The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3½ stars stating "Meaning and Mystery is yet another album in the Douglas catalog that showcases his fine compositional and arrangement abilities, but more than this, it's the sound of a group in the process of continued restless development long after the bandmembers have found their collective voice".[2] On All About Jazz Paul Olsen said "Meaning and Mystery is yet another superlative recording from Douglas. Will his well of inspiration never run dry?".[3] In JazzTimes, Steve Greenlee wrote "Meaning and Mystery, is a fully realized statement by a band that draws on the high points of jazz history and breaks new ground".[5]