This is the truth, however,[that God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves] which the human mind can hardly accept or admit, because it is too proud and self-assertive and lacks the grace to receive such a gift. Man is always trying to manufacture God, or a sense of God, for himself and therefore ignores the one that is actually given, becasue there is no credit to be gained in accepting a gift. And man feels guilty if he cannot pile up some credit to his account. Nevertheless, this truth is the gospel, the good news, and the basic principle of mystical religion.

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion

Alan W. Watts