• Home
  • Blog
    • Coming Soon
    • Centering Prayer
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Zazen
    • Vipassana "Mindfulness" Meditation
    • Jhana Meditation
    • Lovingkindness Meditation
    • Dhikr
    • Meditative Kabbalah
    • Lectio Divina
    • Ignatian Spirituality
    • Inner Listening
    • Coming Soon
  • Comparative
  • My Books
  • Blogcasts
  • Contact
Menu

The Contemplative Life.

Exploring contemplative spirituality in the 21st Century...
  • Home
  • Blog
  • The Traditions
    • Coming Soon
  • Spiritual Practice
    • Centering Prayer
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Zazen
    • Vipassana "Mindfulness" Meditation
    • Jhana Meditation
    • Lovingkindness Meditation
    • Dhikr
    • Meditative Kabbalah
    • Lectio Divina
    • Ignatian Spirituality
    • Inner Listening
  • The Mystics
    • Coming Soon
  • Comparative
  • My Books
  • Blogcasts
  • Contact

The Contemplative Life Blog

Welcome to The Contemplative Life Blog!  Here you will find excerpts from contemplative authors both past and present, book reviews, and perhaps the occasional comment on life. Hopefully something here will spark an interest in reading these texts and/or finding your own practice. 


My Books

A-Great-Tragedy-4.gif
The Evangelical Experience Cover - Silouette.jpg
In-Introduction-to-Centering-Prayer.gif

For more information about my published work, see My Books.


Centering Prayer and The Christian Tradition

Ascent: Fired with Love
Ascent: Sketch of the Mount
Ascent: Book 1
Ascent: Books 2, 3
Ascent: Union with God
Cloud: Work of the Spirit
Cloud: A Cloud of Forgetting
Cloud: That Mysterious Grace
Cloud: No Moderation
Cloud: Privy Counseling
Cloude of Unknowyng Prints
CP, TM, and Emotional Struggle
Cynthia Bourgeault: Heart CP
Dangerous Mystic Series
Dark Night: Book 1
Dark Night: Transforming Fire
Dark Night: Book 2
David Frenette: Centering Prayer
The Divine Therapy
The Luminous Dusk Series
Progressive Christian Authors
Progressives and Loneliness
Thomas Keating's False Self


The Vedic Tradition

Gita: Fettered No More
Gita: Karma Yoga
Gita: Practice of Meditation
Gita: Two Paths
Restless and Diffuse
Siddhartha
Yoga and the Quest for True Self
Yoga Sutras: The Eight Limbs
Yoga Sutras: The Goal of Yoga
Yoga Sutras: Practice/Dispassion
Yoga Sutras: Siddhis


Zen

Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #1
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #2
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #3
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #4
Zen, Satori, and Mescaline


Vipassana, Jhana, and The Buddhist Tradition

The Four Noble Truths
Eightfold Path: Wisdom
Eightfold Path: Morality
Eightfold Path: Concentration
Eightfold Path: Summary
Eightfold Path: Forming Yourself
Eightfold Path: It's Complicated
Eightfold Path: Wider Path
Eightfold Path: People
Eightfold Path: Desires
Jhana Meditation
Non-Attachment vs. Stoicism
The Pali Canon
The Path of Shinzen Young
A Poisoned Arrow
Schools of Buddhism
Shinzen on Enlightenment
St. John and Buddhism
What's Wrong with Mindfulness


Sufism

A Sufi Initiation
Be Melting Snow


The Perennial Tradition and Comparative Mysticism

Easwaran on Perennialism
The Fifth Dimension Series
James Cutsinger on Perennialism
Liturgists: The "Voice of God"
Marcus Borg: Seeing Religions
Nasr: In The Beginning
Perennial Philosophy Review
Shinzen on World Mysticism


Personal

Doubled Awareness
Kicking Things Off
God as Solution to The Absurd
Grandma
A Great Tragedy
Her
Limit Your Screentime
Psychedelics
Recaptured
ReVamped Blogcast
Self-Will vs. Ego
Singing Your Prayers
Spiritual Practice and Anxiety
Support the Site
Theology
Vanity
Vocation
We Do Not Know Ourselves
Working Out


Spiritual Journeys

Tim's Story


Art and Music

Be Melting Snow
I Want to Be Ready


Philosophy and Spirituality

Ecce Homo
Camus, God, the Absurd


Science and Spirituality

Quantum Physics/Consciousness


The Historical Jesus Series

Introduction
N.T. Wright: Orthodox Jesus
Marcus Borg: Wisdom Jesus
Comparing Wright and Borg
Dale Allison: Apocalyptic Jesus
Allison’s Conclusion
Apocalyptic Jesus Scholars
John D. Crossan: Cynic Jesus


Aldous Huxley

Agnostic Meditation
Island Universes
Simplicity
The Mystics are Boring
The Perennial Philosophy
Who Are We?
Zen, Satori, and Mescaline


Bhikkhu Bodhi

Eightfold Path: Wisdom
Eightfold Path: Morality
Eightfold Path: Meditation


Dale Allison

Allison’s Conclusion
The Apocalyptic Jesus
The Historical Christ Review
The Luminous Dusk: Heroes
The Luminous Dusk: Silence
The Luminous Dusk: The Bible


John Hick

Fifth Dimension: Axial Age
Fifth Dimension: Naturalism
Fifth Dimension: Ambiguity
Fifth Dimension: Windows
Fifth Dimension: Crit. Realism
Fifth Dimension: Rel. Meaning
Fifth Dimension: Criterion
Fifth Dimension: The Saints
Fifth Dimension: Not Knowing
Fifth Dimension: Rel. Traditions
Fifth Dimension: Fin. Thoughts


