Great Throughts Treasury

"The higher part of contemplation, as it may be had here, hangeth all wholly in this darkness and in this cloud of unknowing; with a loving stirring and a blind beholding unto the naked being of God Himself only."

"And if ever you come to this cloud, and make a home there and take up the work of love as I urge you, there is something else you must do as this cloud is above you, and between you and your God, you must put a cloud of forgetting beneath you, between you and all the creatures that have ever been made. The cloud of unknowing will perhaps leave you with a feeling that you are far from God. But I assure you, if it is authentic, only the absence of a cloud of forgetting between you and all creatures keeps you from God."

"And so I urge you, go after experience rather than knowledge. On account of pride, knowledge may often deceive you, but this gentle, loving affection will not deceive you. Knowledge tends to breed conceit, but love builds. Knowledge is full of labor, but love, full of rest."

"A short prayer pierces heaven."

"And if we will intentively pray for getting of good, let us cry, either with word or with thought or with desire, nought else nor no more words, but this word “God.” For why, in God be all good.. Fill thy spirit with the ghostly bemeaning of it without any special beholding to any of His works—whether they be good, better, or best of all—bodily or ghostly, or to any virtue that may be wrought in man’s soul by any grace; not looking after whether it be meekness or charity, patience or abstinence, hope, faith, or soberness, chastity or wilful poverty. What recks this in contemplatives?.. they covet nothing with special beholding, but only good God. Do thou.. mean God all, and all God, so that nought work in thy wit and in thy will, but only God"

"Beat with a sharp dart of longing love upon this cloud of unknowing which is between you and your God."

"Because it is not what you are nor what you have been that God looks at with his merciful eyes, but what you desire to be."

"And so with his great grace he kindled your desire, and fastened it to a leash of longing."

"But now you will ask me, ‘How am I to think of God himself, and what is he?’ and I cannot answer you except to say, ‘I do not know.’ For with this question you have brought me into the same darkness, the same kind of unknowing where I want you to be! For though we through the grace of God can know fully about all other matters, and think about him – yes, even the very works of God himself – yet of God himself can no man think. Therefore I will leave on one side everything I can think and choose for my love that thing which I cannot think! Why? Because God may well be loved, but not thought. By love God can be caught and held, but by thinking never. Therefore, though it may be good sometimes to think particularly about God’s kindness and worth, and though it may be enlightening too, and part of contemplation, yet in the work now before us it must be put down and covered with a cloud of forgetting. And you are to step over it resolutely and eagerly, with a devout and kindling love, and try to penetrate that darkness above you. Strike that thick cloud of unknowing with the sharp dart of longing love, and on no account whatever think of giving up…A naked intention directed to God, and himself, alone, is wholly sufficient… If you want this intention summed up in a word to retain it more easily, take a short word, preferably of one syllable, to do so. The shorter the word the better, being more like the working of the Spirit. A word like ‘GOD’ or ‘LOVE’. Choose which you like or perhaps some other…and fix this word fast to your heart, so that it is always there come what may… So lift up your love to that cloud. Or, more accurately, let God draw your love up to that cloud… So if you are to stand and not fall, never give up your firm intention: beat away at this cloud of unknowing between you and God with that sharp dart of longing love. Hate to think about anything less than God, and let nothing whatever distract you from this purpose. It is only thus that you can destroy the ground and root of sin… Work hard but a short while, and you will soon find the vastness and the difficulty of this work begin to ease. Though in the beginning, when your devotion is negligible, it is hard and restricting, later, when devotion has come, what previously was very hard becomes much lighter, and you can relax. You even may have little effort to make or none. For sometimes God will do it all himself. But not always, and never for any length of time, but when he likes, and as he likes. And at that time you will be happy to let him have his own way."

"Call upon him then, and let us see how you get on. He is always most willing, and is only waiting for you. So what are you going to do?"

"Do not give up then, but work away at it till you have this longing. When you first begin, you find only darkness, and as it were a cloud of unknowing. You don't know what this means except that in your will you feel a simple steadfast reaching out towards God. Do what you will, this darkness and this cloud remain between you and God, and stop you both from seeing God in the clear light of rational understanding, and from experiencing his loving sweetness in your affection. Reconcile yourself to wait in this darkness as long as is necessary, but still go on longing after the One whom you love. For if you are the feel the Presence and see God in this life, it must always be in this cloud, in this darkness. And if you work hard at what I tell you, I believe that through God's mercy you will achieve this very thing…."

"Do not imagine that when I call it a darkness or a cloud that it is a cloud amassed with vapors that float in the air, or a darkness such as you have in your house at night, when your candle is out, for such a darkness. With little imagination you could picture the summer skies breaking through the clouds or a clear light brightening the dark winter. This is false, it isn’t what I mean for when I say “darkness” I mean a lack of knowing, just as whatever you do know or have forgotten is dark to you, because you do not see it in your spiritual eyes. For this reason, that which is between you and your God is termed, not a cloud of the air, but a cloud of unknowing."

