Mysticism: The Internal Energy that Transforms

Mystic traditions tell us that every one of us has a biological mechanism for individual enlightenment toward higher consciousness—a potential force that once aroused can produce a variety of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual effects. 

The ancient yogic texts described a life energy called prana present in all living beings; corollary energies have been described in many other cultures such as chi in Taoist tradition, tumo of Tibetan yogis, quaumaneq of Eskimo shamans and incendium amoris and photismos of Christian mystics. A life force that is a normally dormant can get activated and awakened under certain conditions to strength or purify an individual’s prana to transform them and bring them closer to self-knowledge. This force has been referred to as Kundalini, Shakti, the Odic force, the Holy Spirit, The Peral of Great Price, the Serpent Power, the Rod of Aaron, the Sacred Fire, and Osiris. Western scientists have linked this energy, which mystics have experienced for centuries, to near-death experiences (NDEs), the profound spiritual or mystical experiences that some persons report as they approach or start to cross the threshold of death. [1]  

The concept of this force exists within Islamic mysticism (Sufism) as well, and some have referred to it as “the fire of separation,” which creates baraka, the Muslim spiritual blessing which is the initiation that awakens the lataif or chakra centers in the human nervous system. 
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[1] Source: Greyson, Bruce. Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. Article: “Some Neuropsychological Correlates of the Physio-Kundalini Syndrome.”