The title of the chapter I have just finished reading is "The Characteristics of Mysticism."
Some underlined phrases:
Jacopene da Todi: "Blessed are the cleane of hart for they shall see God. O sight to be wished, desired and longed for..." One wants a clean windshield to properly see the road.
--"...all mystics, says Saint-Martin, "speak the same language, for they come from the same country." And that language is the language of love.
"RULES: 1) True mysticism is active and practical... 2) transcendental and spiritual...heart is always set upon the changeless One. 3) This one is...Reality...personal Object of Love 4) Living union with this One...arrived at by an arduous...process 5) True Mysticism is never self-seeking." This last one is the hardest. It is so tempting to seek the fruits of the search: peace, holiness, purity; it is so scary to seek the One, not knowing what the outcome might be.
"inaccurately called 'ecstasy,' but is better named the Unitive State"
"The jewels of mystic literature glow with this intimate and impassioned love of the Absolute; which transcends the dogmatic language in which it is clothed and becomes applicable to to mystics of every race and creed. There is little difference in this between the extremes of Eastern and Western thought: between A Kempis the Christian and Jalalu'd Din the Moslem saint."
"...fundamentally a science of the heart."
"The mystic's outlook, indeed, is the lover's outlook."
"St. Bernard...'He alone is God who can never be sought in vain: not even when He cannot be found."
"...sought only for the heart of God, therein to hide myself." --Jacob Boehme
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