Mysticism - its relationship to faith and religion
 
Many religions report having mystics in their camp and sometimes taking a mystical theme themselves.  Mysticism is related to transcending the ordinary and the material.  It rises to the spiritual.  That is why mystical experiences say among Mormons or statue worshippers are not mystical at all but pseudo-mystical.  The reason is they don't think there is a spirit that alone matters and to whom the universe is a speck -virtually nothing.  Their gods are material beings and so are really idols rather than gods. 

Mysticism is not the reason religions exist - in other words it is a sideshow.  No religion can function if it is all otherworldly.  Man does live by bread not just prayer.  Mystical prayer, mystical saints and mystical themes were only tools to help build up the religion and keep it strong.   The religion with its rules and secular side is what matters.  Mysticism without a religious or faith structure and boundary is considered to be dangerous and a threat to religious cohesion.

Gurus and mystics seek to permanently reach an eternal state of consciousness in which they find pure peace and ecstasy and which spurs them to love and help others. They expect to find this state outside of matter or the material plane. But if the state is caused by material things who cares? It is the resulting state that matters. Whether it is material or not does not. Their striving to become mentally spirits implies that they doubt the power of matter to give them what they want. They are saying that it is better to be a spirit than a material being. All these things are incompatible with proper self-esteem. They may even be keeping themselves away from the real state of enlightenment that they want.
 
Gurus and mystics tell us, "Science shows that if one part of the brain necessary for us to function is closed down we don't function properly. Science thinks then that the mind is controlled by our material brains. But we don't even know what the simplest cell actually is. We cannot understand it fully. We only know what it does. There is a mystery. We know whatever exists is ultimately made of energy. We know by our intuition that whatever non-living things are made of, it is energy yes. We know that living things are made of another form of energy, spiritual. We cannot tell the difference between the two but that does not make them the same. Spirit manifests as the brain. The brain in its ultimate nature is a spiritual entity. It is spirit but able to manifest as matter."
 
So spirit is not matter. But if our minds are a mystery it does not follow that we should think we are spirit even if we are. We need evidence or proof. And the brain being spirit is pure nonsense.
 
We do not understand how to make the smallest particle of matter. We cannot exclude the thought that the power to produce permanent ecstasy resides in matter.
 
It is incorrect to say God, culture or religion comes first when material things clearly come first. The idea tells you that you are worthless in yourself and need faith to be of any value. Self-esteem requires the absence of faith in God or religion.

Your feelings are made out of material forces. Feeling is a material force. The so-called spiritual blessings such as feeling God loves you or that the Church blesses you, is actually material. People get tired of this world and its pleasures and start looking forward to ceaseless pleasure in a Heaven with a God. But don’t you see? It is their very materialism that makes them feel that way. We ask them to have the honesty to admit they are materialistic.