Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

The sixth chapter of the book opens Teresa's exploration of the Fourth Dwelling, beginning with her noting it is in this stage that the soul begins to experience the supernatural. Being nearer to the place where the King lives, these deeper dwellings are more and more beautiful, and the poisonous creatures that hound the believer in the more exterior dwellings very rarely gain access to these deeper ones. When they do, she explains that keeping one's battle skills sharp is a useful endeavor, and continues to remind the soul she is growing instead of stagnating.

Returning to her discussion of the distinction between spiritual sweetness and consolations, Teresa explains that consolations can be gotten from purely human endeavors and are merely the natural result in a person of doing a good or admirable thing. She says spiritual sweetness has its beginning...