“It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with "I," "me," "mine," that we can truly possess the world in which we live.”
“If most of us remain ignorant of ourselves, it is because self-knowledge is painful and we prefer the pleasures of illusion.”
“The last end of man, the ultimate reason for human existence, is unitive knowledge of the Divine Ground”
“What could begin to deny self, if there were not something in man different from self?”
Too often we get lost in works or products of the intellect, which can provide great nourishment, but we must remember that life is not about an intellectual ascent to the Divine, but a mystical one.
The Christian Tradition, especially the Platonic stream of thought within the tradition feels incredibly underrated.
There are innumerable mystics who have sought and found deep spiritual connection with God directly, and written extensively on various and lesser known topics, such as:
The herbal healing and precious gem healing capacities of St Hildegard (not to mention her other extensive spiritual works.)
The Astrological efficacy (not overriding free will) of Marsilio Ficino
The non-dual experiences of Meister Eckhart which was subsequently assumed by Bl Henry Suso and other Rhineland mystics
The writings penetrating the spiritual meaning of Scripture from Origen and Clement of Alexandria, not to mention their discussions on the spiritual value of vegetarianism.
The Centering Prayer of The Cloud of Unknowing and Thomas Keating and Basil Pennington.
The contemplation, moral philosophy, and poetry of Boethius.
I could go on, but the tradition of Christian Platonism is one that needs to be desperately revived in our lives and in the lives of our respective church communities.
What schools of meditation or contemplative prayer do you find yourself practicing in your daily life and how has it benefitted your spiritual journey??
Where to begin, I first discovered this book quite a while ago while scrolling on Twitter. I saw a post which has a picture of the cover and something clicked, and it felt like I was drawn to this book.
I finally get my hands on it at a local used bookstore and begin reading, and I can’t speak highly enough of its contents. I don’t think I’ve ever spent as much time reading and rereading any piece of literature more than I’ve done with this book.
It discusses moral themes, contains beautiful poetry, talks about contemplation of the mind of God, and discusses hard hitting questions for the every day spiritual seeker. This is my favorite book probably of all time thus far.
If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it. Not a super long work, but one that you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again.
“Contemplate the extent and stability of the heavens, and then at last cease to admire worthless things.” -Boethius
A truly inspirational man, who rightly points to the unity of truth at the core of all mystical traditions, a truth which has fulfillment in Christ.
Good afternoon r/ChristianMysticism, so a bit of a personal share but needed some advice.
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time intensively studying religious philosophy, visiting many temples, speaking to many monks, priests and imams, etc searching for meaning.
I became Catholic at the age of 18 in 2020, then fell away from that for an extended period of time, being off and on as a Catholic up until 2024 where I became more intimately involved. Throughout the years I’ve had a couple of mystical experiences, ultimately involving the figures of Christ and Sophia. Dreams, and synchronicities to be specific, many of which specifically were about Sophia and a calling to focus more on her in daily life.
I had at one point semi recently started attending an ISKCON temple which is obviously Hindu after reading Autobiography of a Yogi and listening to George Harrison, who had a big influence on me, and eastern mysticism and thought and especially their practice had a massive influence on me in terms of dealing with life and focusing on non attachment and the need for meditation. Ultimately though I was very at peace, and do still love George Harrison ofc, I haven’t had any mystical experiences except within a Christ and Sophiannic paradigm.
I suppose where I need advice is in the fact that I feel like I am spiritually wandering, I don’t know how to incorporate Sophia more into my spiritual and mystical life, or how to feel less disillusioned by mainstream Christianity or how to reconcile my spiritual beliefs with those two things as well.
If you’ve read this far, thank you and any advice is appreciated.
God bless you all.
Sophia!
you of the whirling wings,
circling encompassing
energy of God:
you quicken the world in your clasp.
One wing soars in heaven
one wing sweeps the earth
and the third flies all around us.
Praise to Sophia!
Let all the earth praise her!
For me, it’s George Harrison, and among many this is one of the songs
For me, I’d say my top books so far are The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, The Way of a Pilgrim by Anonymous, Meditations on the Tarot by Valentin Tomberg, and Plato’s Timaeus.