The Cloud of Unknowing
The Cloud of Unknowing by an anonymous monk
A Popular Contemplative Book
Often
quoted by evangelical contemplatives such as Richard
Foster and Henri Nouwen, this 14th
century book of contemplation is described this way:
"A BOOK OF CONTEMPLATION THE WHICH IS CALLED THE CLOUD
OF UNKNOWING, IN THE WHICH A SOUL IS ONED WITH GOD"
The Book - The Cloud of Unknowing
From The Cloud of Unknowing: "Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two ... With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting."
"In 1974, Father William Meninger, a Trappist monk and retreat master at St. Josephs Abbey in Spencer, Mass. found a dusty little book in the abbey library, The Cloud of Unknowing. As he read it he was delighted to discover that this anonymous 14th century book presented contemplative meditation as a teachable, spiritual process enabling the ordinary person to enter and receive a direct experience of union with God." —Some History of The Cloud of Unknowing
[M]ystical silence is accomplished by the same methods used by New Agers to achieve their silence--the mantra and the breath! Contemplative prayer is the repetition of what is referred to as a prayer word or sacred word until one reaches a state where the soul, rather than the mind, contemplates God. Contemplative prayer teacher and Zen master Willigis Jager brought this out when he postulated:
Do not reflect on the meaning of the word; thinking and reflecting must cease, as all mystical writers insist. Simply "sound" the word silently, letting go of all feelings and thoughts.
Those with some theological training may recognize this teaching as the historical stream going back centuries to such figures as Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Julian of Norwich. One of the most well-known writings on the subject is the classic 14th century treatise, The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an anonymous author. It is essentially a manual on contemplative prayer, inviting a beginner to:
Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two ... With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting.
The premise here is that in order to really know God, mysticism must be practiced--the mind has to be shut down or turned off so that the cloud of unknowing, where the presence of God awaits, can be experienced. Practitioners of this method believe that if the sacred words are Christian, you will get Christ--it is simply a matter of intent even though the method is identical to occult and Eastern practices.
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