The spirit of the Mystic takes shape.
Visitors can be introduced to the mystical phenomenon through the Interpretation Center, which is offered as an artistic space where symbolism is the protagonist.
The Center for Mystic Studies, first, the Center for the Interpretation of Mysticism, later and the University of Mysticism, which will be a reality during this year 2008, place Ávila as the universal capital of Mysticism.
Within the walls of Ávila lived three of the great mystics of history, such as Moisés de León, a Jew and master of the Kabbalah who wrote in the walled city & nbsp; The Book of Splendor, & nbsp; the capital book of Hebrew mysticism. Better known are the Avila Teresa de Jesús, creator of the Carmel Reform and San Juan de la Cruz, confessor of the Convent of the Incarnation, and universal mystic, whose poetic work is widely recognized and valid today.
In addition to its varied cultural offer and its wide monumental catalog, Ávila has a unique space that transports the visitor through an ascending journey towards the mystical understanding and its importance. The Mystic Interpretation Center, located in front of the Wall on the popular Paseo del Rastro, is a singular and unique proposal, whose objective is to show both the complexity of mysticism and, paradoxically, its profound simplicity.
The Center is offered as a compendium of universal mysticism and as a work of art where symbolism is the protagonist of all representations. Architecture, scenography, paintings, object art, sculptures, videos, texts, projections, lighting and music make up this mystical micro universe in which the tourist will enter looking for the essence of the human being and that spiritual transcendence that integrates thought, word and action.
This small universe of multiple symbols will amaze the visitor due to the variety of spaces, the deep journey from darkness to light and the multiple materials that respond to the attempt to create an environment in which the spirit of mysticism takes shape. The Center, which can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., is organized into four rooms, which coincide with the four universal steps into which mysticism has been divided: Tradition, the Knowledge of the Self, Enlightenment or Union with God and Action or Return to the Mystical World.
Parallel to the Interpretation Center of Mysticism, and linked to the same effort, the International Center for Mystic Studies is developed, a universal reference in the field of mysticism that was created in 1990 as a non-profit Municipal Foundation whose purpose is to contribute to the knowledge and development of mysticism as part of the integral history of humanity.
At the Center for Mystic Studies he has developed his initiatives in three different but closely related areas: teaching and research, documentation and publication, and cultural activities. The international scope of this center and the city of Ávila as a geographical reference for mysticism, as well as the plural and ecumenical approach that inspire its mission, is reflected in the extensive memory of activities carried out so far and that materialize in congresses, seminars and courses in which a good number of people have participated.