Unknown

THE MYSTIC IN SANTA TERESA DE ÁVILA. About the Mystic in Teresa of Ávila, also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus. It is a remarkable figure, and a point that could perhaps be considered as a reference from the point of view of Christian Mystics, no wonder she was considered the doctor of the church, because she conveys Christian spirituality, in an extremely simple way, extremely pure, forceful and captivating. I think these adjectives would be well suited what is the work of this wonderful lady who left such a deep mark on the history of Christianity, and more than

that, in the history of the Universal Mystique. And let's go then. I like it a lot, some of you know my lectures about it, of mystics like Hulme, like Tagore, like Kabir, mystics from various traditions around the world, but certainly, within Christianity, this lady is a touchstone, a reference, that leaves nothing to be desired with any other Mystique in the world. For me it is a very beautiful experience to be able to do, not just a lecture, a small lecture, but also pay homage to someone who inspires me so much, and that brings a state

of deep peace of mind. An invitation to depth. That's basically what Teresa de Ávila's life is. An invitation for you to enter your inner castle. Well, very basically, her biography. Teresa was born in Ávila, Gotarrendura. Which is a location in Ávilá, in the kingdom of Castile, 1515. And she lives to be 67 years old. Will die on October 4, 1582 in Alba de Tormes, Salamanca. Some basic things from his life just to situate us historically. She lived at the time of the counter-reformation, it is a time when the inquisition is acting very strongly. All that

dispute between the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic counter-reformation, So she has a very secluded life, inside Mosteiros. Not really that reclusive. because she goes about founding these Monasteries for every corner of Spain. And... but that they recommend a type of spirituality where man instead of turning outward to the world's problems, go into yourself, and find the way out which is always within and above. Therefore, it has a fantastic response to the turbulence of its historical moment. I spoke a little while ago about Saint John of the Cross, who also worked with her on the same

work, is her contemporary. He even became her confessor for a good part of the time, and the two respond, he is even invited to this work of the Reform of the Carmelites, works together with her, and they are two points outside the curve in this very turbulent historical moment. And today that we live in equally turbulent historical moments, it's good to remember that there were men who found a way out that is not in any of the positions foreseen by our historical moment, nor foreseen by the historical moment in which they lived. An exit inwards

and upwards, as I insist, as I have already said and will say again. So it's really worth it. Maybe it's the perfect time to remember someone so special. She is canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. She becomes a Doctor of the Church only in 1970 with Pope Paul VI. Today, then, she is a Doctor of the Church for her teachings, for her depth, for the mystical path that he left demarcated. And incredibly humble! That the historical importance it had, when you read it, you do not believe that anyone could consider himself so small, perhaps

because it considers itself so small, it has become so big. So simple... With the pure intention of guiding the nuns of your Carmel, guide the people around you, in the simplest most open way using the words I had, respecting the authority of the literati. In other words, one of Teresa de Ávila's trademarks is humility. And as they say there biblical tradition He who humbles himself will be magnified. She does not humiliate herself, exactly in the pejorative sense of the thing, but she puts herself in the right role, of someone, who as a personality is very

small, as is the personality of all of us. But it serves something much greater, and by serving something much greater, as a philosophical phrase that I like very much says, man with God is always the majority. Continuing then in our story, they say that his grandfather was a converted Jew. That in that historical context was called marrano. We used to call it a new Christian, would have been persecuted and arrested by the inquisition, on suspicion of still practicing Judaism in secret. Your father at a certain point buys the title of knight, acquires a certain respectability

in society and his mother is a very devout Catholic, who, since she was a very small child, of Teresa, very young, she teaches devotion to the saints, to the doctors of the church, to the entire history of Christianity. and since she was a little girl, she has lived with this very careful education Christian line. An interesting story is told, that at the age of seven she picks up her brother a little older, and resolves that she would flee to face the Moors, to try to convert them, or die martyred. And your uncle already catches them

both outside the city wall, making this escape to convert the Moors. That is, at that age he already had a very special delivery capacity. A very pure child, aiming for this size. This is very interesting. And then, at the age of 14, her mother dies, and she is first placed by her father in a convent of Augustinian nuns at Ávila. There she is stricken with a terrible disease. It was three years of what is believed to have been malaria. She at a certain moment, it is even disillusioned by the doctors of the time. Well there

is no solution. There is no way out. And she perseveres in her faith in her state of prayer, and it is said that at this time she has a series of visions. She has states of ecstasy, blessings of tears, and wakes up in tears as if he had seen visions. Divine visions. And it's a very defining moment. It is said that after this phase is over, she recovers her health, many people said that, in the prejudiced era, dark, full of fears, they said that maybe that there might have been inspiration from the devil. And she

is very scared about it, says that martyrdoms and penances are beginning to be imposed, until her confessor tells her to forget about it, that it was nothing diabolical, that it really was a divine vision. At the age of 21, already cured in 1535, she will enter the Carmelite convent of Encarnação. This convent, it's a little... there's a certain disparity in the sources, but that convent has between 150 and 180 nuns. It was a very large group of sisters living there, and there were many daily visits permitted to the convent. And there was an area that

was called the parlor, where the nuns spent most of their time talking to each other. This provokes a certain rejection in Teresa. She expected a more Mystical life, a life of more retreat, prayer, meditation. And she, at a certain moment, says that praying over the crucifix, she turns to Jesus on that crucifix, and asks: Who put you there? And Jesus on the crucifix, she would have heard a voice that would answer: Your conversations in the parlor brought me here. And that kind of voice, of perception that she has, gives her a shock, where she realizes

that really what her spirituality demanded, it couldn't be done that way. And then she begins to dream, what she will accomplish in the future. Which is the reform of the Carmelite order, with the creation of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. First female only, then with an approximation of João da Cruz also male. So it's a period that goes from 59 to 61. She begins to have other visions that are also very important in her history. It is said that at a certain time around 1559, she would have had the perception of the presence of Christ

very close to her, though invisible, though it could not be perceived by the senses. But she noticed his presence. And the other, already in 1561, is the one that most characterizes it, very famous, which was even portrayed by the sculptor Bernini, today this statue is in Rome. Which is when she sees a Seraphim, an angel, with a golden arrow, which several times pierces his heart with that arrow, that looks like it's glowing at its tip. It is endowed with fire at its tip. And he says that when he closed his heart it was an immense

