Practical Mysticism Evelyn Underhill (bts book recommendations txt) š
- Author: Evelyn Underhill
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āFeel sin a lump, thou wottest never what, but none other thing than thyself,ā says The Cloud of Unknowing. āWhen the I, the Me, and the Mine are dead, the work of the Lord is done,ā says Kabir. The substance of that wrongness of act and relation which constitutes āsinā is the separation of the individual spirit from the whole; the ridiculous megalomania which makes each man the centre of his universe. Hence comes the turning inwards and condensation of his energies and desires, till they do indeed form a ālumpā; a hard, tight core about which all the currents of his existence swirl. This heavy weight within the heart resists every outgoing impulse of the spirit; and tends to draw all things inward and downward to itself, never to pour itself forth in love, enthusiasm, sacrifice. āSo long,ā says the Theologia Germanica, āas a man seeketh his own will and his own highest good, because it is his, and for his own sake, he will never find it: for so long as he doeth this, he is not seeking his own highest good, and how then should he find it? For so long as he doeth this, he seeketh himself, and dreameth that he is himself the highest good.ā āā ā¦ But whosoever seeketh, loveth, and pursueth goodness, as goodness and for the sake of goodness, and maketh that his endā āfor nothing but the love of goodness, not for love of the I, Me, Mine, Self, and the likeā āhe will find the highest good, for he seeketh it aright, and they who seek it otherwise do err.ā
So it is disinterestedness, the saintās and poetās love of things for their own sakes, the vision of the charitable heart, which is the secret of union with Reality and the condition of all real knowledge. This brings with it the precious quality of suppleness, the power of responding with ease and simplicity to the great rhythms of life; and this will only come when the ungainly ālumpā of sin is broken, and the verb āto have,ā which expresses its reaction to existence, is ejected from the centre of your consciousness. Then your attitude to life will cease to be commercial, and become artistic. Then the guardian at the gate, scrutinising and sorting the incoming impressions, will no longer ask, āWhat use is this to me?ā before admitting the angel of beauty or significance who demands your hospitality. Then things will cease to have power over you. You will become free. āSon,ā says a Kempis, āthou oughtest diligently to attend to this; that in every place, every action or outward occupation, thou be inwardly free and mighty in thyself, and all things be under thee, and thou not under them; that thou be lord and governor of thy deeds, not servant.ā It is therefore by the withdrawal of your will from its feverish attachment to things, till āthey are under thee and thou not under them,ā that you will gradually resolve the
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