--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@...> wrote: <snip> > Outside of the TMO, many saints in the Catholic Curch were > known to have levitated, including St. Teresa of Avila. So, > levitation or flying can be used as a criteria to determine > one's state of consciousness, specifically that of > enlightenment.
John, this is way too simplistic and creates significant confusion. The saints had no *intention* of levitating; it was involuntary, and in many cases unwelcome--frightening and overwhelming. Teresa actually prayed that it wouldn't happen. Any devout Catholic, moreover, would be appalled at the idea of such performances being used as a criterion of spiritual development; that would be strictly against Church doctrine. And the saints would never want to attract attention to themselves in that way. Aside from the issue of whether levitation is possible, there really isn't any commonality between the significance of levitation in the Western (Catholic) tradition and its significance in the Eastern tradition. You can't use one to justify the other.