pain, but at the same time a state of Ecstasy as well. As if it were a communion with the Divine, as if it were the transmutation of your human part. Seems like when he pulls that arrow, it takes a lot of your guts out. As if its physical part had been replaced by a metaphysical part, a part of fire, which burns in relation to the Divine. And this is a vision which she relates as having been a moment of ecstasy. very painful, but also, at the same time, very fulfilling. This statue is very beautiful, and

worth knowing, for those who haven't seen it yet, I suggest you search and see the image. So... She talks about this phenomenon, I brought it in her words, so that you know. She describes this contact she has with this angel, with this Seraphim, and that moment of Ecstasy that she lives. - I saw in his hand a long golden spear, and at the tip what appeared to be a small flame. He seemed to me to be casting it at times into my heart, and piercing my bowels. When he pulled her back, he seemed to take

her with him too, setting me on fire with the great love of God. The pain was so great that it made me moan, and though it is so overpowering, the sweetness of this excessive pain, I couldn't wish it to end. The soul is now satisfied with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily but spiritual, though the body has its part in it. It is such a sweet caress of love that now takes place between the soul and God. I pray to God for his goodness to make it try on those who might think

I'm lying. That is, she asks that this opportunity be given to others. I don't know of many in history who have experienced something similar. What is interesting is that she often makes this connection, that these mystical states they even influence the body. Even the body reacts to the states of the Soul, that we shall see further on that this was witnessed by many. The sheer power, of that flame that burned within her, he was capable of provoking signals even in his own body. Continuing. Well, she talks about admiring too much the Confessions of Saint Augustine

which is a literature that I also like a lot. He greatly admired Saint Mary Magdalene. And in 1562 she leaves for her first reformed monastery, the convent of San José. She always makes very small communities. At first only 13 sisters, at most, the biggest 20. Never more than that. Or something between those two numbers. small communities, of nuns, of sisters who lived in these small convents, that it multiplies everywhere. Always in a very austere order. Vow of silence, a very constant state of prayer and seclusion. And... The most poverty imaginable. Garments too rough, too plain,

abolishes the use of shoes, they use only sandals. That's why they are called barefoot. Abolish the use of Meat, just very frugal, very simple eating. And he lives there in extreme poverty and permanently in a state of prayer, of meditation, seeking more and more to go deeper into the soul, into his own soul, to find God himself there. That was your proposal. And she was exemplary of what she proposed. A state of Mysticism and prayer, permanent, always very deep. Well, in 1572, just summarizing the story a lot, people, I got some points, that my intention

is to spend more time with you in some of her sentences, which are beautiful!!! Than properly in biography which is very easy to find. In 1572 conflicts began to intensify, between the Discalced Carmelites and the Original Carmelite Order. This will cause a series of unpleasantries, Anyone who watched my lecture on São João da Cruz knows that he was arrested. He remained in prison for nine months, suffering various types of torture. And she is obliged to remain in absolute seclusion inside one of her Convents. And she chooses exactly the one in São José, the first. And

there she is confined, constantly sending letters to King Felipe II of Spain, until after a few years, 1579 already, the Pope himself, Pope Gregory XIII, separates the ancient Carmelite Order from the Renewed Order of Carmel. That is, the order of the Discalced Carmelites. And there the persecutions cease, a new order begins, and she starts to have more freedom to carry out her work, what will you do until the last breath of your life. You know that at some point, when she was 52 years old, meets São João da Cruz at 25. He who was preparing

to join the Cartuchos, for the same reason as she, looking for a more austere life. She invites him to accompany her in founding the male Orders of the Discalced Carmelites. And he obeys that call and accompanies her doing her work until the end of her life. Altogether it is said that she founded 17 Convents, 16 founded personally by her, While 15 male ones were founded. That is, we have about thirty-two there. Thirty-two convents founded while she was still alive. both female and male, with the support of João da Cruz. A fantastic job if you consider

the conditions in which she lived. Walking, alone, on foot, over very long distances, and doing your job, and spreading its message, and creating its units, its small convents everywhere. And this continues to propagate after his death. Well, now let's get into what I consider to be the main point of this lecture. Which is to talk a little about your method of ascension of the Soul. Here the four stages of the soul's ascension, and then we'll talk about the seven mansions, from the book Morada Interior ou Castelos, which is considered his masterpiece, and where will she

describe some of that ecstasy, of this deep fusion capacity of the Soul with God. Well, the four stages for her start with the so-called mental prayer, which is a state of contemplation and concentration on the idea of ​​the divine. Even if you can't stop thinking. When she talks about it she says that, there's no point in anguishing yourself trying to curb your thoughts before starting to say prayers, because that is impossible without God's help. So let one begin and regard thoughts as noise, but start your process of spending as much time as possible in a

state of prayer. That is, a mental concentration on devotion, in the inclination of man, devote, the tending towards God. Of course I'm a philosopher I'm not defending any religious trend, I speak only of a person whom I deeply admire. So it reminds me of several other traditions. If you see for example within Sufism which is the heart of Islam, there was a thing called Dikr which was a state of perpetual prayer, Where they said that only this state of prayer manages to banish the grossest things from within a man. You can keep them away. It

reminds me a lot of that biblical passage of pray and watch and permanently. A state of mental prayer is the first stage of the Soul's ascension that it proposes. The second is called the prayer of silence, in which the person begins to have a state of stillness, silence, peace, that allows you a prior concentration including, for a deeper prayer. It is the moment when man withdraws a little from the noise of the world, and even though the thoughts do not cease, there is a displacement, between thoughts, what she called imagination, and the state of silence,

of serenity, which seemed to cleanse the temple. It prepares the conditions for deeper prayer. Creates a threshold between the world and the temple. The inner temple. So that man can really stand before something sacred. So past that border, which is the prayer of silence, comes the third stage which is the devotion of union, which is a type of ecstasy where man already feels absorbed by God, but it still preserves the imagination, that is, the thought. Imagination was the way she called thought and memory. That is, you feel very close to the divine, but it still

