The Cloud of Unknowing

by Unknown Mystic

Overview

“For of all other creatures and their works, yea, and of the works of God, a man may through grace have full knowledge, and well he can think of them. But of God Himself can no man think. And therefore, I would leave all that I can think, and choose to love what I cannot think. For He may well be loved, but not thought. By love may He be gotten and held, but by thought never.”—The Cloud of Unknowing

Few things are as eternal in this world as man’s quest to better know and understand his Creator. Because the human mind is far too small to fully grasp the Almighty, believers who try to approach Him intellectually often “freeze up,” entering into a “cloud of unknowing.” But God is approachable.
The Cloud of Unknowing dates back as far as the fourteenth century and has inspired generations of seekers in their efforts to connect with God. Created as a primer to instruct young monks to develop techniques for encountering God, its tone is not academic or austere but rather a loving call for believers to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer.
If you desire to experience God in your heart, and yourself in God’s heart, The Cloud of Unknowing will be a book to read and reread for a lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629111896
Publisher:	Whitaker House
Publication date:	10/17/2014
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

The author of this work, originally titled The Cloude of Unknowyng, is believed to have been a mystic monk from the eastern regions of England in the second half of the fourteenth century. Some have suggested that the author was the English Augustinian mystic Walter Hilton or a Carthusian priest, but there is no conclusive evidence for either.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Prayer 25

Prologue 26

Prayer 28

1 Four Degrees of Christian Living 29

2 A Stirring to Meekness 31

3 The Soul That Pleases God 33

4 How to Approach the Work of Contemplation 35

5 Hidden Under the Cloud of Unknowing 40

6 The Sharp Dart of Longing 42

7 Fighting Thoughts of Curiosity, Cunning, and Wit 43

8 Doubts That Accompany Contemplation 45

9 Distraction in Remembrance 49

10 Venial and Deadly Sins 51

11 Weighing Each Thought and Stirring 53

12 Destroying Sin and Begetting Virtues 54

13 Perfect and Imperfect Meekness 56

14 Perfect Meekness 58

15 Knowledge of Your Own Wretchedness 60

16 Perfection 'through Contemplation 62

17 Avoid Meddling in Worldly Matters 64

18 Ignorance, the Cause of Complaint 66

19 Clarity of the Author's Intent 67

20 The Almighty God Defends His Own 69

21 How Mary Chose the Best Part 71

22 The Wonderful Love of Christ 73

23 How God Answers and Provides 74

24 An Explanation of Charity 76

25 Perfect Souls Have No Special Beholding to Anyone 77

26 Laborious Work Without Grace 79

27 Who Should Work in Contemplation 81

28 The Importance of a Cleansed Conscience 82

29 Patience in Suffering 83

30 Err in Judgment 84

31 How a Man Should Be 85

32 Two Helpful Spiritual Devices 86

33 When the Soul Is Cleansed 87

34 God s Free Gift of Grace 88

35 Reading, Thinking, and Praying 90

36 Meditations of the Faithful 92

37 Special Prayers 93

38 Short Prayer That Pierces Heaven 95

39 The Properties of Prayer 97

40 Virtue and Vice 99

41 The Importance of Discretion 101

42 Keeping Discretion in All Things 102

43 Losing All Knowing and Feeling 103

44 Destroying Knowledge and Feeling 105

45 Certain Deceits to Look Out For 107

46 Earnestness of Spirit and Boisterousness of Body 109

47 Purity of Spirit 111

48 How to Serve God in Body and Soul 113

49 The Substance of Perfection 115

50 The Essence of Chaste Love 116

51 Need for Great Wariness 118

52 Misunderstanding and Deceit 120

53 Practices That Follow Lack of Contemplation 121

54 Governed Wisely and Made Suitable 123

55 Fervor of Spirit 125

56 Leaning Toward Curiosity 127

57 What to Set Our Eyes Upon 128

58 The Example of Saint Martin and Saint Stephen 130

59 The Bodily Ascension of Christ 133

60 The High and the Next Way to Heaven 135

61 All Bodily Things Are Subject to Spiritual Things 136

62 The Position of One s Spiritual Work 138

63 The Powers of a Soul 139

64 The Powers of Reason and Will 140

65 The Power of Imagination 141

66 The Power of Sensuality 142

67 The Power of a Soul and the Manner of Its Working 143

68 Being Nowhere Bodily Is Being Everywhere Spiritually 145

69 The Marvelous Change of Mans Affection 147

70 Coming to the Knowledge of God 149

71 The Perfection of Contemplation 151

72 How to Think of Another Worker 153

73 The Making of the Ark 154

74 Closing Words on Contemplation 156

75 Certain Helpful Tokens 158