Anni - The Perfect Wisdom Web

a n n ican dissuade or persuade another in this matter. It issomething that must happen quite personally within anindividual, be they twenty or forty years old. Somethingis truly separated and resolved within a person in thesense of purification and cleansing.I could not have foreseen any more than you that Iwould make this decision so soon. It also could not havebeen discussed or deliberated –I was simply gripped by adifferent power in such a way that I had to leave everythingelse behind me, even what seemed to be the moststrongly binding human obligations. And I had to doit–and was able to do it–even in full knowledge of whatthis step would mean for you. You won’t believe that ofme. And yet it is true that I was conscious of the consequencesand impact of this step, and that my objectivereasoning was not shoved aside by a wave of mysticalfeeling. So this decision cannot be explained away as theconsequence of ecstatic excitement, to be abandoned infavor of the former conventional way of life once all isexamined under the sober light of day.You must also not imagine that I was pressed orcompelled to take this step by the people here, or thatmy actions occurred more or less under the power ofsuggestion. They would certainly have gladly let me gowithout trying to hold me back if my decision had beenotherwise. In fact, it would not have been right in sucha case for me to wish to stay on longer here because thislife is not meant to be a mere mutual aid co-operative.What urged me to this step and decision was somethingthat I was able to experience quite personally, and it154