preserves those elements that make you a separate being. That is, you still have memory and thought and still remember personal things, then you are close to that breath, that warmth of the divine, but you still have a ballast behind, of personal things, so the merger is not complete. And finally comes the so-called ecstatic or rapturous devotion, where there yes there is no more memory, there is no more thought, imagination, nothing at all. Man feels all his functions. At one point she says that when she is in rapture she can't even tell if she's breathing. All

functions are suspended and man feels one with God. Then he feels that there is no more separation. You will see that in various traditions it is said that, this is one of the greatest moments, shall we say, height that human consciousness can reach. There is a certain moment where man says: - God is there, and I am here. In the second moment you say: God is there, and he is also inside me, he is also here. And a third moment is when there is no more neither there nor here. God and man are one. This

search for unity, this fusion, that is spoken in so many different traditions people. That fusion where everything merges into unity. So, it is even said that in that state of ecstasy or rapture, many times she in her chapel praying, when it reached that stage it began to levitate. It was seen by several nuns, by various characters of the time. It seems that in a certain way she impregnated her own body with the lightness of the Soul. The body itself participated in this feast of the soul, and it seems that it lost its weight, its attachment

to matter. The attraction to another base of support, above, it was so big that even the body obeyed this call. This inverted gravity calling upward. It says that she entered a state of levitation, thing that is also said, that would have happened, for example, with Saint Francis of Assisi. There is a passage that I find very interesting, because there was, at that time. In fact, many things that existed at that time, still exist to this day. It used to be said to the sisters of their Order, that it was dangerous for them to say prayers,

that they had to repeat certain prayers, established by the Creed, mechanically always only that one, and no other. And one of the things she says, exactly to have a prayer, that is not a repetitive and mechanical scheme, but where the soul is present, fully awake and devoted, and in touch with the divine. That is, that spontaneous prayer that comes from the heart. Which is the moment of greatest legitimacy and spontaneity of Man. At one point she says: - If someone tells you that prayer is dangerous, consider this person the real danger, and run away from

him. You can see that she is not without a certain daring, that maybe was a little heavy even for our days, what about that time. If someone says that your intimate and profound dialogue with God is sinful, and it's dangerous, run away from that person, she's the dangerous one. That is, it does not lack a certain boldness, that made her at certain times, was rejected and persecuted by some. Well and the book I chose to bring you some thoughts is the Book of Mansions or Inner Castle, Where she will represent the human soul as an

abode. A castle with several rooms. And as man penetrates within himself, approaching the center of your own heart. It also approaches the Throne where the sovereign lives where God himself lives. It approaches that final fusion, where he is in the world without being of the world. It is at service, it is a channel at the service of the divine. So it's very interesting. It has beautiful passages, it was written in 1577. From June to November this year. And you will realize an immense humility. All the time she says that there are others more literate than

her. Ask God for forgiveness if you are doing something wrong. Asks him to inspire her on what she should say, but go positively by putting your observations, throughout their inner experience process. penetration of his inner castle, and how to raise a man to a level, human consciousness to a level of Mystique, where she feels like a terminal at the service of unity itself, at the service of God himself. And then I brought this book that is considered his masterpiece. Some snippets. It's the kind of book that is extremely difficult for you to pick out pieces,

because it has one hundred, at least my version has 123 pages, and, it's hard for you to have a chapter that doesn't have some very simple sentence, the sentences are all very simple, all within the Christian vocabulary of the time, but very impregnated with a very elevated Mystique. From that fire that the Angel set his heart on fire. You feel that fire, even today. More than 500 years later, you feel that fire. It's there, in every sentence, in every... Honesty puts itself fully there. She is pure delivery and pure honesty. And that is... it's vertical,

it's luminous, you still feel that heat. Half a millennium passed. This is very interesting, very strong. Well, so the book, as I told you, deals with the seven passages. And we're going to talk about a few sentences, not in order, and not very connected. Some phrases that I collected throughout the reading, just to give you a general idea. It is not possible to talk about the seven passages, that we would have to have, I don't know, three hours or more. There would have to be a commented reading of this book, to talk about everything. But

as I told you, she puts it in a very interesting way. Because it's like a room, a circle, with several concentric circles. That is, you don't leave one room and enter another. You enter the outermost layer, and you go deeper and deeper towards the center, which is where His Majesty's throne resides. The Throne of God. In other words, it is a search for the center. Much like what I've been saying so much to you. The Doctrine of the Center. The search for the center. It is unanimously adopted by traditions from the four corners of the

world and history. The idea of ​​the center. From the spiritual heart of man, who is one with the heart of God, and with the heart of all things. That deep communication. That deep kinship that exists between hearts. Then she will put things, that I cannot leave, as a philosopher, compare with the most beautiful Mystique moments of all the traditions that I have known. What gives us a feeling that the man who grows up, in any way, guided by this profound search for truth, you will find your own heart and walk towards unity. The search is

more important, the spirit in which this search was undertaken, than exactly which way to go. And if we could understand it that way, probably we would recognize and respect all paths, as long as they arrive at the same destination. Well then already inside the book. Well, let's first make a little collection before we get into the passages in the book concerning the abodes. Explain to you a little, basically, what these seven abodes are. The first abode is the gateway to the spiritual life. The first address, her idea is a decision. It is guided by your

decision to seek God. Above anything. Besides anything. Understand it more and more, and have it as the goal of your life. Walking towards the Sacred, the Divine, unity, for those who don't accept this idea of ​​God well, walk in that direction. And take it as a firm decision, so that there is no doubt, there are no pendencies, there are no other possibilities for your life, otherwise walk a path, that step by step brings you closer to the idea of ​​the divine. So this is the first Portal, which is the gateway to spiritual life and which

is based on decision. The second portal, which is the second home, will be the one for Desapego. Of Purification, of our relationship with the world. That is, we relate badly to the world, because we are all loaded with desire. Wanting to own things, and the fight for things that can be material things, but they can be psychic things too, for example: Reputation, image, recognition, position in a hierarchy, all these are things. As long as there is desire for things, man struggles with one another, seeking, because they are scarce in relation to those who desire them.

