About this item

A classic of Christian mysticism, this marvelous guide to the contemplative life originated with the reflections of an unknown 14th-century priest who believed that a "cloud of unknowing" separates people from God. This cloud, the writer maintained, cannot be penetrated by intellect but only by love.The Cloud of Unknowing offers an approach to contemplative life that finds holiness at a level deeper than physical experience and beyond language or image. The author advises placing all thought and mental imagery behind a metaphorical "cloud of forgetting" while seeking to love the divine. Hidden from the infinite consciousness by a "cloud of unknowing," divine love can be reached through monologistic prayer: a single-word prayer, like a mantra, that assists in abandoning all extraneous thought.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.