Author: ashish.k.chowdhury@gmail.com
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The Cloud of Unknowing
The Cloud of Unknowing (Christian Mystical Text, 14th c.)
A nameless English mystic wrote a book — not of doctrines, but of direct experience. He called it The Cloud of Unknowing.
He said, “If you wish to know God, abandon knowing. Lift your heart — not your head. For He can be loved, but not thought.”
He urged seekers to enter the ‘cloud’ — the space between self and God — with a naked intent of love.
“Forget everything you know,” he wrote. “Let the cloud of forgetting surround all but love.”
Commentary:
This text is a treasure of Christian mysticism. It speaks of apophatic prayer — beyond words, thoughts, images. God is not a concept, but a Presence. To awaken is to move from knowing about to knowing in.
The cloud is not confusion — it is sacred mystery.
Psychological Reflection:
We often cling to clarity, certainty, explanation. But some truths live only in the heart. This story invites us to embrace unknowing as a threshold — not a failure.
The ego wants answers. The soul wants presence.
Closing Reflection:
- Where am I clinging to understanding instead of surrendering to mystery?
- Can I let go of knowing — and rest in loving?
Pause & Reflect:
🎧 (10 seconds of silence)
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Mary and the One Thing Needed
Mary and the One Thing Needed (Luke 10:38–42)
Jesus entered a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister Mary sat at his feet, listening.
Martha, busy preparing, said, “Lord, do you not care that I am left to serve alone?”
Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.”
Commentary:
This simple story reveals a great truth: presence is greater than performance. Mary listens. She is not passive — she is present. This is the mystical act: deep receptivity.
Martha is not wrong. But she is distracted by doing, while Mary is devoted to being.
Psychological Reflection:
Many of us live like Martha — busy, helpful, anxious. We serve but forget to receive. Mary reminds us that sitting still, listening, is not lazy — it is sacred.
Awakening often begins by slowing down.
Closing Reflection:
- Am I constantly doing at the cost of being?
- Can I allow myself to stop and simply listen?
Pause & Reflect:
🎧 (10 seconds of silence)
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The Still Small Voice
The Still Small Voice (1 Kings 19:11–13)
The prophet Elijah fled into the desert — exhausted, hunted, hollow.
He climbed Mount Horeb, entered a cave, and cried, “God, where are You?”
Then a great wind tore across the mountain — but God was not in the wind.
An earthquake shook the ground — but God was not in the earthquake.
Fire raged through the valley — but God was not in the fire.
Then came a still small voice.
Elijah covered his face.
He had heard it — not outside, but within.
Commentary:
This story teaches that the Divine is not always in grand revelation. Often, awakening comes in stillness — a whisper in the soul. The mystic path is one of inward listening.
God’s presence is subtle. When the noise dies, the voice arises.
Psychological Reflection:
Elijah’s journey mirrors spiritual burnout. When outer forces fail to bring clarity, we enter the cave — the inner world. The ‘still small voice’ is intuition, conscience, soul.
Learning to hear it is the work of silence and surrender.
Closing Reflection:
- What loud forces have distracted me from my inner voice?
- Can I create stillness to hear what already knows?
Pause & Reflect:
🎧 (10 seconds of silence)