So this makes the relationship with the world conflictual. So this second abode concerns detachment. The purification of our relationship with the world. It's very interesting, that if you see there the four noble truths of the Dhammapada, Buddhist, he will talk exactly about Taiwan's overcoming, the seat of sense pleasures. Desires for things that only in the material world can be possessed. That we don't actually own anything, because nothing that is really yours can be taken from you, and all things in the world can and will be taken from us. Even as we saw in São João

da Cruz, they cyclically pass by us and cool down. Because in the world everything is made of these cycles. Heat comes and cools down, life comes and cools down, flowers come and cool down. Therefore, these things follow temporal cycles, there is nothing permanent about them. So this second abode will be about detachment, she talks a lot about this virtue in the book, she is very beautiful. The third abode is linked to clarifying the relationship with ourselves, and this is a very interesting thing. From the moment I, understand, that I am not a personality who came

to assert himself in the world. I did not come into the world to establish my name, but I came to be a conduit for something much bigger than myself. That I came to lend my voice, so that a message that is, on what Plato would call the plane of ideas, or on the spiritual plane, reach the world through me. That hollow bamboo pipe that Taoism spoke of. That is, to affirm that my deepest identity, is to be a voice in the service of the great truths of the universe, of the voice of the divine, so

that it reaches the world. Therefore, acceptance of oneself as having one's most legitimate identity, in unity, in the whole, in the voice of God. That is, another type of detachment, which is to deliver the need to affirm your name, need to project your name, that is, clarification of the relationship with ourselves, which, I would say the summary would become a channel. The fourth abode she deepens our relationship with God. It will generate in us a very great sense of peace. As you approach what remains, distances itself from what is happening. Exactly what makes us afflicted

is this passage, this transitoriness of things. As we move away from what is transitory, and approach something that is certain, is definitive, is eternal, this is giving us more and more support for conscience. A state of peace. She never uses that word conscience, it speaks of the soul, but it is something very similar within a philosophical conception. So this gives us a state of security, where we develop confidence, humility and gratitude. Humility grows with each new address, but it here already has to be deeply founded, as a necessary virtue. Understand then, that only the approximation

with that which does not oscillate, with that earth that does not tremble under our feet, it gives us true serenity, true peace. And the conquest of that serenity, that peace, is a product of the fourth abode. Entering the fifth address marks a transition. This is really interesting guys. I can't help but comment with you, than those who know the Indian structure of the constitution of man. The man has seven vehicles, is what he calls the septenary constitution, and I cannot help noticing that each of these abodes it is very reminiscent of the mastery and overcoming

of each of the human vehicles. Including what she says here, because entering the fifth home is a transition. It's like you transition from one world to another is the hardest of all. And in India it is just that. It is the passage from the quaternary to the Triad. Where you move from a denser world to a more subtle, more spiritual world. So it's the most complex transition of all. And then she will say that our life is no longer in this fifth home, a path towards God, but we experience God living in us. We are

no longer walking towards him, he is already here. More and more we have to open up, so that this presence of God gives the route of our life. Transmute everything that is not God, and let us transform ourselves into a pure channel. So it's a moment, the fifth home we could say that it is a moment of transition, and a moment of fusion. A merger that will be extended through the following two addresses. There's still something personal, but more and more there is a fusion, as if it were that fire of the heart, that consumes

everything that is not God. That is, it is a passage to a much more subtle level of consciousness, a much deeper level of Mystique, a deep dive into the heart of man, to the point of touching the heart of God. The sixth abode... It consists of spiritual commitments, it is an even deeper delivery. You will see that she will talk a lot about heart dilation. Later we will talk about this, that she gives an example of a water tank, inside which a fountain passes, and this source is expanding the opening of this tank more and

more. The presence of the divine in our heart expands this heart more and more. Extending this passage, so that it can pass on all the message that has to reach the world through us, and at the same time, by enlarging our heart, it also expands our capacity to love, and it will fit more and more, inside that heart, and becomes increasingly capable of covering the whole world, which is your ultimate goal. We'll talk right away when we get to the seventh abode. Then... we can say that the sixth abode is an abode of a deeper

surrender. And finally, the seventh it is the point of commination which she calls spiritual marriage. In this spiritual marriage man unites so deeply with God that he has as his only cause, only motivation, only pursuit, God's motivation. Which is a deep participation in God's desire to save all people. That is, it no longer fits in your heart simply the presence of the divine, which is already a lot, but it also fits all the motivations of the divine. Let all humanity enter your heart and that the cause of rescuing all mankind from pain, suffering, be your

cause, which if it is of God, is yours too. So the seventh abode is just that, the abode of making thine, the cause of God. Take God's mission as your own. To rescue all humanity from pain. Very similar also to the Buddhist tradition, which speaks exactly of this. Continuing... Now let's go to the sentences. As I speak, I took small excerpts that I found curious, maybe not the best so it stands to reason that I had to make a very difficult selection, given the time we have, which is already well advanced. But I hope they

are enough for you to understand, as it seems that the territory of Mystique is a universal territory of pure hearts, who approach the Sacred. Since there are relationships with all the pure hearts of mankind, who also sought to approach the Sacred. As it seems that there is a certainty there, and it is exactly what she was looking for. A certainty, that there is a cause inwards, and upwards, that it is necessary to look for it when the world becomes polarized. And that is the only cause that justifies the existence of man, and that makes your

presence in the world have some meaning. A woman in an era where there was no advertising of any kind, or media, or whatever. That you are able to do without wishing anything for yourself. Make your name project for more than five centuries, and still bringing that peace which she possessed, to people so long after. The power it has is amazing. It looks like it's a fragile thing, a search that is almost an escape, is the most powerful of all quests. Of transforming himself, and from himself transforming the world. Diving into yourself, and seeking not to

go one way or the other, but upwards. And then we're going to see some of these phrases I hope you like it. It is no small pity and confusion, that through our fault, we do not understand ourselves, nor do we know who we are. It would not be great ignorance my daughters that they asked someone who he was, and he didn't know himself. Nor did he know who his father was, nor his mother, nor his land. For if that would be great stupidity, without comparison, there is greater in us, when we do not seek to

know what things we are. And we only dwell on these bodies. And so, only by force do we know that we have a soul, because we heard it and because the Faith tells us. That is, I only know that I have a soul because someone told me, because I have no idea about it. I'm a complete lost in the world, that someone asking: Who are you? What would you say to that person? It doesn't have a deep and true answer. Spending life awkward for yourself. What I often talk about in my lectures, the practice of