"Do not search for God by the discursive exercising of your mind; let him be, as he is. This naked intent, which is to be rooted and grounded freely in faith, will mean for your mind and emotions a bare conception and a blind awareness of your own being."

"Do not suppose, because I call it a darkness or a cloud, that it is a cloud condensed out of the vapours that float in the air, or a darkness like that in your house at night when your candle is out. By intellectual ingenuity you can imagine such a darkness or cloud brought before your eyes on the brightest day of summer, just as, conversely, in the darkest night of winter you can imagine a clear shining light. Give up such errors; that is not what I mean."

"Every single rational creature has two faculties: the power of knowledge and the power of love. God is always quite unable to be comprehended by the first faculty, that of intelligence, but he is totally and perfectly comprehensible by the second, the power of love. . And this is the eternal and extraordinary miracle of love, because God will continue in this activity forever, without ceasing."

"Every single rational creature has two faculties: the power of knowledge and the power of love. God is always quite unable to be comprehended by the first faculty, that of intelligence, but he is totally and perfectly comprehensible by the second, the power of love. Every single creature, moreover, will know him differently. Thus each loving soul on its own can, through love, know him who is wholly and incomparably more than sufficient to fulfill all human souls or angels that could possibly exist. And this is the eternal and extraordinary miracle of love, because God will continue in this activity for ever, without ceasing. Dwell on this, if you have the grace to do so, because to experience this for oneself is everlasting joy."

"From the spiritual point of view, heaven is as much down as up, and as much up as down; as much behind as before, and as much before as behind, and as much to one side as to any other. In fact, whoever has a true desire to be in heaven is in heaven spiritually at that very time."

"Everyone has something to sorrow over, but none more than he who knows and feels that he IS. All other sorrow in comparison with this is a travesty of the real thing. For he experiences true sorrow, who knows and feels not only what he is, but THAT he is. Let him who has never felt this sorrow be sorry indeed, for he does not yet know what perfect sorrow is. Such sorrow, when we have it, cleanses the soul not only of sin (ignorance,), but also of the suffering it's sin(ignorance) has produced. (my italics) And it makes the soul ready to receive that joy which is such that it takes from man all awareness of his own existence."

"Get to work quick sharp! If memories of your past actions keep coming between you and God, or any new thought or sinful impulse, you are resolutely to step over them because of your deep love for God. Try to cover them with the thick cloud of forgetting. And if it is really hard work you can use every dodge, scheme and spiritual stratagem you can find to put them away. Do everything you can to act as if you did not know that these thoughts were strongly pushing in between you and God. Try to look over their shoulders, seeking something else—which is God, shrouded in the cloud of unknowing."

"For if God is your love and your intent, the choice and the ground of your heart, this is enough for you in this life; even though you never see more of him with the eye of reason all your life long. Such a blind shot with the sharp arrow of a love that longs can never miss the bull’s-eye, which is God...Whenever reason falls short, then it is love’s pleasure to look alive and to learn to occupy itself. For by love we can find him, experience him, and reach him as he is in himself."

"Go on with this nothing, moved only by your love of God. And let nothing interfere with this therefore but persevere in this nothingness, consciously desiring that you may always choose to possess God through love, whom no one can possess through knowledge. For myself I prefer to be lost in this nowhere, wrestling with this blind nothingness than to like some great lord travelling everywhere and enjoying the world as if he owned it."

"God himself can no man think. He may well be loved, but never thought."

"He can certainly be loved, but not thought. He can be taken and held by love but not by thought."

"He has no power, nor is he power, or light, nor does he live, nor is he life or substance or age or time, nor is there any intelligible contact with him, nor is he knowledge or truth or kingship or wisdom or one or unity or Godhead or goodness; nor is he spirit according to our understanding of spirit; nor sonship nor fatherhood nor anything else known to us or to any who exist; nor is he any of the things that do not exist or any of the things that do exist...nor is there any means of approaching him by reason or understanding; he has no name; there is no knowledge of him; he is neither darkness nor light, neither error nor truth."

"Humility is essentially just a true knowledge and appreciation of ourselves, as we really are. It must be obvious that anyone who can really see and experience himself as he is, is bound to be humble."

"I do not fully encourage you to show your desire to God, but I encourage you to hide it and conceal it. I do this because I fear that you should interpret literally what is meant spiritually."

"If God is your love and your purpose, the chief aim of your heart, it is all you need in this life...Such a blind shot with the sharp dart of longing will never miss its mark, which is God."

"Humility…is nothing else but a true knowledge and experience of yourself as you are."

"It will be as if you were to say to him: That which I am, Lord, I offer to you. I do not consider any attribute of your nature, but only that you are as you are, that and no more."

"Keep on working in this nothingness that is nowhere."

"In itself, prayer is simply a devout orientation to God himself to acquire good and remove evil."

"Let nothing remain in your mind but a naked desire reaching out to God. Think only that God is as he is. Do not entertain any special thought of God’s nature, whether present in himself or in his activity in creation."

"Just as the little word “fire” suddenly beats upon and jars most effectively the ears of the bystanders, it is the same with the little word [used in prayer], whether spoken or thought.. . It bursts upon the ears of almighty God much more than any long psalm mumbled away in an inarticulate fashion. And this is why it is written that a short prayer pierces heaven."

