The Ascent of Mount Carmel
The following verses were written by the Spanish mystic, Juan Ypes, (later known as St. John of the Cross), after having spent many months imprisoned in a small cell in Toledo, in 1578. They are from his drawing The Ascent of Mount Carmel, which contained instructions for climbing to the summit of spirituality, the clear recognition of our oneness with God.
To reach satisfaction in all desire its possession in nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all desire the knowledge of nothing.
To come to possess all desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all desire to be nothing.
To come to the pleasure which you have not, you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge which you have not, you must go by a way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not, you must go by a way in which you possess not.
To come to be what you are not, you must go by a way in which you are not.
When you turn toward something, you cease to cast yourself upon the all. For to go from the all to the all you must leave yourself in all.
And when you come to the possession of the all, you must possess it without wanting anything.
In this nakedness the spirit finds its quietude and rest.
For in coveting nothing, nothing raises it up and nothing weighs it down, because it is the center of its humility.