interior life, of the conquest of one's own identity. How strange that someone spends their whole life like this. And all he knows of great human virtues be a repetition of what others have said. Without any reflection coming from within. No achievement of its own. No own construction, these feelings, and these human possibilities. They are called the latent powers of man. Don't bring any of them up, but just copying from those who did, or those who didn't, but who are also copying and copying and copying from many others. And maybe it's all a big copy, and

no one really knows what the original is. Moving on... There are souls so sick and so used to external things, that there is no remedy, nor do they seem to be able to enter within themselves. Because it is such a custom to always deal with parasites and animals that are around the castle, who have almost become like them. And being of such rich nature and being able to have his conversation with nothing less than with God, has no remedy. Difficult, difficult, Santa Teresa, this really isn't easy. Telling people to come in, reflect on themselves, don't

stay at the gates of your castle. Get to know yourselves. Get to know the heritage that was reserved there for the human condition. Find your own identity, your inner name. Immerse yourself in that mystery that is your internal name. And not arouse any curiosity even to knock on the door, even to brush the doorknob, nothing, nothing, nothing. Stay so on the periphery, which, as she says, identifies with all the alienations that live there, and dies a stranger to himself. What's more current. And that for how long will it still be current? For how many centuries?

For how many millennia? It really depends on each one of us. Do not see her imagine these dwellings, one after the other, as one thing lined up, but put your eyes in the center, that the house or palace where the King is and consider it like a heart of palm, that to arrive at what is to be eaten, it has many toppings surrounding everything that is tasty. For those who know a little about eastern mysticism, Ramacrisna, master of Vivekananda uses an identical example, only he talks about onion rings, that you go deeper, deeper, when you

arrive at the center, you find a void, a void of matter. Fullness of spirit. That same idea of ​​concentric circles. From plunging through life's circumstances, through learning, go diving until you find that spiritual center, that deep identity, which is the thread of the Sutratma Indu, which is the essence of all things, which is one. So many, so many voices trying to make us understand this. That is, once again here, the inner castle of Mother Teresa reflects the symbolism of the center. For although this is the first dwelling, it is very rich, and at such a

great price, and if one escapes from the parasites that are in it, it will not be left without moving forward. That is, it is very interesting that she speaks in the first room, that first entry you make, already begins to feel something of a greater meaning of life, but there are still the parasites there, those elements trying to alienate you. If you go into a Tibetan text, the golden book of precepts, portrayed in the Voice of the Silence, the first room is the learning room. And it is said that there are beautiful flowers there, but

that on the stem of each of them there is coiled a serpent. I mean, the same thing as here. The parasites in it. That is, be careful that when you start to delve into some level of inner life pride is dangerous spiritual vanity is said to be the worst of all. There are still many dangerous things and you can get stuck there, and not go beyond that first abode. Peace my sisters said the Lord, and he admonished his Apostles so many times about it. For believe me, if we don't have it and we don't look

for it in our house, we shall not find her in the house of strangers. This war is over now, I ask those who have not begun to come to their senses. And those who have already started that nothing is enough to make them go back. The first thing: Peace. Immerse yourself inside your home and find peace there, so that you do not penetrate into the homes of others and find conflict. If you haven't pacified your own house, it's a factor of conflict in someone else's house. In other words, end this war now. I ask those

who haven't started to enter, and those who have already started, let them not go back. May they find a way out, where one realizes that only this deep state of serenity, of man's autonomy in relation to the circumstances of the world, can make him a propagator of peace. Can make him, the one who looks in the midst of duality, and see the bright side and make that bright side grow. What a current appeal, what a beautiful appeal. Harmony, tidying up the house, it is the first condition to be able to advance in several other traditions

as well. To think that we shall enter heaven and not enter into ourselves, knowing ourselves and considering our misery and what we owe to God, and asking him for mercy is folly. That is, you will enter heaven with your conscience at the edge of your skin, without knowing anything about yourself. As well ? Where do you think this sky is? Is he somewhere external or internal? That is, already at that time, a time so tumultuous, so dogmatic, someone comes and says: wanting to enter heaven without entering into oneself is folly. Think what a profound thing.

Penetrate that deepest essence of the human being, which makes him a digit of God. Which makes him a promoter of order, harmony, beauty and goodness in the world. And there is heaven. And not anywhere else. Where else could it be? They intended an external sky, without finding an internal sky. folly. I don't know what he was saying anymore, because I got very distracted. And in remembering myself, sometimes my wings break to say good things, so I want to leave it for now. This is a passage where she starts saying some things and loses a bit

of the thread and says: I thought too much about myself, now I've lost the thread of talking about God. Which is very interesting, it reminds me a lot of that phrase I've said to you so many times, by Helena Blavatsky she says: When I remember myself I forget Mestre. When I forget about myself, I remember Mestre. When we delve a lot into these details of our personality, your little discomforts, those little criss, we start to distance ourselves from the Whole, we begin to distance ourselves from the vision of the Whole, stuck in an irrelevant detail.

I don't know if some of you have experience, I am a little poetess apprentice, a really good apprentice, but sometimes in the modesty of my condition, I feel that when I try to write something, when some inspiration comes I can't do anything because I don't feel clean enough to do that right now. As Steven Pressfield says the door carpet must be swept so that the Muses do not soil their clothes when they step on it. That is, sometimes I don't feel clean enough to write a poem. And sometimes that's it. When we want to deal

with very high and very universal themes, sometimes we realize that the details of our personality, consumed our attention so much that they soiled the door carpet, and it is no longer possible to step there without soiling the sacred garments. It's very beautiful. There are many little things that I selected because they reminded me of a thousand others. A universal voice of beings seeking the Divine. Helena Blavatsky has a concept called Dynamic Eternity. That she says there must be intelligent life everywhere, and that we cannot know what these voices say, cannot understand how they express themselves,

but know what the message is. On every corner there is a call, calling the children home. The beings back to the unit. That's more or less what you get when seeing so many deep mystical beings, saying similar things. There are two benefits to this. The first is clear that a white thing looks much whiter, at the foot of something dark. And on the contrary, the dark thing next to the white one. The second is because our understanding and our will, become nobler and more disposed to every good, when you are dealing with yourself, you are

