Practical Mysticism · Chapter
Love and Will explained
This chapter explores the integration of love and will in the contemplative life, emphasizing that true contemplation is an active, passionate, and self-forgetful act of communion with Reality, not idle musing.
What happens
This chapter explores the integration of love and will in the contemplative life, emphasizing that true contemplation is an active, passionate, and self-forgetful act of communion with Reality, not idle musing. It discusses the necessity of recollection and self-simplification as complementary practices that gather the soul's powers into unity, enabling a progressive transformation of character and perception. The chapter argues that love and will, rather than pure intellect, are the primary faculties for mystical knowledge, and that this loving intuition transcends but does not oppose reason.
Themes in this chapter
Love as a Path to Knowledge
The chapter centers on love and will as the primary means of attaining mystical union, arguing that loving intuition surpasses intellectual analysis in knowing the Divine.
Contemplation and Action
Contemplation is presented as an active, energetic 'stretching out' towards Reality, not passive dreaminess, integrating will and love in a dynamic encounter.
Self-Simplification and Purification
The chapter emphasizes self-simplification and detachment as essential preparations for the mystical life, working in tandem with recollection to unify the soul's powers.
Characters to notice
- Jan van Ruysbroeck
Quoted describing contemplation as a 'loving stretching out' towards Reality, and referenced for the concept of 'gathering the forces of the soul into the unity of the spirit'.
- John Keats
Mentioned in the context of the supremacy of feeling over thought, aligning with the mystical emphasis on loving intuition.
Key passages
“By love may He be gotten and holden, but by thought never.”
God can be attained and held through love, but never through intellectual thought alone.
This quote underscores the primacy of love over intellect in the mystical path.
“a blind intent stretching … a privy love pressed”
A focused, blind intention reaching out, a secret love pressing forward.
Describes the essence of contemplation as an ardent, directed movement towards Ultimate Beauty.
“we behold that which we are”
What we perceive of Reality is conditioned by our own inner state and character.
Highlights the mystical principle that only the real can know Reality, linking perception to personal transformation.