In this course John Danvers presents a personal view about mysticism, what he calls 'the mysticism of being-here' – a particular interpretation of mysticism that differs from many of the more orthodox views. While many approaches to mysticism focus on the aspiration of mystics to enter states of transcendence and 'supernatural' states of consciousness, his approach focuses on the aspiration of mystics to be fully present to each moment of existence, to enter the mystery and miraculous nature of this life.
John draws on the writings of a wide range of mystics, and on commentaries by other authors who have addressed different aspects of mysticism; these include: Teresa of Avila, Jacob Boehme, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Meister Eckhart, Martin Heidegger, Thomas Merton, Baruch Spinoza and a number of Buddhist teachers. He also discusses examples of poetry and other writings that manifest the distinctive qualities of the mysticism of being-here.
John Danvers has over fifty-five years' experience of Zen meditation. He has no affiliation to any particular school or tradition. Whilst he has learned a great deal from historical teachers and from people he has met over the years, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, experience has been his main teacher – especially the experience of zazen – Zen sitting meditation, which he began in 1965.
For seven years he practiced zazen alone, sitting for long hours and studying what texts he could find. In the early 1970s he undertook retreats at Throssel Hole Priory in Northumberland (a Soto Zen centre), and around 1975 he had some direct teaching from a Japanese Soto Zen monk who was travelling in the UK. Since then, he has guided retreats, workshops and seminars, and has undertaken other retreats, including with Thich Nhat Hanh in 2012.
