I write out of no other authority than my own metaphysical reflections, my own mystical experiences, my own studies and observations of other people's spiritual quests--ancient, medieval, and modern--throughout the world. Much of what I have described, here or elsewhere, has been what I myself have experienced. If nothing else hinted it, surely the precision of my statements, the vividness of my phrases, and the reality of my descriptions hint at firsthand experience? If I did not know from personal knowledge the course which this quest usually takes, if I had not endured its crushing darknesses and sacrificial anguish, its perplexing distresses and tantalizing oscillations--as much as its dazzling illuminations and unforgettable ecstasies, its benedictory graces and healing serenity--surely I could not have written about it as I did?
-- Notebooks Category 12: Reflections > Chapter 3 : Encounter With Destiny > # 161
