The soul has a hidden abyss, untouched by time and space, which is far superior to anything that gives life and movement to the body. Into this noble and wondrous ground, this secret realm, there descends that bliss of which we have spoken. Here the soul has its eternal abode. Here a man becomes so still and essential, so single-minded and withdrawn, so raised up in purity, and more and more removed from all things .... This state of the soul cannot be compared to what it has been before, for now it is granted to share in the divine life itself.

Johannes Tauler (1300–1361), Sermons, 89–90.