"Like the heretics, who are aptly compared to wild men whose custom it is, whenever they have drunk from a fine cup, to throw it against the wall and break it....By the cup...I mean the visible miracle, and all suitable bodily practices that are in accordance with the work of the spirit and do not hinder it. By...the drink I mean the spiritual significance of visible miracles...for people will kiss the cup because there is wine in it."

"Look up joyfully and say to the Lord in words or the desire of the heart: that which I am I offer to you Lord for you are it, and think nakedly, fully and boisterously that you are who you are without any questioning."

"Let that meek (quiet) darkness be your whole mind and like a mirror to you. For I want your thought of self to be as naked and simple as your thought of God, so that you may be with God in spirit without fragmentation and scattering of your mind."

"Lift up your heart to God with humble love: and mean God himself, and not what you get out of him. Indeed, hate to think of anything but God himself, so that nothing occupies your mind or will but only God. Try to forget all created things that he ever made, and the purpose behind them, so that your thought and longing do not turn or reach out to them either in general or in particular. Let them go, and pay no attention to them. It is the work of the soul that pleases God most. All saints and angels rejoice over it, and hasten to help it on with all their might…. The whole of humankind is wonderfully helped by what you are doing, in ways you do not understand…. Yet it is the easiest work of all when the soul is helped by grace and has a conscious longing. And it can be achieved very quickly. Otherwise it is hard and beyond your powers."

"No one can think of God."

"Now you have to stand in desire, all your life long, if you are to make progress in the way of perfection. This desire must always be at work in your will, by the power of almighty God and by your own consent."

"No one can hope to achieve contemplation without the foundation of much meditation on his or her own wretchedness, and on our Lord’s Passion, and the kindness of God, and God’s great goodness and worth. All the same, the practised hand must leave them, and put them away deep down in the cloud of forgetting if he or she is ever to penetrate the cloud of unknowing between him/her and God. So when you feel by the grace of God that you are being called to this work, and you intend to respond, lift your heart to God with humble love. And really mean God who created you and redeemed you and graciously called you to this state of life. And think no other thought about God. It all depends on your desire. A naked intention directed to God, and God alone, is wholly sufficient. If you want this intention summed up in a word, to retain it more easily, take a short word, preferably of one syllable, to do so. The shorter the word the better, being more like the working of the Spirit. A word like ‘God’ or ‘love’. Choose which you like, or perhaps some other, so long as it is of one syllable. And fix this word fast to your heart, so that it is always there, come what may. It will be your shield and spear in peace and war alike. With this word you will suppress all thought under the cloud of forgetting. So much so that if ever you are tempted to think what it is that you are seeking, this one word will be sufficient answer. And if you would go on to think learnedly about the significance and analysis of that same word, tell yourself that you will have it whole, and not in bits and pieces. If you hold fast, that thought will surely go. And why? Because you refuse to let it feed on the helpful meditations we spoke of earlier."

"Not what you are, nor what you have been, does God look upon with his merciful eyes, but what you would be."

"So beware of behaving wildly like some animal, and learn to love God with quite, eager joy, at rest in body and soul. Remember your manners, and wait humbly upon our Lord's will. Do not snatch at it like some famished dog, however much you hunger for it. If I may use a funny example, I would suggest you do all you can to check your great and ungoverned spiritual urge; as though you were altogether unwilling that he should know how very glad you would be to see him, to have him, to feel him."

"So for the love of God be careful in this work and do not put too much strain on yourself, emotionally, beyond what you can bear. Wait upon the will of our Lord humbly and courteously and don’t grab at experience e like a greedy greyhound, however hungry you are."

"So crush all knowledge and experience of all forms of created things, and of yourself above all. For it is on your own self-knowledge and experience that the knowledge and experience of everything else depend. Alongside this self-regard everything else is quickly forgotten. For if you will take the trouble to test it, you will find that when all other things and activities have been forgotten (even your own) there still remains between you and God the stark awareness of your own existence. And this awareness, too, must go, before you experience contemplation in its perfection"

"The purpose of prayer is the knowing of oneself and the all-ing of God."

"Take good, gracious God as he is, and lay him as a poultice on your sick self as you are. Or, if I may put it otherwise, begin with your disordered self and, just as you are, reach out in desire to touch good, gracious God as he is. Do this without introspection concerning yourself, without speculation concerning God."

"Some think contemplation is so hard and so fearful that they say it may not be experienced without much hard work and then only relish it rarely in those moments of ecstasy called ravishing. I will answer these people as humbly as I can."

"The two essential virtues are meekness and charity. He who might get these needeth no more for he hath all. Meekness is a true knowledge of ourselves as we are. He who knows himself truly knows God as far as that is possible in this life."

"There can be no profitable reflection without previous reading, or hearing…Nor will beginners or proficients come to true prayer without previous reflection."

"The truth is that God in his wisdom, determines the course and the character of each one’s spiritual journey according to the talents and gifts God has given them."