just a fancy of the imagination, but is based on a concrete experience of close interaction with some Other, an interaction that produces a rare sense of unity with these usually forgotten entities" (p. 64). His explanation of this feeling is far from being mystical, however. For Csikszentmihalyi, when an individual invests all of his or her energy in an interaction, he or she becomes part of a system greater than the previous individual self had been, and this accounts for the sense of unity.

Csikszentmihalyi (1990) argues that religion, art, and music, in addition to certain sports, have their moorings in the attempt to create order in consciousness. Yoga, for example, is in his view a planned flow activity. He explains:

Both try to achieve a joyous self-forgetful involvement through concentration, which in turn is made possible by a discipline of the body ... Their main divergence is that, whereas flow attempts to fortify the self, the goal of Yoga and many other Eastern techniques is to abolish it. Samadhi, the last stage of Yoga, is only the threshold for entering Nirvana, where the individual self merges with the universal force like a river blending into the ocean. Therefore, it can be argued, Yoga and flow tend toward diametrically opposite outcomes, (p. 105)

Csikszentmihalyi (1990) believes that this opposition, however, may be merely superficial - the yogin cannot surrender the self unless he/she is in complete control of it. In fact, the yogin must maintain complete control over consciousness until the final stage of liberation.

Our discussion thus far raises a number of questions. What stage or type of mysticism best qualifies as a component of creativity? Of the views presented here, Underbill's (1931) and Merkur's (1999) illumination stage may offer an appropriate locus. Another issue is the impact of mysticism and creative expression on the

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self. Deikman (1982) and others argued that mysticism reduces self-centeredness, lessening the sense of "I." In contrast, while we find a temporary loss of self-consciousness in creative expression, in general we do not find any permanent lessening of the hold on "I-ness" or the self. In a state of union the mystic likely is not interested in producing a work of art (although art could be an outflowing of the experience); the artist, however, may create to facilitate mystical awareness. One might argue that whereas mystical experiences are transformative, works of art are expressive. This is where the precise relationship between mysticism and creativity seems elusive. Are observed differences due solely to context and interpretation, or is there something beyond the conscious and unconscious psychic oscillation described by Milner? If there is, perhaps the beyondness is also present in creative works. Einstein would say so, as would other mystics who are also artists.