Beyond the Self

10. When in the intensity of its love for God the intellect goes out of itself, then it has no sense of itself or of any created thing. For when it is illumined by the infinite light of God, it becomes insensible to everything made by Him, just as the eye becomes insensible to the stars when the sun rises.

St. Maximus the Confessor Four Hundred Centuries on Love: #10

There's a certain paradox in spiritual journeys. As we seek deeper connections with the Divine, we often encounter moments where our sense of self diminishes, giving way to something far grander. St. Maximus the Confessor captures this phenomenon brilliantly in this saying on the overwhelming nature of divine love.

Picture this: standing in the dark, gazing up at the stars. Their twinkling light guides and comforts you. But then dawn approaches, and with it, the blazing sun. As it rises, the stars fade into insignificance, not because they're gone, but because the sun's brilliance overshadows them.

Similarly, when one immerses oneself deeply in divine love, the individual ego and worldly attachments fade into the background. Not because they are irrelevant, but because they pale in comparison to the magnificent experience of God's love. Such moments of transcendence remind us of the profound beauty of spirituality. It is not about self-denial but about broadening one's horizons, recognizing that in the vast expanse of God's love, the worldly and the egoic become mere specks of dust.