explore spiritual texts in depth, including the Cloud of Unknowing and Divine Revelations by Julian of Norwich…
The Cloud of Unknowing is a classic mystical text that was written by an anonymous English monk in the 14th century. It’s a guide to contemplative prayer but with an agnostic approach that’s very similar to Zen, once you get past the religious language. The main message of the text is that God is ultimately unknowable… Continue reading Mystical Texts: The Cloud of Unknowing
Extract from chapter 4 of the classic mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. Here our anonymous author explains why we can’t understand ultimate reality or the nature of God using our minds: Chapter 4: We cannot know God with the intellect “I must tell you a little more about this matter, as I see it,… Continue reading Cloud of Unknowing: We cannot know God with the intellect
Extracts from chapters 6, 7 and 9 of the classic mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. Here our anonymous author explores the nature of God and how to go about your contemplations: Chapter 6: What is God? “But now you are going to ask me: ‘How am I supposed to think about God himself? What… Continue reading Cloud of Unknowing: What is God?
Extracts from chapters 26 and 32 of the classic mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. Here our anonymous author explains the work of contemplation and gives some tips on how to focus (and these tips work really well, in my limited experience): from Chapter 26: God will pierce the cloud of unknowing “Set to work,… Continue reading Cloud of Unknowing: Techniques to get rid of distractions
Extracts from some of the later chapters of the classic mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. Here our anonymous author explains how to forget the self and some of the dangers of the contemplative path and how to deal with them: from Chapter 43: A naked awareness of self “Make sure that there is nothing… Continue reading Cloud of Unknowing: Death of the Ego
Extracts from the last chapters of the classic mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. Here our anonymous author explains who the book is for and offers some final words of encouragement to those called to the contemplative life: from Chapter 74: The author takes his leave “Now if you think that this kind of prayer… Continue reading Cloud of Unknowing: Final Words
Julian of Norwich was a mystic and anchoress of the 14th century and wrote Revelations of Divine Love, the first book to be written in English by a woman. Not much is known about her life, but she was born in about 1342 and may have been from a wealthy family that lived in Norwich.… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 5 from the first revelation. Here Julian discusses the nature of the creation and marvels at how small it is when seen within the eternity of God’s existence. She goes on to express the impossibility of finding peace within something so small and limited. “At the… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: Creation as tiny as a hazelnut
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 11 from the third revelation. Here Julian discusses how God acts within the creation and that nothing happens by accident because it’s all his doing. God does everything so it’s all good. She sidesteps the question of sin at this point, but comes back to it… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: How can anything be amiss?
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 27 from the thirteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the idea that sin is necessary and that the pain it causes helps us to come closer to God. She doesn’t explain here what sin is, only that it’s okay because Jesus suffered for us (which as a… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: All shall be well
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 32 from the thirteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the problem of evil and carefully skirts around the teachings of the church. She explains the importance of faith and offers a reminder that we can’t know how God achieves his plan. What seems impossible to us, isn’t… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: The problem of evil
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapters 41 and 42 from the fourteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the difficulties and importance of prayer. She shows that prayer comes from our divine nature in union with God and that God is the essence of everything. From chapter 41: God is the foundation of our… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: On the importance of prayer
