One of the best historical texts on mysticism is from John of the Cross. John of the Cross is a 15th Century Friar who is the author of poetry and other writings that speak to our need for a mature spirituality. He was the author of The Dark Night of the Soul. Even today, this text can help invite and illustrate for us how we can seek to go beyond our mere feelings and emotions to experience God directly. This experience can best be seen in its outcomes because while in the “Dark Night” we are without the normal words and feels we normally experience. Mystics, then and now, seek to be centered in God and to go beyond mere feelings and words.