Symbolism would have no meaning if it were not a contingent, but always conscious, mode of perception of Unity; for ‘to see God everywhere’, is to perceive above all the Unity – Atma, the Self – in phenomena. [GTUFS: GnosisDW, Seeing God Everywhere]

Symbolism (abstract / concrete): A symbolism is abstract inasmuch as it signifies a principial reality; it is concrete inasmuch as it communicates the nature of this reality, that is, makes it present to our experience. [GTUFS: DivineHuman, The Message of the Human Body]

Symbolism (direct / indirect): When perceiving a sign-proof of the divine Principle, the contemplative mentality has two spontaneous reactions, namely essentialization and interiorization, the first being objective, and the second subjective: through the first, man sees in the sign or quality that which is essential – the divine intention if one will – whereas through the second, he finds the sign or quality in his own soul; on the one hand “unto the pure all things are pure”; on the other, “the kingdom of God is within you.” The first reaction refers to transcendence, and the second to immanence, although transcendence too relates to what we bear within ourselves, and although immanence also exists outside ourselves. Thus, we live in a fabric of theophanies of which we are a part; to exist is to be a symbol; wisdom is to perceive the symbolism of things. And perhaps we ought to recall here the distinction between a symbolism that is direct, concrete, and evident, and another that – while being traditional – is indirect and more or less arbitrary with respect to formal adequacy, which precisely it does not have in view. Direct symbolism “manifests” the reality symbolized, whereas indirect symbolism merely “indicates” a fragmentary, contingent or accidental aspect of the image chosen. From another vantage point, we would say that the worship of symbols must obey sacramental rules: to worship the sun in place of God is one thing; to be aware of its spiritual emanation, and to know how to impregnate oneself with it ritually, is another. [GTUFS: RootsHC, Traces of Being, Proofs of God]