Bay Mystic Paddling

"Mystic" is a Catholic word that goes back many centuries.   Catholic mystics had a deep, intimate relationship with God that seemed "mystical" to others.   They practiced contemplative prayer, which is a prayer done in silence.  The basis of contemplation is Christ within. John 14:23 says, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  By faith, I descend into my heart and there behold God.  “Being” is more important than “doing.”  I “hold hands” with God as I experience a “transforming friendship.” It is like bathing in an ocean of love that God has for me.  It has less to do with communication as communion. In fact, contemplation transcends words. My favoirte Catholic mystic is Jeanne Guyon, but I have also read all that Francios Fenelon and Miquel Molinos have written.   

I often practice contemplative prayer while paddling my kayak, canoe, and stand up paddleboard.   Sometimes I do multiple day trips so that I can enter into a deeper place of contemplative prayer.   Probably the greatest adventure of my life was when I paddled the length of the Chesapeake Bay in 2009.   I truly felt like a mystic on the bay during that journey, thus the name, "Bay Mystic" was chosen.   On the Applachian Trail, serious hikers usually have a trail name.   On the trail I am known as "Trail Mystic," or just "Mystic" for short.  

Today the word "Mystic" has different meanings and connotations than it did 500 years ago.   I am simply a contemplative mystic, one who dwells in God's presence while enjoying the beauty of His creation.