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)