The second stage upon the threefold Way is the contemplation of nature—more exactly, the contemplation of nature in God, or the contemplation of God in and through nature. The second stage is thus a prelude and means of entry to the third: by contemplating the things which God has made, the man of prayer is brought to the contemplation of God himself. This second stage of physiki or “natural contemplation”, as we have stated, is not necessarily subsequent to praktiki but may be simultaneous with it.
