Practical Mysticism · Chapter
Self Adjustment explained
This chapter explores the necessary process of self-adjustment after the initial discovery of the true self through recollection.
What happens
This chapter explores the necessary process of self-adjustment after the initial discovery of the true self through recollection. It describes the painful conflict between the surface self, conditioned by worldly habits and desires, and the deeper self that longs for union with Reality. The chapter emphasizes the need for purgation, detachment, and mortification—a deliberate remodelling of character—to resolve this dualism and prepare for the mystical life.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Simplification and Purification
The chapter calls for deliberate self-simplification and purgation of the heart and will, including detachment and mortification, to resolve the conflict between surface and deeper self.
Contemplation and Action
The chapter contrasts the active life of the practical man with the contemplative life, arguing that the former leads to a muddle while the latter requires singleness of heart and self-control.
Union with Reality
The chapter describes the mystical need for union with Reality and the disharmony that arises when the surface self clings to the natural order instead of the transcendent.
Characters to notice
- The Practical Man
The practical man's attitude is described as a limpet-like adherence to the unreal, his mind full of conflicting desires and whirlpools, enslaved by habit and the pursuit of impermanent things.
- Plotinus
Plotinus is cited for his declaration of a 'higher' and 'lower' life, and the cleavage between them, which the chapter uses to explain the dualism of human personality.
- Augustine of Hippo
Augustine is referenced as describing the plane of being as 'the land of peace' and 'beauty old and new', which the seeker glimpses in recollection.
- Dante Alighieri
Dante is mentioned as discovering the beginning of the pathway to Reality at the summit of self-knowledge.
Key passages
“True and complete self-knowledge, indeed, is the privilege of the strongest alone. Few can bear to contemplate themselves face to face; for the vision is strange and terrible, and brings awe and contrition in its wake.”
Only the strongest can achieve full self-knowledge, because seeing oneself honestly is frightening and humbling.
This emphasizes the difficulty and rarity of genuine self-examination.
“The man who makes a success of his life, in any department, is he who has chosen one from amongst these claims and interests, and devoted to it his energetic powers of heart and will; 'unifying' himself about it, and from within it resisting all counterclaims.”
Success in any field comes from choosing one goal and focusing all your energy on it, resisting distractions.
This illustrates the principle of self-simplification as key to achievement.
“You cannot, until you have steadied yourself, found a poise, and begun to resist some amongst the innumerable claims which the world of appearance perpetually makes upon your attention and your desire, make much use of the new power which Recollection has disclosed to you; and this Recollection itself, so long as it remains merely a matter of attention and does not involve the heart, is no better than a psychic trick.”
You must first stabilize yourself and resist worldly distractions before you can truly use the power of recollection; otherwise, it is just a mental exercise.
This stresses that true recollection requires emotional and volitional commitment, not just mental focus.