Mystical Experience

"Literary Britain" unearthed old memories of one of my own precious literary moments in England. First it was the train to Windsor, the tour and a picnic lunch across the river from the castle. Then down narrow country lanes to the quaint village of Stoke Poges, the setting for Thomas Gray's immortal poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." It was a mystical experience. CHARLES F. QUEENAN Santa Ana

Fans laid on a hero's welcome when Jose Tomas made a triumphal return to professional bullfighting in Barcelona three years ago, ending a much-lamented retirement. But when Tomas arrives here next month for another comeback of sorts — one of his first engagements since being badly gored in Mexico in April — the celebrated matador could find himself in quite a different position: as an outlaw. Regional lawmakers are expected to decide soon whether to abolish bullfighting once and for all here in Catalonia.

Your Washington article left out a few of my favorite places to eat, an art museum that is a gem and a couple of bus tours that capture the wonder of our nation's capital. For future reference, don't miss Restaurant Nora with its spectacular food and ambience; the Phillips Museum, where a fabulous collection of Impressionist paintings is housed in the old Phillips Mansion; and a night tour of the city with a stop at the Vietnam Memorial, an almost mystical experience on a starlit night.

SANTA BARBARA -- The title of Olivier Messiaen's "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus" does not translate easily into English. A common version is "Twenty Gazes Upon the Child Jesus." But "regards" also implies "aspects" or "contemplations." One translator, apparently feeling that any suggestion of corporeality would be misleading, simply supplied ellipses for "regards." After all, Messiaen's mystical music invites out-of-body experiences.

Fans laid on a hero's welcome when Jose Tomas made a triumphal return to professional bullfighting in Barcelona three years ago, ending a much-lamented retirement. But when Tomas arrives here next month for another comeback of sorts — one of his first engagements since being badly gored in Mexico in April — the celebrated matador could find himself in quite a different position: as an outlaw. Regional lawmakers are expected to decide soon whether to abolish bullfighting once and for all here in Catalonia.

The chronicler of mystical experience labors at a distinct disadvantage as a memoirist. After all, by definition, spiritual transcendence resides beyond story. It is even beyond words. That is its point or at least its strongest claim: that it cannot be described. But since when did "the indescribable" ever stop a writer?

The mystical experience has been pursued by countless millions over the millenniums, all hoping to tap into ultimate truth, to access an understanding of life beyond what we are able to see and feel, to encounter, as John Horgan puts it, "an escape hatch in reality, through which we can wriggle out of our existential plight."

I have an idea that we are about to undergo a massive popular surge of mystical seeking, experience and revelation in America. We have always been easy marks for snake oil salesmen, but in recent years, various polls show, more Americans than ever believe in paranormal phenomena such as telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, astral projection, reincarnation and extraterrestrial visitation.

Imagine there's a heaven. At the word, a pop-up tableau unfolds and feathers from molting wings drift into the air. Before a plywood set, spray-painted gold, choir voices sing with determined cheer, like a power drill going through steel. Pink, chubby infants giggle as they roll from cloud to bouncy cloud. Stay for eternity? The prospect of just an afternoon brings cold sweat to the forehead. But that stereotype is not the only way of picturing the place, much less the most attractive.

SANTA BARBARA -- The title of Olivier Messiaen's "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus" does not translate easily into English. A common version is "Twenty Gazes Upon the Child Jesus." But "regards" also implies "aspects" or "contemplations." One translator, apparently feeling that any suggestion of corporeality would be misleading, simply supplied ellipses for "regards." After all, Messiaen's mystical music invites out-of-body experiences.

The chronicler of mystical experience labors at a distinct disadvantage as a memoirist. After all, by definition, spiritual transcendence resides beyond story. It is even beyond words. That is its point or at least its strongest claim: that it cannot be described. But since when did "the indescribable" ever stop a writer?

The mystical experience has been pursued by countless millions over the millenniums, all hoping to tap into ultimate truth, to access an understanding of life beyond what we are able to see and feel, to encounter, as John Horgan puts it, "an escape hatch in reality, through which we can wriggle out of our existential plight."

Imagine there's a heaven. At the word, a pop-up tableau unfolds and feathers from molting wings drift into the air. Before a plywood set, spray-painted gold, choir voices sing with determined cheer, like a power drill going through steel. Pink, chubby infants giggle as they roll from cloud to bouncy cloud. Stay for eternity? The prospect of just an afternoon brings cold sweat to the forehead. But that stereotype is not the only way of picturing the place, much less the most attractive.

Seeking a glimpse of the neural machinery of the soul, scientists have discovered that the brain may be naturally attuned to words of prayer and religious experience. In what researchers called the first serious experiment aimed at the neural basis of religion, scientists at the UC San Diego brain and perception laboratory this week said they found evidence of neural circuits in the human brain that affect how strongly someone responds to a mystical experience.

Your Washington article left out a few of my favorite places to eat, an art museum that is a gem and a couple of bus tours that capture the wonder of our nation's capital. For future reference, don't miss Restaurant Nora with its spectacular food and ambience; the Phillips Museum, where a fabulous collection of Impressionist paintings is housed in the old Phillips Mansion; and a night tour of the city with a stop at the Vietnam Memorial, an almost mystical experience on a starlit night.

"Literary Britain" unearthed old memories of one of my own precious literary moments in England. First it was the train to Windsor, the tour and a picnic lunch across the river from the castle. Then down narrow country lanes to the quaint village of Stoke Poges, the setting for Thomas Gray's immortal poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." It was a mystical experience. CHARLES F. QUEENAN Santa Ana

EDITOR'S NOTE: At a monastery in New Mexico, men and women practice an unusual brand of Catholicism that is a mixture of ancient liturgy and modern psychology, traditional monasticism and mystic experiences. They also disagree with the formal Roman Catholic positions on such issues as women in the church and celibacy. Nestled in a bend of the Pecos River where mountain wilderness meets civilization lies an island of unconventional religious, psychological and social thought.

Seeking a glimpse of the neural machinery of the soul, scientists have discovered that the brain may be naturally attuned to words of prayer and religious experience. In what researchers called the first serious experiment aimed at the neural basis of religion, scientists at the UC San Diego brain and perception laboratory this week said they found evidence of neural circuits in the human brain that affect how strongly someone responds to a mystical experience.

EDITOR'S NOTE: At a monastery in New Mexico, men and women practice an unusual brand of Catholicism that is a mixture of ancient liturgy and modern psychology, traditional monasticism and mystic experiences. They also disagree with the formal Roman Catholic positions on such issues as women in the church and celibacy. Nestled in a bend of the Pecos River where mountain wilderness meets civilization lies an island of unconventional religious, psychological and social thought.

I have an idea that we are about to undergo a massive popular surge of mystical seeking, experience and revelation in America. We have always been easy marks for snake oil salesmen, but in recent years, various polls show, more Americans than ever believe in paranormal phenomena such as telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, astral projection, reincarnation and extraterrestrial visitation.