The Mystical Experience of Saint Teresa of Avila: The Voice of Silence in the Meditation of the Dark Night
El Houcine Ben Cherki
Journal of Gender Culture and Society October 22, 2022 DOI: 10.32996/jgcs.2022.2.2.1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Mystical experience |
| Key points | Argues that Saint Teresa of Avila's mystical writing, particularly her poetry, forged a simple and efficient literary language that founded a mystical discourse shaped by her social and religious context and situated her experience within the Devotio Moderna's scriptural and spiritual enterprise. |
Abstract
This article explores the mystical experience of Sainte Therese of Avila, mainly the voice of silence as a metaphor for spiritual transformation, more known specifically as the dark night of the soul. Developing a simple and efficient literary language, the Saint has built the founding principles of a mystical discourse marked by its social and religious conditions, which have motivated the emergence of spiritual writing characterized by immediacy and efficiency, mostly in her own poetry. Our analysis is focused on the emergence of a specific language, both poetic and didactic, which places the mystical experience of Sainte Therese in the heart of the scriptural and spiritual enterprise of the Devotio Moderna.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |