What Do These Mystics Know?: A Review of Richard Rohr

When I discovered one of Richard Rohr’s newest book What the Mystics Know at Barnes and Noble, I was ecstatic! I jokingly asked my girlfriend what she thought the mystics know, to which she sarcastically responded, "Not much.”

“Not much.” If you just take a look at all the books Rohr has written, it would be easy to declare such a comment as absurd, yet it has more truth than I think she even realized.

"Not much.” While contemplating what to say about his book, I looked over at my dog and asked her what the mystics knew. Obviously she just stared up at me without comment.

While reading the book, I was shocked by how much Rohr has improved in his ability to communicate effectively and elaborate his message. I have read many of his books and loved each one, yet this book is unique in its ability to make sense of the contemplative traditions Rohr has spent his career exploring and popularizing. He constructs short but informative sections which can be read in no time at all. If you want a deeply reflective devotional, this is the book for you.

I had trouble to believe I could love this book even more than Rohr's last offering, Eager to Love, which is about the transformative love of St. Francis. I truly did not believe he could top that captivating work, yet here I am reflecting on the new masterpiece in front of me.

One of the most powerful lines from the book is found in the heading “Beyond an all-or-nothing outlook,” where he states:

More than with any other personality trait in my life, all-or-nothing thinking has caused me to make huge mistakes and bad judgments, hurt people and myself, withhold love, and misinterpret situations.

Let this sink in for a second. True mysticism does not give one more conceptual certainty. Indeed, this type of extreme certainty can lead to less love, which is not what Christians should want. Rather, mysticism requires a level of openness. 

Really, what Rohr and other mystics have known for thousands of years is just now being discovered in academia. This is shown through the recent emphasis on epistemological humility--the possibility that one could be wrong and should act as such. This does not mean one becomes less certain of God or his or her religious doctrines. Instead, these doctrines begin to take on new life at a deeper level, a level beyond the conceptual, which opens up the heart to what God has to offer.

Stop believing so much and start knowing! Knowing is not always easy. It will always be easier for the self-serving nature to create beliefs it can defend rather than go through trusting God’s judgments. Nothing is harder than letting go, yet nothing is as freeing.

When my dog looked at me I felt a flood of love. She usually brings this to my life. She is extremely loyal and follows me around everywhere. She doesn’t have judgments on who I am. She accepts reality as it is and seems to be at peace with the world. This is something I often wish I could achieve. This is the peace I think the apostle Paul refers to when he speaks of "the peace which transcends all understanding." Maybe it explains why so many mystics love nature. The animals in this world never forgot who they were in God. 

So what does my dog know which the mystics strive for? “Not much.”