dealing with God. I took this snippet, which is a little out of place, she is exemplifying, two benefits that one takes from reflection, from meditation. First of all, what she is going to talk about is nothing more than the Eastern impact theory. That consciousness is born through contrast. That is, we can perceive white much better next to the dark, the dark next to the white. that is, the contrast gives birth to consciousness. Between two circumstances we can realize more deeply the value of each one. That's why from time to time you call death as a

counselor, to know the value of life, to understand the meaning of life. And the other one she will talk about is that when you are dealing with the simple things in life, around with yourself, don't forget to place yourself before God. He is a merchant who sells his fruit before God. It is a man who does his little work before God. It is a father, or a mother, who brings up a child before God. That is, in the presence of the Sacred, we cannot trivialize ourselves. The Greeks used to say that we either sanctify or

trivialize life. The presence of the Sacred rescues our lives from banality. This idea is also very traditional, and very beautiful. Another snippet: In a great way, it takes advantage of treating, as someone who already knows the world, to get to know each other. Pardon. Rereading: In a great way, it takes advantage of dealing with those who already know the world to get to know each other. Why do some things that seem impossible to us, seeing themselves in others so possible, that the gentleness with which they carry them, is very encouraging... And it seems that with

your flight we dare to fly... As the children of birds do when they are taught. Even if they don't take a big flight, Little by little they imitate their parents. Take great advantage of this. I know. Did you notice? Dealing with those who already know the world, with those who already know the path. In other words, having Masters, those already fly a little, and we are learning there to do the first little jumps from the nest. Learning from those who go a little ahead of us, It is Plato's advice, that we have in view the

lives of heroes, that prove to us how great we can become. That is, the great benefit will do what Newton advocated, look to the future on the shoulders of our ancestors. Listen to the advice of those who have lived, and lived well. Learning from those who already fly, when we are starting to stretch our wings. The basis of so many traditions, which transmit the knowledge of little masters, to small disciples, until reaching the big ones. Transmitting knowledge. That living is more complicated than any technique, that all the techniques we learn, and live, we think we

already know. Those who are close to the first abodes they can easily come back to them, because his fortress is not founded on solid ground, like those who are already trained to suffer. These know the storms of the world and how little he has to fear or to desire its contentments. And it would be possible, with a great persecution, to return to them again. That is to say, those who are close to the highest abodes, when the turmoil of the world comes, they don't get lost in the midst of turbulence, they know how to get

back, because they have already reached a very high level. Those who are in the most peripheral layers run the risk of crashing with turbulence, because they still fear, and when fearing makes their reality, that it was a mere illusion, can affect them. Giving reality to the fears of the world, the things of the world, by believing in them. Therefore, they are quickly shaken by the things of the world. Hence it is a good idea, according to Santa Teresa, take advice from those who have already approached the first dwellings. The most intimate, the closest to the

center. Those are no longer deceived, and the storms of the world do not frighten them. Professor Michel Echenique, who brought Nova Acropolis to Brazil, he had a sentence that I found very simple and very interesting... He said: It rained run home. But for that you have to make sure first, that you actually built a house. May it be sheltered from the rain. This address. That inner dwelling. And when the world gets turbulent, you have somewhere to shelter, and does not allow itself to be swept away by a storm. Which, deep down, does not drag anything

that is superficial, Nothing that is not eternal can come to you, as the Light of the Path says. I just want you to be aware that, to make the most of this path, and climb the abodes we desire, It's not a thing to think a lot, but to love a lot. And so, whatever awakens your love the most, that you must do. What else awakens you to love. In other words, that which provokes the sense of mission in you the most. of carrying out the mission given to us by the Divine himself. That is, our

orientation of the direction to take, is where our heart is needed. And it is much more sensitive than intelligible. That she will constantly talk about it at other times. Of the quarrel between the thought or imagination, and the understanding. The understanding is sometimes more guided by the heart than by the mind, and they don't go in the same direction. And she realizes that, and he will talk about what he found with his friends, with more literate men, with his confessors he found that life is like that. I've been on it. In this mess of thought

very tight sometimes. And it will be just over four years since I came to understand, by experience, that thought or imagination is not the understanding. I asked a scholar about it and he said that it was indeed so, which was to me great contentment. Because as understanding is one of the powers of the Soul, it made it hard for me that he was so flighty at times. For usually I go to thought so fast that only God can bind it when he binds us like this. So that we seem to be somehow detached from this

body. That is to say, he says, Understanding is a virtue, he cannot be a plaything made up of thought. Thought is so fickle that only God can bind it there in the seventh abode. Until then he still wanders. It is obvious that a virtue like understanding, it could not be identified with thought. In other words, thought extends generates repertoire. Deep understanding generates verticality. deep inner life, identity, ability to think for oneself, ability to feel for yourself. Ability to reverse the game of life, which he is not taking is giving. It's not owning, it's delivering. Only

from understanding does man understand the true law of life. O Lord, consider how much we have gone through on this path, for lack of knowledge. And the trouble is that, as we don't think it's necessary to know more than to think about you, we don't even know how to ask those who know, nor do we understand what to ask. And terrible troubles are going on, because we don't understand each other. And what is not bad if not good, we think it is of great guilt. This is quite interesting, she will say: Imagine what she is

saying there. How much we suffer for not knowing, because we think we don't need to know more than just thinking about you. That is, it speaks of exercising the capacity for knowledge in man, to be able to find the paths that lead to God. Lest we be convinced that good is bad and vice versa. This was very common in his time, that a person who thinks, and searches, and looks for a way, who acquires knowledge, this is contrary to the will of God. That would be demonic. God's will would simply be to fix himself on

his name. But if there is not an understanding of what that name means, it's a static distance, where the name stays there, and ours stays alive here. Only knowledge can lead us to realize that there are not two names, there is only one. She speaks: Forgive us for our ignorance, and for not even knowing that we have to know. How common is this nowadays. We don't even have deep knowledge as a value. Our value today is the accumulation of information, not depth. The depth that is based on values, on identity, on raising consciousness, no. This

