1. In this mansion are those of good desires, those who pray. However, they are still absorbed primarily in their possessions, honors and business affairs.
2. In this mansion are those who are searching for something deeper. They read the Bible, spiritual books, seek good friendships, and find themselves struggling against evil inclinations.
3. This mansion belongs to those who do not desire to sin, even in the smallest way. They practice mortification and penance. They attend retreats and days of recollection. They are charitable to others. They maintain all things in their life in a balance. Yet, there still is a desire to search for something deeper.
4. In the fourth mansion belong those who are experiencing infused prayer, also called the prayer of quiet. Their prayer is passive. It is peaceful. The movement is inward towards the Self where eventually it will meet its Lord. The most important virtue here is love.
5. Here the person begins the prayer of union in which all the faculties of the soul are suspended. Teresa says it is like God becomes the cocoon in which the person dies. It is a period of darkness, but yet the soul is certain beyond doubt that it is with and in the Lord. During this period the soul grows more in love of neighbor, humility and faithfulness to prayer and the Lord.
6. Here Teresa speaks of spiritual betrothal. It takes place during a rapture, when the soul is drawn out of its senses. It is a time of special 'secret' teaching between the soul and its Beloved who appears to the soul. Great courage is needed to take this step because the soul will be purified even more, not only through human trials and sufferings, but also through contact with the human person of Jesus. The results of this mansion are: a deep knowledge of God and self, humility, rejection of all earthly things that are not needed to promote love of the Beloved, and a joy so great that the soul cannot resist shouting it from the housetops.
7. The mansion of spiritual marriage. When the person is ready for spiritual marriage, the Lord removes the scales from their eyes and they see and understand how beautiful they have been made by the Lord. Thus, fortified, they are united in marital love deep within the Self. They become one, and no longer fall into ecstasy. All mystical experiences are con-natural. It is not so much now what they do, but with the love union that they do it in.
