A short definition of devotion by Roberto Assagioli from his book Psychosynthesis Typology:<\/p>\n
“… devotion is often called love, but in reality it has a tone and a quality decidedly different from that of love, a fact that justifies and even requires the use of different terms to describe it. Devotion can be considered as a form of love, but it has a specific dynamic and aggressive quality. It implies a \u201creaching out\u201d towards an aspiration. It presupposes a feeling of admiration that can turn into veneration. But devotion, apart from its striving towards the heights, often presents at the same time an opposite movement of descent – that is, the impulse to materialise the ideal. If this ideal is a person, devotion to him takes the form of a compulsive necessity to transform oneself into his image, to become an exponent, voice or replica of this ideal in the world. In the Middle Ages, for instance, many spiritually- inclined people were humbly and courageously dedicated to \u201cthe imitation of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
See also desire<\/p>\n