is not considered resume stuff. The extension, the repertoire, as they say, applies to the curriculum. The volume of stuff you've accumulated. Superficially. Which is lost very easily. Forward, for it seems that as soon as one begins to produce that heavenly water, from this fountain that I say, from the depths of ourselves, it seems that it expands and enlarges our entire interior, and producing some goods, which cannot be said, not even the soul knows how to understand what is happening there. An interior fragrance is felt, let's say now, as if coming from that depth. And then

she will give the example of the two tanks. Where she speaks of a tank that fills with water coming from, through a series of pipes, aqueducts that comes from afar bringing water there, That would be accumulation through the mere sum of thought, of information. And the other is a tank that is directly connected to the source. This pipe the water is much cleaner, and it comes with so much force, it expands with such force that it opens the mouth of this tank, in such a way that it not only fills up, it overflows. He has

water for himself and for everything around him. And she says that this mystical, profound knowledge, coming from the contact of consciousness with being, the contact of consciousness with the divine, this using my words, he is with this second tank, that he can, he has water for himself and it overflows to everything around him. And it's pure. While the other has a tortuous water, brought from far away and very limited, and therefore, even if this information comes from reliable sources, it travels so far, when it does not emanate from man's own pure heart, that it already

arrives a little blurred and limited. That which comes from the very heart of man arrives abundantly, overflows, and is pure. It's very interesting, I remembered Phaedrus a lot and also Plato's Ion, when he talks about poetry he says: - A poet, no matter how technical he may be, never he can be like a madman inspired by the muses, a madman inspired by the Divine. And it's more or less the same picture. He who is inspired by the Divine overflows, it is a beauty as he spoke of Homer. And what comes channeled by fashion, by the

styles, by the way everyone likes it, comes that limited and tortuous thing. It's not abundant, it's not crystal clear and it doesn't overflow. How little today we see what the Buddhist Dhammapada says. A word that brings comfort to those who hear it, In poems, whereas poems were once sacred. They were used to portray the sacred texts of various traditions, such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, like the Iliad and Odyssey itself, like the Epic of Gesar, like Ferdusi's Book of Kings... Many, many, many the Aeneid. The poem was something sacred, that is, what expressed the word Sacred.

Continuing... Well here I brought you a quote from Rumi because I couldn't resist. It's a passage of hers so beautiful, so beautiful, so beautiful, that it reminded me of Rumi. There is a passage from Rumi where he says the following: I came to take you out of yourself, and take you to my heart, I came to show you the beauty you never knew you had, and lift you up like a prayer to heaven. You see, that was a Mevlevana founder of the Mevlevi School, a Sufi Master See how this feels like an invitation to the

inner abode. This is brotherhood, this is universality, is to realize that the divine light illuminates with multiple rays in every direction, where there is only one being who can receive it. And there's a time to realize that. Continuing with Santa Teresa... I have for myself that when His Majesty does it, what is felt in us, it is for people who are already giving up the things of the world, for he particularly calls them to be attentive to inward things. Wow this passage, this part is very beautiful people, this passage and the whole context of it.

That she says: Good those beings who hear this call, who are called to this closer contact with God, it's not usually them, they are chosen, but why are they chosen? Are chosen by God among those who cease to cling to anything in the world. When the world seems opaque to them. When the only action that interests them is delivery. When you no longer have many ties to any kind of desire or possession, that is valued by so many, for them it already seems superfluous. This disinterest in illusory possessions, makes him start to gravitate towards true

possessions, and be brought near to the vision of the divine. It is very interesting that she will talk, soon she will talk about it, about how these beings, are the ones most at risk. Because as your voice portrays a deeper voice, something of the divine voice, through your voice many can wake up and see, and she will talk about the danger that this creates. Later she will return to talking about thought. The third thing is that even if you are careful not to think, nothing will perhaps awaken the thought to think much. She will say:

Look, I talked to several literates, which actually later I found out that they were half literate, not fully literate. who said that before you go into prayer, you should control your thoughts. I tried anyway, it doesn't work. You go into prayer with thoughts buzzing just the same. The more you delve into the core of prayer, the more these thoughts become peripheral, confused, and no longer so attractive. until you go deeper into prayer, and then they dissipate. but you don't have to wait to dominate thoughts to enter the core of prayer. Each time they become more

peripheral, confused. More and more noise, with less and less influence on the core of the human soul. Then she will talk about it here. If her majesty has not begun to soak us, I can't finish understanding how to stop thinking, so that it does no more harm than good. When his majesty wants thought to cease, occupy it in another way, and it gives knowledge a light so far above what we can reach, that it makes it absurd. That is, when your approach is sufficient, this thought is neutralized, illuminating what is essential. That is, that already

there in the seventh address... That is, do not fight with thoughts, leave them there chatting. Fix yourself in that center. Connect. Develop a relationship with that center. As if he were that shipwrecked man I speak of, that has a rope that holds it to solid ground, and it goes pulling, without haste, and without pause, and less and less do you hear the roar of ocean waves and storm. as you approach the mainland. But don't think you'll beat the roar of the waves first and then take the rope. It will not work. Try to cut short

the speech of understanding but not suspend it even to thought, But yes, it is good that you remember that you are before God and who this God is. That is, try to cut corners, summarize your understanding your thinking to the essential, and not get lost in rambling and useless. But one thing that helps instead of suppressing you it's remembering that you are before God, and who that God is. I recall that some recommendations from the Tariqas, from the Sufe schools, they told you to imagine a divine being within your thoughts, in the midst of thoughts.

