Hugh of St. Victor

In his passage, Hugh of St. Victor believes that heaven is not some paradise in the sky, but rather, heaven is a calm ascension to God within ourselves. "Thus, to ascend to God is to enter into oneself, and not only enter into oneself, but, in some unsayable manner, in the inmost parts to pass beyond oneself." The heaven within us can not be reached by simply "entering" into ourselves, but we have to pass beyond ourselves. Maybe we have to let go of our identities and material possessions in order to pass beyond ourselves.

"But when a man, through his sense of flesh, goes out to visible things, desiring what is transistor and perishable, he descends from the dignity of his natural to what is unworthy of his desire." In my opinion, Hugh of St. Victor is indicating that the natural state for a human to ascend to God is when they are not desiring visible things such as money or clothes. It's sort of like entering enlightenment in Buddhism. You have to let go of your earthly possessions and desires in order to achieve the calm afterlife within yourself.