TCR 40 - the perils of thinking from the senses

TCR 40 [2]

Let everyone therefore beware of convincing himself
that he owes his life to himself,
or his intelligence, belief, love, perception of truth
or his willing and doing good.
In so far as he convinces himself of these ideas,
so far does he cast down
his mind earthwards from heaven,
and from being spiritual becomes natural,
influenced by the senses and the body.
For he thus shuts off the higher regions of his mind,
so that he becomes blinded to everything
which relates to God, heaven and the church.
Everything he may then think, reason and say
is mere foolishness, because he is in darkness;
yet at the same time he becomes confident
that these are the products of wisdom.
For when the higher regions of the mind,
the abode of the true light of life, are shut off,
the region of the mind below these,
which is illuminated only by the faint glimmer of the world,
is opened up.
This glimmer,
unsupported by the light of the higher regions,
is a misleading illumination,
in which falsities look like truths,
and truths like falsities;
reasoning from falsities looks like wisdom,
and from truths like madness.
Then a person believes himself to have
the keenness of sight of an eagle,
though he can see no more of wisdom
than a bat in daytime.