Why is that some Christian folk become involved in mysticism? It is utterly foreign to me, but has a strong appeal to some. It seems to be based on the idea of knowledge that is only available to a few initiated ones. Is all the information that is important available to all (exoteric) or is it limited to a chosen few (esoteric)?

There is in man an insatiable thirst for meaning in his life. The question we are going to have to answer is where that meaning is going to come from. Is it from experiences with the spirit world? Experiences with God? There are those who claim that a spirit came and spoke to them and gave them special insights.

Jesus does seem to suggest that there is esoteric knowledge. He had just given the long-ish Parable of the Sower and the Seed to the crowd. The disciples came and asked why he spoke to them in parables:

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

So there is inside knowledge, there are mysteries, and it is not given to everyone to understand them. But then, the obvious question is, Why not?