The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage

11. On sensible and tangible love original: "sinnlich=fühlbaren Liebe"; this refers to spiritual love that is felt through the physical senses, such as a feeling of warmth or sweetness in the heart. . . . . . 72
12. On fervor . . . . . . . . . . . 73
13. On gratitude . . . . . . . . . . 73
14. On a twofold thing that grows from inward gratitude . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
15. A parable on how one should practice the first way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
16. Another example of the same practice . . . 76
17. On the second way, which strengthens interiority through humility . . . . . . . . . . . 77
18. On the chaste delight of the heart and the sensory powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
19. On spiritual intoxication original: "geistlichen Trunkenheit"; a common mystical term for a state of overwhelming divine joy that bypasses rational thought, making the soul appear "drunk" with God’s love. . . . . . . 78
20. What can harm a person in this intoxication . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
21. A parable of how a person should practice and conduct themselves on this level . . . . . . . 81
22. On the third way of the spiritual coming of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
23. On the torment and restlessness of love . . . 84
24. On ecstasies and divine revelations . . . 86
25. On two examples that teach how one is hindered on this third level . . . . . . 88
26. On the second example . . . . . . . . . . 90
27. A parable of the ant Ruysbroeck uses the ant as a metaphor for the industrious soul that gathers spiritual "food" during times of grace to survive the "winter" of spiritual dryness. . . . . . . . 91
28. On the fourth way of the coming of Christ . . . 92
29. What the forsaken person should do original: "verlassene Mensch"; refers to a person experiencing "spiritual desertion" or the "dark night," where God feels absent. . . . . . 94
30. A parable of how one can be hindered in this fourth level . . . . . . . . . . 97
31. On another hindrance . . . . . . . 98