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People claimed as mystics include [[John the Baptist]], Saint [[Peter]], [[St. Francis of Assisi]], [[Meister Eckhart]] (Eckhart von Hochheim), [[T. S. Eliot]], and [[Vernon Howard]].
People claimed as mystics include [[John the Baptist]], Saint [[Peter]], [[St. Francis of Assisi]], [[Meister Eckhart]] (Eckhart von Hochheim), [[T. S. Eliot]], and [[Vernon Howard]].
== Varieties of mysticism ==
Mystic traditions are influential in most religions. In Christianity, the Greek [[Hesychasts]] are important as well as the writings of [[Meister Eckhart]], [[Julian of Norwich]], [[Bridget of Sweden]] and many others. The mystic tradition in Christianity began in the Eastern Church in [[Greece]] and has always pervaded Eastern Orthodoxy. The [[Middle Ages]] saw a rise in mystic thought throughout Western Europe. In broad terms, the Christians of Eastern Europe have been more comfortable with mystical thought than their Western European counterparts.
The mystic tradition in [[Islam]] is known as [[Sufism]]. Muslim Sufis have enjoyed a longstanding influence on mainstream Islam, although that influence has been in decline for a few centuries. There have been many varieties of Sufism (from those who have strictly adhered to Islamic law to those who have reveled in drunkenness and pleasure) all across the Muslim world, but [[India]] has been the most common home to Sufis.
The Jewish mystical discipline is [[Kabbalah]], developed in Medieval [[Europe]]. There are mystical traditions within [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] as well.
Mysticism tends to have a focus on the broad human identity and the nature of God. Mystics tend to emphasize the personal religious experience rather than doctrine, which has caused distrust between orthodox and mystic traditions in almost every religion.
== References ==
== References ==