Long Journey

13 December 2022

Long Journey

“. . . [T]he soul must let go of all outward things and turn altogether to what is within, and not be inclined to any outward thing, but ignoring all things (as it did formerly in sense-perception, but then in the realm of Forms), and even ignoring itself, come to be in contemplation of that One, . . .”

(Plotinus, Ennead VI.9.7, Plotinus, Ennead VI.6-9, translated by A. H. Armstrong, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1988, page 329, ISBN: 9780674995154)

“. . . [T]he soul must be kept formless if there is to be no infixed impediment to prevent it being brimmed and lit by the Primal Principle.  In sum, we must withdraw from all the extern, pointed wholly inwards; no leaning to the outer; the total of things ignored, first in their relation to us and later to the very idea; the self put out of mind in the contemplation of the Supreme; . . . “

(Plotinus, The Enneads, translated by Stephen MacKenna and B. S. Page, various editions 1917 to 1930, online upload found at:

 https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/plotenn/enn710.htm )

Brian Hines comments on this quote in his book Return to the One:

“Here Plotinus describes the scope of the mystic philosopher’s detachment.  There are three levels of withdrawal from all outward things.  First, the spiritual seeker turns away from both sense-perception and any thoughts or memories of the physical world.  This leads the soul, now disconnected from materiality, into the spiritual world, the realm of forms.

“Next (2), the ethereal beauty of higher realms also must be left behind.  For even though the spiritual world is much more unified than the physical universe, it is still a one-many, not the One.  There are sights and sounds and other sensations in the World of Forms.  These too must be ignored, says Plotinus, just as physical perceptions were before.

“Finally (3), after casting aside all else, the soul must ignore even itself to truly contemplate the One.  This contemplation is so complete that nothing separates the contemplator and the contemplated except the slightest degree of otherness: soul becomes a drop in the spiritual ocean.”

(Brian Hines, Return to the One: Plotinus’s Guide to God-Realization, Adrasteia Publishing, Salem, Oregon, 2004, pages 234-235, ISBN: 9780977735211)

1.  This is a long journey.  It requires dedication.  It is not an easy path.  But each step on the journey has its rewards as the practitioner approaches, closer and closer, to the One. 

2.  This is a long journey.  It requires numerous lifetimes to complete.  I do not think it is possible for someone to finish this journey in a single lifetime as progress is slow; it is slow because it is meticulous.

3.  This is a long journey.  It is like a dove deciding to fly to a distant galaxy.

4.  This is a long journey.  It is like an immense glacier completing its journey to the sea.