Is Christian Religion Holding Us Captive?
Religion needs to liberate seekers, not hold them slaves to outdated traditions, doctrinal belief systems, and conventional rituals. So many people are leaving organized religion today. Is this because it does not offer the direct, heartfelt experience of God that they are longing for? The feeling of intimacy, union, a deep communion with God is what the mystical experience is all about. It must become the center focus of all religions again, in order to liberate seekers and transform them into their truest selves.
Jesus was a mystic. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” (John14:9). He experienced deep intimacy with the Source of life whom he called Father, “The Father and I are one,” (John 10:30). Jesus would often find a quiet place in nature to meditate. The union that Jesus had was a direct connection with his heavenly Father, a mystical experience available to all seekers. This heartfelt relationship was at the center of his ministry.
If the followers of Jesus today seek to imitate him, they must also access the mystical self. As The German Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner, who was present at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) said, “The Christians of the future will have to become mystics or they will be nothing at all.” How do we access this deeper connection? The mystics of the past, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross, spoke of a yearning to go deeper and to connect with God from the heart. They reached beyond their grasp and opened up to receive a direct more intimate relationship with the Source of life, the same connection that Jesus had 2000 years ago.
You might be wondering how I know that a mystical experience is possible. I have had a direct connection to God ever since I encountered an intimate union with the Source of life on the top of a mountain forty-five years ago. I was on a retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but this experience is still with me!
One of the nuns at the retreat center told me about a trail that led hikers to a mountaintop with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. After a “dark night of the soul” I was up at dawn to hike the trail. As I climbed, I thought about my life. I had been invisible for so many years suffering from childhood wounds that left me with low self-worth. As I climbed higher, I remembered my younger years of the humiliating agony that I experienced from my father’s physical and emotional abuse. The bruises on my bottom, the flaming cheeks after being slapped, and the degrading words that shamed me, always made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Was I a bad seed? My father constantly told me I was no damn good. My heart ached, and I felt the devastating pain of the unloved. I continued to make my ascent.
Suddenly, I reached the summit to behold a sunrise that filled the mountaintop with golden light. At this same moment, I looked up at the sky and felt a presence around me with the warmth of divine glory. I didn’t see anything, but I experienced the heavenly embrace of arms around me. Then, telepathically, I heard the words, “You are deeply loved.” A sacred fire shot through my entire being to the core of every cell. For the first time in my life, I felt the love I had longed for since my childhood. It was a direct union with Source. I sat on that mountain for hours bathed in divine light and love. Then my logical mind kicked in, and I began to question my experience. Feeling confused, I decided to ask for clarification. Again, the words came to me telepathically, “I Am! I Am music, Christ is the love song, and the Holy Spirit is the conductor of spiritual orchestration.”
Wondering where I fit in, I asked, “What about me?” The voice continued to inform me that I was a member of the choir and explained that I had a destiny to step out and do a solo performance that would help improve the spiritual orchestration of humanity. (To read more about my experience click BOOKS at the top of the page and go to Amazon.com to order my novel, “Ordinary Mystic: Practicing The Presence” under my pen name, Curran Galway)
I have chosen to lay out the journey of mystical transformation in a story form because I know that readers will identify with the spiritual evolution that occurs in the main characters of my three published novels. (See Amazon novels by Curran Galway) I consider myself to be an ordinary mystic and I want my readers to discover what the mystical experience looks like in daily life.
Jesus prayed for his followers in the upper room before his crucifixion: “That all of them may be one, Father as we are one,” (John 17:21-22). His words are still meaningful Today! Is it possible that the time has come for another “Exodus” from captivity?
© Patty Fitzsimmons, MDiv. (alias Curran Galway) 2/22/2026
Director of Transformation Center for Spirituality Education in Marin.
415-602-9189
Religion needs to liberate seekers, not hold them slaves to outdated traditions, doctrinal belief systems, and conventional rituals. So many people are leaving organized religion today. Is this because it does not offer the direct, heartfelt experience of God that they are longing for? The feeling of intimacy, union, a deep communion with God is what the mystical experience is all about. It must become the center focus of all religions again, in order to liberate seekers and transform them into their truest selves.
Jesus was a mystic. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” (John14:9). He experienced deep intimacy with the Source of life whom he called Father, “The Father and I are one,” (John 10:30). Jesus would often find a quiet place in nature to meditate. The union that Jesus had was a direct connection with his heavenly Father, a mystical experience available to all seekers. This heartfelt relationship was at the center of his ministry.
If the followers of Jesus today seek to imitate him, they must also access the mystical self. As The German Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner, who was present at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) said, “The Christians of the future will have to become mystics or they will be nothing at all.” How do we access this deeper connection? The mystics of the past, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross, spoke of a yearning to go deeper and to connect with God from the heart. They reached beyond their grasp and opened up to receive a direct more intimate relationship with the Source of life, the same connection that Jesus had 2000 years ago.
You might be wondering how I know that a mystical experience is possible. I have had a direct connection to God ever since I encountered an intimate union with the Source of life on the top of a mountain forty-five years ago. I was on a retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but this experience is still with me!
One of the nuns at the retreat center told me about a trail that led hikers to a mountaintop with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. After a “dark night of the soul” I was up at dawn to hike the trail. As I climbed, I thought about my life. I had been invisible for so many years suffering from childhood wounds that left me with low self-worth. As I climbed higher, I remembered my younger years of the humiliating agony that I experienced from my father’s physical and emotional abuse. The bruises on my bottom, the flaming cheeks after being slapped, and the degrading words that shamed me, always made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Was I a bad seed? My father constantly told me I was no damn good. My heart ached, and I felt the devastating pain of the unloved. I continued to make my ascent.
Suddenly, I reached the summit to behold a sunrise that filled the mountaintop with golden light. At this same moment, I looked up at the sky and felt a presence around me with the warmth of divine glory. I didn’t see anything, but I experienced the heavenly embrace of arms around me. Then, telepathically, I heard the words, “You are deeply loved!” A sacred fire shot through my entire being to the core of every cell. For the first time in my life, I felt the love I had longed for since my childhood. It was a direct union with Source. I sat on that mountain for hours bathed in divine light and love. Then my logical mind kicked in, and I began to question my experience. Feeling confused, I decided to ask for clarification. Again, the words came to me telepathically, “I Am! I Am Music, Christ is the Love Song, and the Holy Spirit is the Conductor of spiritual orchestration.”
Wondering where I fit in, I asked, “What about me?” The voice continued to inform me that I was a member of the choir and explained that I had a destiny to step out and do a solo performance that would help improve the spiritual orchestration of humanity. (To read more about my experience click BOOKS at the top of the page and go to Amazon.com to order my novel, “Ordinary Mystic: Practicing The Presence” under my pen name, Curran Galway)
I have chosen to lay out the journey of mystical transformation in a story form because I know that readers will identify with the spiritual evolution that occurs in the main characters of my three published novels. (See Amazon novels by Curran Galway) I consider myself to be an ordinary mystic and I want my readers to discover what the mystical experience looks like in daily life.
Jesus prayed for his followers in the upper room before his crucifixion: “That all of them may be one, Father as we are one,” (John 17:21-22). His words are still meaningful Today! Is it possible that the time has come for another “Exodus” from captivity?
© Patty Fitzsimmons, MDiv. (alias Curran Galway) 2/22/2026
Director of Transformation Center for Spirituality Education in Marin.
415-602-9189