Forms of Mysticism - it comes in different flavors!

Mysticism in different religions 

Mysticism is experiences that bring non-intellectual sensory/feeling insight and closeness to God. In almost every religion, it is handled differently. Each religion has it's own rules of creation, order, and values to live by. 

Christians - 

Catholics, with many saints to pray to, have the advantage of holy connections to everyday people who became extraordinary, "the saints". Saints are people, easily thought of as human, especially to Mary, mother of God. Mary is the ideal Mother making her more approachable. Statues represent the saints in dramatic and telling manner. This gives a three dimensional connection to the saints and helps people feel closer to God through the veneration of saints and their lives.  

Orthodox Christians have used religious icons, paintings of saints, to venerate. These objects are generally smaller. They are kissed, carried in processions, and are very beautiful just to look at in a spiritual way. The faces and especially the noses on the faces are long. The placement of the saint in the painted picture, usually done well, in a Byzantine style, with a great deal of gold leaf,  shows respect for the saint's life and encourages the viewer to seek this "in between place" of the icon, like a mirror into the spiritual world, as a way to feel closer to God and all the saints. 

http://www.google.com/search?q=Christian+orthodox+icons&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=TG9ZUPzhPOPOiwKon4GQBQ&ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1420&bih=725

Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians use choirs, candles, and incense to create a feeling of being between heaven and earth during worship. Churches who veer away from the mystic qualities are usually the Protestant churches. Martin Luther did not care much for mysticism, but focused on "grace". His goal was to be saved (and help others be saved) by Jesus who died sinless on a cross in place of all of humanity. Before Martin Luther came to that "saved by grace" understanding, he lead an inwardly tortured life where he eventually saw the (Catholic) church as getting in the way of connecting to God. He did like mysticism of communion as a covenant symbolic of human acceptance of the Christ sacrifice. 

These days, most, but not all, Christian churches offer communion which is some variation of"blood" or "blood and body" of Christ, symbolic of taking in and accepting, in a very personal way, the perfect sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for the sins of the world. Without understanding the mysticism and profoundly meaningful symbolic connection of that act, it can sound barbaric to an outsider who visits the church for the first time and wonders about what the communion is all about.  

Plants increase sensory awareness during ritual 

In some religions, drugs from plants are used to increase sensory awareness and a relaxed, open feeling, or as a hallucinogenic ( e.g. Rastafari use marijuana, the Huichol use peyote). This helps people become connected to group activities, it is a different kind of window into the mind and the feelings of spiritual connection to God. Using plants creates a veneration for the plant as well. There is a sense of the plant's spirit because the use of the plant is for spiritual enlightenment. 

Buddhists say it is already in you, just keep practicing meditation

Buddhists believe in seeking "Enlightenment" but their version of seeking the mysticism is about just "being". They believe you are already "there" in the center of your "self". You just have to be present and it will come forth as you learn to "be". The Dalai Lama of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist monks spend many hours in meditation which causing unique brain activity different from the average person. The monks have healthy minds and not the degree of dementia seen elsewhere. Their brain wave patterns have been studied by scientists.  They come close to God through being "one" in meditation and letting all the thoughts and worries of the day slide away until their minds are empty and they are just taking in the moment. This is done primarily by focusing on the breath. It helps guide you into the present moment. 

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/mind-brain/

Secret rites and rituals to bond the group and create deeper mysticism

Fraternities such at the Masons have a lot of ritual to create mysteries. Many of the rituals date back to early Christian times, the Pharaohs of Egypt and before, these rituals symbolize events and ideas about God and the world. Perhaps participating in rituals such as these make bonding to the group a mystical bond between group members and God. Like a living covenant.  I have heard that some churches hold to this kind of experience too, such as LDS. This is done only in front of fellow followers and believers. That makes the rituals "secret" and more mystical to the group and adds a sense of elevated special quality to the experience.

Atheists
To an atheist, looking at the moon and stars at night or watching the ocean or viewing mountains causes mystical experiences. The sense of feeling small in the grandeur of the experience and the awe from that equals a personal readjustment in the mind. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0.html