A recurrent theme in many forms of contemplative practice is the need to come to a state of outward solitude (i.e., being without distractions); this provides a framework for contemplation, which ultimately can give way to a suspension of all efforts, opening up a state of inner letting-be. This contribution explores these elements in the Christian tradition following the Biblical typology of...
Although a convergence between theology and mystical literature can be observed in recent years, it is not always very clear what the relationship between the two is. That there has been a gap between the two, for several centuries, is obvious. A passage in Teresa of Avila’s work is a sign of this, as are the difficulties the Jesuit Balthasar Alvarez encountered during his lifetime. However,...
The study of mysticism and mystical theology implies the study of texts, and the general principles of scientific literary analysis are applied here. Nevertheless, mystical literature contains a number of elements that are worthy of specific enquiry. The first is that as a linguistic form, these texts have a unique ‘referent’—i.e. that the connection between the signifiant and the signifié is...