The Mystical Life...

It is true that property, money, and possessions give most men a sense of security. But it depends on them and they bring anxieties, cares, even fears, along with their comfort and support. They still need to find or to add a personal security which is independent of these externals, which is personal.

This can come only from within. But it must be from a deeper level than their ordinary thoughts and emotions. They are too unstable, too subject to moods.

If the mystical life were nothing more than a way of forgetting the dark sorrows of earthly life, a means of escaping the hard problems of earthly life, it would still be worthwhile. If its emotional raptures were nothing more than make-believe, it would still be worthwhile.

We do not disdain theatres and books, films and music merely because the world into which they lead us is only one of glorious unreality. But the fact is that mysticism does seek reality, albeit an inner one.


-- Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest >
Chapter 1: What the Quest Is > # 150 and 194.
Paul Brunton