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as 〃levitation;〃 stigmatization; and the healing of disease。 



These phenomena; which mystics have often presented (or are



believed to have presented); have no essential mystical



significance; for they occur with no consciousness of



illumination whatever; when they occur; as they often do; in



persons of non…mystical mind。  Consciousness of illumination is



for us the essential mark of 〃mystical〃 states。















The cognitive aspects of them; their value in the way of



revelation; is what we are directly concerned with; and it is



easy to show by citation how strong an impression they leave of



being revelations of new depths of truth。  Saint Teresa is the



expert of experts in describing such conditions; so I will turn



immediately to what she says of one of the highest of them; the



〃orison of union。〃







〃In the orison of union;〃 says Saint Teresa; 〃the soul is fully



awake as regards God; but wholly asleep as regards things of this



world and in respect of herself。  During the short time the union



lasts; she is as it were deprived of every feeling; and even if



she would; she could not think of any single thing。  Thus she



needs to employ no artifice in order to arrest the use of her



understanding:  it remains so stricken with inactivity that she



neither knows what she loves; nor in what manner she loves; nor



what she wills。  In short; she is utterly dead to the things of



the world and lives solely in God。 。 。 。  I do not even know



whether in this state she has enough life left to breathe。  It



seems to me she has not; or at least that if she does breathe;



she is unaware of it。  Her intellect would fain understand



something of what is going on within her; but it has so little



force now that it can act in no way whatsoever。  So a person who



falls into a deep faint appears as if dead。 。 。 。







〃Thus does God; when he raises a soul to union with himself;



suspend the natural action of all her faculties。  She neither



sees; hears; nor understands; so long as she is united with God。



But this time is always short; and it seems even shorter than it



is。  God establishes himself in the interior of this soul in such



a way; that when she returns to herself; it is wholly impossible



for her to doubt that she has been in God; and God in her。  This



truth remains so strongly impressed on her that; even though many



years should pass without the condition returning; she can



neither forget the favor she received; nor doubt of its reality。



If you; nevertheless; ask how it is possible that the soul can



see and understand that she has been in God; since during the



union she has neither sight nor understanding; I reply that she



does not see it then; but that she sees it clearly later; after



she has returned to herself; not by any vision; but by a



certitude which abides with her and which God alone can give her。







I knew a person who was ignorant of the truth that God's mode of



being in everything must be either by presence; by power; or by



essence; but who; after having received the grace of which I am



speaking; believed this truth in the most unshakable manner。 So



much so that; having consulted a half…learned man who was as



ignorant on this point as she had been before she was



enlightened; when he replied that God is in us only by 'grace;'



she disbelieved his reply; so sure she was of the true answer;



and when she came to ask wiser doctors; they confirmed her in her



belief; which much consoled her。 。 。 。







〃But how; you will repeat; CAN one have such certainty in respect



to what one does not see?  This question; I am powerless to



answer。  These are secrets of God's omnipotence which it does not



appertain to me to penetrate。  All that I know is that I tell the



truth; and I shall never believe that any soul who does not



possess this certainty has ever been really united to God。〃'254'







'254' The Interior Castle; Fifth Abode; Ch。 i。; in Oeuvres;



translated by BOUIX; iii。 421…424。















The kinds of truth communicable in mystical ways; whether these



be sensible or supersensible; are various。  Some of them relate



to this worldvisions of the future; the reading of hearts; the



sudden understanding of texts; the knowledge of distant events;



for example; but the most important revelations are theological



or metaphysical。







〃Saint Ignatius confessed one day to Father Laynez that a single



hour of meditation at Manresa had taught him more truths about



heavenly things than all the teachings of all the doctors put



together could have taught him。 。 。 。  One day in orison; on the



steps of the choir of the Dominican church; he saw in a distinct



manner the plan of divine wisdom in the creation of the world。 



On another occasion; during a procession; his spirit was ravished



in God; and it was given him to contemplate; in a form and images



fitted to the weak understanding of a dweller on the earth; the



deep mystery of the holy Trinity。  This last vision flooded his



heart with such sweetness; that the mere memory of it in after



times made him shed abundant tears。〃'255'







'255' Bartoli…Michel:  vie de Saint Ignace de Loyola; i。 34…36。



Others have had illuminations about the created world; Jacob



Boehme for instance。  At the age of twenty…five he was



〃surrounded by the divine light; and replenished with the



heavenly knowledge; insomuch as going abroad into the fields to a



green; at Gorlitz; he there sat down and viewing the herbs and



grass of the field; in his inward light he saw into their



essences; use; and properties; which was discovered to him by



their lineaments; figures; and signatures。〃  Of a later



period of experience he writes:  〃In one quarter of an hour I saw



and knew more than if I had been many years together at an



university。  For I saw and knew the being of all things; the Byss



and the Abyss; and the eternal generation of the holy Trinity;



the descent and original of the world and of all creatures



through the divine wisdom。  I knew and saw in myself all the



three worlds; the external and visible world being of a



procreation or extern birth from both the internal and spiritual



worlds; and I saw and knew the whole working essence; in the evil



and in the good; and the mutual original and existence; and



likewise how the fruitful bearing womb of eternity brought forth。



So that I did not only greatly wonder at it; but did also



exceedingly rejoice; albeit I could very hardly apprehend the



same in my external man and set it down with the pen。  For I had



a thorough view of the universe as in a chaos; wherein all things



are couched and wrapt up; but it was impossible for me to



explicate the same。〃  Jacob Behmen's Theosophic Philosophy; etc。;



by Edward Taylor; London; 1691; pp。 425; 427; abridged。  







So George Fox:  〃I was come up to the state of Adam in which he



was before he fell。  The creation was opened to me; and it was



showed me; how all things had their names given to them;



according to their nature and virtue。  I was at a stand in my



mind; whether I should practice physic for the good of mankind;



seeing the nature and virtues of the creatures were so opened to



me by the Lord。〃   Journal; Philadelphia; no date; p。 69。 



Contemporary 〃Clairvoyance〃 abounds in similar revelations。 



Andrew Jackson Davis's cosmogonies; for example; or certain



experiences related in the delectable 〃Reminiscences and Memories



of Henry Thomas Butterworth;〃 Lebanon; Ohio; 1886。














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