In the Christian contemplative tradition sometimes called mysticism begins with our awakening to the reality that there is more to life than what we see before our eyes and the presence of God in nature and our lives, which is often quickly followed by a time of deep pain as often the consequences of our life experiences or life choices. Sometimes it’s the other way round and a time of purgation leads to a time of spiritual awakening.

Illumination is the next step on the journey, when God literally reveals the divine presence in the experience of the individual, often with a still small voice that needs discernment against the concophony of competing sounds and distractions, which, through the use of contemplative prayer practices, it is possible to discern and experience God in the context of ordinary life.

Often after times of illumination, it can feel that there then occurs backward steps with unexpected movements of pain and difficulty which St John of the Cross called Dark Nights of the Soul. These painful experiences again require surrender and de-attachment as experienced in the stage of purgation. This requires endurance and perseverance and critically, trust in God. Then the individual is then free to engage fully with God in the stage of mystical deeper union with God, through the process of going ever deep in relationship with God through forms of discipleship but also contemplative relational encounter.