Marcus Borg

Comparing Wright and Borg
Living Within a Rel. Tradition
Marcus Borg’s “Wisdom Jesus”


Meister Eckhart

Darkness and Unknowing
Dangerous Mystic
He Does Not Know Him
Patron Saint of Perennialism
A Right State


Rudolph Otto

Salvation over Philosophy


St. John of the Cross

Ascent: Fired with Love
Ascent: Sketch of the Mount
Ascent: Book 1
Ascent: Books 2, 3
Ascent: Union with God
Dark Night: Book 1
Dark Night: Transforming Fire
Dark Night: Book 2
St. John and Buddhism


Viktor Frankl

Meaning
Reductionism
Self-Actualization
Super-Meaning
Ten Thousand Commandments


Archives

+ 2019

Theology
John D. Crossan: Cynic Jesus
Apocalyptic Jesus Scholars
Allison's Conclusion
Dale Allison: Apocalyptic Jesus
Comparing Wright and Borg

+ 2018

Marcus Borg: Wisdom Jesus
N.T. Wright: Orthodox Jesus
Historical Jesus Intro
Pete Enns Podcast
Fifth Dimension: Fin. Thoughts
Fifth Dimension: Rel. Traditions
Fifth Dimension: Not Knowing
Vocation
Fifth Dimension: The Saints
Fifth Dimension: Criterion
Fifth Dimension: Rel. Meaning
Marcus Borg: Seeing Religions
Fifth Dimension: Crit. Realism
Fifth Dimension: Windows
Fifth Dimension: Ambiguity
Fifth Dimension: Naturalism
Fifth Dimension: Axial Age
Quantum Physics/Consciousness
Who Are We?
Singing Your Prayers
Psychedelics
Partron Saint of Perennialism
Darkness and Unknowing
He Does Not Know Him
We Do Not Know Ourselves
A Right State
Dangerous Mystic
Limit Your Screentime
Spiritual Practice and Anxiety
Cloude of Unknowyng Prints
Schools of Buddhism
Jhana Meditation
St. John and Buddhism
Restless and Diffuse
A Poisoned Arrow
Eightfold Path: Desires
Eightfold Path: People
Eightfold Path: Wider Path
Eightfold Path: It's Complicated
Eightfold Path: Forming Yourself
Eightfold Path: Summary
ReVamped Blogcast
Eightfold Path: Concentration
Eightfold Path: Morality
Eightfold Path: Wisdom
The Four Noble Truths
Non-Attachment vs. Stoicism
Working Out
Tim's Story
A Great Tragedy
Victor Frankl on Reductionism

+ 2017

The Mystics are Boring
Simplicity
Doubled Awareness
David Frenette: Centering Prayer
Cynthia Bourgeault: Heart CP
Dark Night: Book 2
Dark Night: Transforming Fire
Dark Night: Book 1
Ascent: Union with God
God as Solution to The Absurd
Support the Site
Ascent Books 2, 3
Ascent Book 1: Night of Senses
Ascent: Sketch of the Mount
Ascent: Fired with Love
Self-Will vs. Ego
Nasr: In The Beginning
James Cutsinger on Perennialism
Shinzen on World Mysticism
Frankl on Self-Actualization
The Liturgists
Recaptured
Gita: Two Paths
Progressive Christian Authors
Gita: Practice of Meditation
Gita: Karma Yoga
Gita: Fettered No More
Be Melting Snow
The Historical Christ Review
The Luminous Dusk: Heroes
The Luminous Dusk: The Bible
The Luminous Dusk: Silence
Yoga and the Quest for True Self
Yoga Sutras: Siddhis

+ 2016

Yoga Sutras: The Eight Limbs
Yoga Sutras: Practice/Dispassion
Grandma
Yoga Sutras: The Goal of Yoga
The Book of Privy Counseling
Cloud: No Moderation
Cloud: That Mysterious Grace
What's Wrong with Mindfulness
Cloud: A Cloud of Forgetting
Cloud: Work of the Spirit
Ecce Homo and Freedom
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #4
Ten Thousand Commandments
Viktor Frankl on Meaning
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #3
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #2
Sekida's Types of Samadhi: #1
Thomas Keating's False Self
The Path of Shinzen Young
Salvation over Philosophy
The Super-Meaning of Life
Enlightenment Across Traditions
I Want to Be Ready
Edging Toward Enchantment
Siddhartha: Review
Zen, Satori, and Mescaline
Island Universes
The Divine Therapy
CP, TM, and Emotional Struggle
Vanity
Agnostic Meditation
Easwaran on Perennialism
The Perennial Philosophy
A Sufi Initiation
Kicking Things Off

29: http://He Does Not Know Him 29: http://He Does Not Know Him

The Ascent of Mount Carmel: St. John's Sketch of the Mount

November 19, 2017 in Christianity, St. John of the Cross
 

This is St. John's "Sketch of Mount Carmel" which he includes in his work.  The most interesting part of this sketch for me is the phrase along both sides:
 

"Now that I no longer desire them (or least desire them), I have them all without desire."


As we will see, in St. John's experience, by giving up all, he gets all.  
 

scent3.jpg

 

 

← The Ascent of Mount Carmel: Book One The Active Night of the SensesAscent of Mount Carmel: Fired With Love's Urgent Longings →
Back to Top