LIFT up thine heart unto God with a meek stirring of love;
and mean Himself, and none of His goods.
And thereto, be loath to think on anything but Himself.
So that nothing work in thy wit, nor in thy will, but only Himself.
Do that in thee and forget all the creatures that ever God made and the works of them;
so that thy thought nor thy desire be not directed nor stretched to any of them,
neither in general nor in special, but let them be, and take no heed to them.
This is the work of the soul that most pleaseth God.
Thyself art cleansed and made virtuous by no work so much
Let not, therefore, but travail therein till thou feel list.
For at the first time when thou dost it, thou findest but a darkness;
and as it were a cloud of unknowing,
thou knowest not what, saving that thou feelest in thy will a naked intent unto God.
This darkness and this cloud is, howsoever thou dost, betwixt thee and thy God,
And therefore shape thee to bide in this darkness as long as thou mayest.
For if ever thou shalt feel Him or see Him, it may be here,
it behoveth always to be in this cloud in this darkness.
(from Cloud of Unknowing, chapter 3)
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I spent many years saying words into the air, verbalized thoughts from my egoic consciousness, aka the carnal mind, directed at a god out there, somewhere. And then I found another way. A way spoken of by many in many places. I just started reading this 700 year-old book and it is spoken of very well here in chapter 3. Spirit knows what we have need of before asking. Trust and Be still.
and mean Himself, and none of His goods.
And thereto, be loath to think on anything but Himself.
So that nothing work in thy wit, nor in thy will, but only Himself.
Do that in thee and forget all the creatures that ever God made and the works of them;
so that thy thought nor thy desire be not directed nor stretched to any of them,
neither in general nor in special, but let them be, and take no heed to them.
This is the work of the soul that most pleaseth God.
Thyself art cleansed and made virtuous by no work so much
Let not, therefore, but travail therein till thou feel list.
For at the first time when thou dost it, thou findest but a darkness;
and as it were a cloud of unknowing,
thou knowest not what, saving that thou feelest in thy will a naked intent unto God.
This darkness and this cloud is, howsoever thou dost, betwixt thee and thy God,
And therefore shape thee to bide in this darkness as long as thou mayest.
For if ever thou shalt feel Him or see Him, it may be here,
it behoveth always to be in this cloud in this darkness.
(from Cloud of Unknowing, chapter 3)
-------
I spent many years saying words into the air, verbalized thoughts from my egoic consciousness, aka the carnal mind, directed at a god out there, somewhere. And then I found another way. A way spoken of by many in many places. I just started reading this 700 year-old book and it is spoken of very well here in chapter 3. Spirit knows what we have need of before asking. Trust and Be still.