That just knowing about the presence of this divine being, the shadows tend to move away. That light and shadow do not coexist in the same space. It says: Remember that you are before God and who this God is. Not merely a theoretical figure. Who is this God!!! No wonder Helena Blavatsky used to say so that before we wake up in the morning we would have a thought turned to God. Lest he become merely an allegorical figure, that we don't know how to explain, we don't have any contract. Of course, no explanation will exhaust God, but

some contact that suggests your presence must have. Because it is a powerful light to banish shadows. Continuing... This clearly understands a dilation, enlargement in the soul, as if the water emanating from a fountain had nowhere to run, but the same source were from a thing that, the more the water flowed, the greater it became. So it seems to happen in this prayer, and many other wonders that God works in the soul, that enables it and makes it available, so that everything fits in it. That is, when you begin to approach this divine source, it expands

the source of our heart, so that everything can fit inside it. When I tell you a little about what love was, for example, for medieval alchemists, That they said alkahest was the universal solvent, that you offered the cup and God filled it, but that if he was legitimate, he would dissolve that cup and scatter it in all directions. Because love cannot find limits. If you truly love, he has to stretch, and all of humanity has to fit inside your heart, all nature, everything that is worthy of being loved. In other words, the Cosmos has to

fit inside your heart. And for that only the divine will to widen it enough. That fountain that flows and runs inside your heart, it expands this ability to... ability to contain, to give space, to give vent, that word I was looking for. Give vent to this divine source, and by expanding that heart, one day everyone will fit inside it. I know there is much to fear in this case, from those who hear and forsake this voice. Look, this is the part I was referring to, the man who has some contact with the Divine, some inspiration,

some perception, some tendency to the sacred, some perception of a vertical path, who heard that voice even if it was there in the first addresses. She will talk about how fearful this situation is, and we will explain why. I know there's a lot to fear in this case, of those who hear and forsake this voice. and I know some people who make me very sorry, and I have seen that what I say. For having distanced themselves from whom with so much love he wanted to give himself to them as a friend, and show by works.

And so, I warn you not to get involved in occasions, Because the devil does much more for such a soul, than for many and many to whom you do not grant these favors. For they can do you great harm by taking others with you, and perhaps do a great deal of good in the church of God. Though there is nothing else but to see that his majesty shows them particular love, This is enough for the demon to dissolve, for them to be lost. And so, they are very fought. Aside from religious connections, the idea of

​​the devil, I won't go into those details. I'm a philosopher. But what she puts here is very interesting. And those who already have some Mystique, how somehow, at its limit, albeit tiny, lent their voice so that sacred things reach the world, those when they are lost, get lost much more deeply, and with a much greater level of pain than others, when they fall into banality. Do you know why? Because what they had was too much. Who loses if he has nothing, the pain is not so much, the disorientation is not so much. Who loses having

a lot of disorientation is much greater. He who lends his voice so that the sacred reaches the world, He who is like a bamboo pipe through which the breath of the spirit reaches the earth, no obstructions. That when you break this contact, the loss is very great! Do you know why? Why did many receive this breath through him. So he doesn't fall alone. He falls taking many who needed him, to receive that breath. That they needed him to understand that voice because they didn't understand it on their own. So it's a very big loss. Therefore

he says that the tensions, the trials of the world, are much heavier for these, Because if they get lost, a lot is lost. for them and for the world. That is, they are always the most fought souls, that is, those who go through trajectories of greater envy, of greater difficulty. Why also have greater responsibility. How do you imagine someone carrying a great treasure, it is the one that most attracts thieves along the way. They are channels. These are pontiffs between heaven and earth. Even though they are so small, but a little of the divine voice

flows through them, they are already channels, they already form a bridge. Here at the end of the seventh dwelling, she will say something very interesting. Because if we haven't seen it, if we haven't seen it, if we don't have this contact, this perception of God, How are we sure? That I don't know, it's your work. But I know I'm telling the truth, and whoever does not have this certainty, I would not say that there is a union of every soul with God. I don't know if you realize the depth of this simple sentence. A contact

with something greater than multiplicity, than the illusion of time and space, of differentiation. A contact with the unit. It means you saw, and you see it is evidence against which no insecurity can. It's the same thing I tell you: Look, if you jump into a pool, you're going to sink, Because everything that is heavy sinks in water. You'll believe it if you've never jumped in a pool. But if you've ever jumped, and you've managed to float, and you've managed to swim, you'll say: You're crazy. Of course it's not like that. I have lived. That's when

people come to others and say: Look, there is nothing, life is mere physical survival, it is mere enjoyment, it is mere survival in comfort and pleasure. Life is simply what you enjoy. Carpe diem. If you have no experience that life is about adding value and not take advantage of nature. That life is measured by how much you give, not how much you withhold. If you haven't experienced it, you don't have the strength to oppose it. It's not because you heard someone say, it doesn't work at these times. When it is very windy, only those trees

that have deeper roots, that are flexible, but that have deep roots can resist. And the deepest root is evidence. And the evidence is: I lived. I'm sure there is a greater cause worth living for. That life is not just about survival. That human life is to add value to the world and ourselves, And make us leave here bigger than we entered. Serve something bigger. Serving the great meaning of life, which is to lead all beings towards unity. And only this evidence protects us from the turbulence of the world. We often think we protect ourselves because

someone said, and we believe. We believe until the strong wind. When there is a strong wind, the opinion of others is not enough support. Evidence. Certainty. Contact of consciousness with the Being. A deep identity that connects you a little with the mystery of the universe. Contact with God as Saint Teresa said. Well this is our chat. As I told you, time is short. We're way past our conventional one hour. I wanted to bring you much, much more, because this is such a beautiful book. Of a mystique so deep that I now understand her vision, which

says your heart has become pure fire, which is exactly what it is. Her heart is such an enduring fire, who is able to set fire to the hearts of those who qualify to come in contact. With humility, and with a pure heart. That fire is contagious even after so many centuries. It is one of the great heritages of humanity. She is a woman lived in the counter-reformation, within her cloister, in deep prayer, and who is able to prove to us that this contact is possible. This certainty is possible, which makes our entire support base in

heaven. That we then need not fear the ground so much when it shakes. That even if the ground shakes, our support base is above. The more man has interior life, the more he knows how to respond in an adequate and humane way to outer life. And pave the way for him, and for others to come. So that they can walk through all the difficulties to reach the other side, without betraying himself, without leaving his human condition. And contributing to a cause that is much bigger than your simple personal existence. I would like to end our

lecture today, with a piece that you find on YouTube. There is an ecumenical group, located in France which is the TZ group, and that they are composers of wonderful songs, very beautiful. And they have a song that is about a poem by Teresa of Ávila, ] nothing disturbs you, nothing frightens you, And I would like to share with you this song, which is a prayer, that for me passes a little, they knew how to make a song, which conveys a little the warmth of this woman's heart. It's a very beautiful video, So, I would like

to end this lecture today by offering you this video: "Nada te turbe" by group Taizé. Taizé - Nada te turbe Due to copywriting issues, you'll find the video link in the description Due to copywriting issues, you'll find the video link in the description