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​Book Review: Process Mysticism by Daniel A. Dombrowski
 
Adis Duderija

What does it really mean to have a mystical experience—those moments when people feel deeply connected to God or the universe? And how does that fit with what we believe about God? Daniel A. Dombrowski’s Process Mysticism (Albany: SUNY Press, 2023) takes on these big questions in a fresh and thought-provoking way, offering readers a vision of God that feels alive, relational, and deeply involved in the world.

Why This Book Matters

For centuries, many religious traditions have pictured God as completely unchanging, all-powerful, and outside of time—a view philosophers call “classical theism.” Dombrowski argues that this picture doesn’t make sense of mystical experiences, which feel dynamic, relational, and deeply personal (pp. 1–3). If mystics claim to encounter God directly, how can that happen if God is utterly beyond change and unaffected by the world? His answer: it can’t—not under classical assumptions.

Instead, Dombrowski turns to “process thought,” a philosophy that sees God as deeply involved in the unfolding of reality, changing and growing in relationship with us. This approach, rooted in thinkers like Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, imagines God as both eternal and responsive—a being who feels, loves, and interacts with creation (pp. 15–20). For anyone who has ever wondered how a loving God can truly care about what happens in the world, this is a refreshing alternative.

Key Themes and Insights

The book unfolds across ten chapters, each tackling a major theme at the intersection of mysticism and process philosophy. Here are some highlights:

• God and the World as Connected
  Dombrowski uses the metaphor of God as the “soul of the cosmos” (pp. 45–50). This panentheistic view—God in all things and all things in God—bridges nature mysticism and theistic mysticism. It suggests that when we feel awe in nature or a sense of divine presence, we’re experiencing this deep connection.
• Power as Persuasion, Not Control
  One of the most striking ideas is his critique of omnipotence. Instead of imagining God as a cosmic dictator, Dombrowski proposes “ideal power”—a power that persuades rather than coerces (pp. 53–55). This allows for real freedom and explains why tragedy exists. As he puts it: “The ultimate power is that of sensitivity to others… divine persuasion is intelligible to us because we know the power of love” (Process Mysticism, p. 53). This is a God who wins us over by beauty and goodness, not by force.
• Mysticism as Embodied and Aesthetic
  Mystical experience isn’t about escaping the world but engaging it deeply. Dombrowski critiques overly ascetic traditions and instead celebrates the aesthetic dimension of spirituality—the role of beauty, art, and feeling in connecting with the divine (pp. 120–130). He reinterprets askesis (spiritual discipline) as active engagement rather than withdrawal.
• Science and Spirituality in Dialogue
  In a fascinating section, Dombrowski explores neuroscience and mysticism (pp. 150–155). He acknowledges that mystical experiences have a neurological basis but insists this doesn’t strip them of meaning. Instead, it shows how our embodied nature is part of the divine relationship.
• Mysticism and Ethics
  Mystical experience isn’t just personal—it shapes how we live. Drawing on Bergson’s idea of “open societies,” Dombrowski argues that mysticism fosters moral openness and compassion (pp. 160–165). He even links mystical perception to virtue ethics, especially love, proposing a “contributionist ethic” where our lives matter because they enrich God’s experience.

A Global Conversation

While the book focuses mainly on Christian and Jewish mystics, Dombrowski gestures toward broader horizons. He mentions Muhammad Iqbal, a modern Muslim philosopher, as a process thinker (p. 5) and suggests that Islamic mysticism—especially Ibn al-ʿArabī’s vision of God as both transcendent and immanent—could offer rich dialogue with process thought. As someone working on Islam and process philosophy, I found this especially exciting. It opens the door to cross-cultural conversations that could reshape how we think about God and spirituality.

Why You Should Read It

Process Mysticism is not just for philosophers. It’s for anyone curious about how mystical experiences fit with modern ideas about God—or anyone seeking a vision of the divine that feels relational, loving, and deeply connected to life. Dombrowski writes with clarity and passion, weaving together philosophy, theology, ethics, and even science. The result is a book that challenges old assumptions and invites us into a more dynamic, hopeful way of thinking about God.
 
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