I got to contribute to this project with a short meditation. Here’s a buying tip for the frugal. Pre-orders are possible at amazon.com at a guaranteed price, under 20$. (The list price is $49.99.)
Featuring authors of interest and insights.
I got to contribute to this project with a short meditation. Here’s a buying tip for the frugal. Pre-orders are possible at amazon.com at a guaranteed price, under 20$. (The list price is $49.99.)
Info. gathered from:
SPIRITUALITY TODAY
Spring 1986, Vol. 38, pp. 41-52.
Frederick G. McLeod:
Apophatic or Kataphatic Prayer?
In regard to how kataphatic and apophatic are related to each other, they are in a sense complementary or perhaps better described as being at opposite ends of the same prayer spectrum. They aim at producing different kinds of faith experiences: apophatic at provoking an experience of union with the Lord beyond conscious awareness, and kataphatic at evoking experiences of God’s merciful and salvific love in which one is aware of a dynamic movement towards conversion as well as aiming at intimate experiences in which one seeks to know more who Christ is so as to be able to love and serve Him more and in which one sensibly feels an at-one-ment with Him.
Read the full article-
You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
~ C.S. Lewis
(Excerpts/edits, and reflections from my reading, “Dreams: A Way to Listen to God” by Morton Kelsey, Paulist Press, 1978. ISBN: 0-80911-2046-1)
• 99% of the time when you dream about others, you are really dreaming about some part of yourself (whether positive or negative).
• Dreaming about war or fighting nearly always has to do with inner conflict.
• Certain universal themes/plots like being chased by a shadowy figure, or finding a new area in a house, have to do with reconciling issues of the inner person, or self-discovery.
• Dreams abide in the realm of symbols. Watch for repetition, patterns, and the associations you have to the symbols in waking life to start to better understand them.
• Dreams can carry both personal and universal symbols, and point out places for personal growth, increased harmony, and prosperity (on all levels).
• If you feel your dreams are important, and take care to begin logging them, you will harvest much personal growth, (including interpersonally) and can experience added spiritual awareness.
• Whether we remember them or not, we dream 5-7 times per night. In studies, animals and humans deprived of dreams develop mental health issues.
If you would like to share comments on dreams or share a powerful dream here, go right ahead.
To discuss your dreams and their potential meanings privately, you may contact me through my website.
Q: Where did the term “dark night of the soul” come from?
R: The phrase first turned up in the poetry of Spanish Carmelite monk John of the Cross in the 16th Century. He composed many poems while in torment in prison.
Q: “Dark” seems awfully negative, is it?
R: In Spanish the term is closer to the word “obscure”. Though the process may be confusing and painful, “dark” is not implying a negative state. It is a description, especially once one is aware of the progression of growth involved, and knows how the dawn will approach.
Q: Is the “dark night of the soul” the same as depression?
R: No. It’s also not a “spiritual term” for the suffering of someone who needs help for trauma/abuse, medical treatment for illness (mental and otherwise), and/or therapy. Sometimes the two states are seen hand-in-hand, and many times they are not.
Q: Are there different kinds of “dark nights” of the soul?
R: Yes. John of the Cross spoke of a “dark night” involving the senses, and one involving the spirit. One may have numerous dark nights of the senses. (I will go into more detail in future posts.)
Q: What is a good way to recognize a “dark night”.
R: A dark night of the senses may “feel” as though modes of prayer, experiencing the spiritual, or spiritual practices don’t “work” or satisfy. God may “feel” out of reach, distant, unavailable, or gone. It may feel like a dry period, or a time of being in a spiritual dessert. (This is not cause for discouragement or alarm, but for stamina. It is a Divine invitation for growth, and greater spiritual depth beyond what one knows. I will elaborate on what is taking place more in future posts.)
Next time I will post about the “dark night and ‘union with God’,” the process of the “dark night,” any questions/responses that come in from this post, and more. Come back soon.
Information taken from my reading: Gerald G. May, M.D. The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth. Harper San Francisco, 2004.
My (upcoming) book Life as Prayer: A New Paradigm for contemporary Spirituality Inspired by Ancient Piety dedicates a whole chapter to this topic. I will update this blog with details as this work continues. Thanks for your interest. I welcome your thoughts and comments.