Direct experience across time

Think about this: In every age, in every culture, individuals have broken through religious boundaries to experience exactly what Lord Jesus taught - direct divine connection beyond doctrine and ritual. We call them mystics, but they’re really just people who discovered what Lord Jesus demonstrated - that the teaching of The Way which he taught is the foundation of all authentic spirituality, with authentic spiritual experience which transcends religious frameworks.

When Rabia, a Wayist mystic living as unmarried woman in a rising Islamization of her country in the 8th century, declares “Burn me in Hell if I worship You for fear of Hell,” she’s expressing the same truth Lord Jesus taught - that divine connection isn’t about religious reward or punishment. She was reacting to the religion of Islam being forced on her, trying to scare her and others into submission. When Meister Eckhart, a Christian mystic who died an heretic, speaks of finding God beyond church doctrine, he’s pointing to the same direct experience Lord Jesus demonstrated.

These voices matter because they show us something profound: The path Lord Jesus taught isn’t unique to one time or tradition. Mystics across history have discovered the same reality, often at great personal cost. Many were persecuted by religious authorities, just as Lord Jesus was, for pointing beyond religious control to direct divine experience. Consider what this means: When you feel drawn beyond religious frameworks to something more authentic, you’re not alone. Throughout history, others have walked this path:

  • Rabia breaking free from religious fear to find divine love
  • Meister Eckhart defying church doctrine to speak of direct experience
  • Kabir transcending Hindu-Muslim divisions to point to universal truth
  • Rumi abandoning religious scholarship for direct divine connection
  • Julian of Norwich finding wisdom beyond medieval Christianity

The chapter, “Mystic Poets” hosts a sampling of mystic poems. Our tradition is naturally replete with the works of mystics who had gone before. These aren’t just historical figures - they’re your spiritual ancestors. Their spiritual words, often forbidden or hidden by religious authorities, confirm what your heart already knows: Divine connection doesn’t require religious permission or control.

Throughout this book, you’ll hear their voices joining with Lord Jesus’ original teaching. Not as religious authorities to be worshipped, but as fellow travelers who discovered the same truth you’re discovering now - that authentic spiritual experience transcends all religious boundaries. Their poetry and declarations aren’t mere decoration. They’re confirmation that what Lord Jesus taught is universally true, discovered again and again by those brave enough to look beyond religious constraints to direct divine reality.

It is worth noting that Lord Jesus’ student and Wayist teacher Mari of Magadha’s 1st century writings and poems survived the millennia, and Rabia’s Wayist works written in the 8th century survived the ages, but Juliana of Norwich’s work in the 14th century is the earliest work of a Christian woman on record. It took all of 1,300 years for Christianity to allow a woman’s writings to get public attention.

Understanding that mystics in every age have discovered this truth helps us see Lord Jesus’ world in a new light. He wasn’t just a radical voice in ancient Galilee - he was teaching something that resonates so deeply with human spiritual experience that it keeps breaking through religious constraints, century after century.

To fully grasp this, let’s look at the sophisticated world Lord Jesus actually lived in…