Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Avila was a mystic and Carmelite nun.  She also was a friend of St. John of the Cross and shared many of his insights on inner life and contemplative prayer.  She believed in regularly, throughout every day, being alone with God.  Contemplative prayer meant nothing more than being alone with friends.  This very special personal relationship with God led to her having many, many visions.  She articulated her experiences as consisting of four stages for the ascent of the soul with God.  She referred to each stage as a devotion.

The first is the devotion of the heart.  This requires mental prayer that is both devout and contemplative.

The second devotion is the devotion of peace.  This involves surrendering ones will to God.    In this state your memory, will and reason can still be distracted.

The third is the devotion of union.  This state is the absorption of self to God.  This leads to a state of ecstasy and absorption of reason in God.  The memory and imagination can still be distracting.

The fourth is the devotion of ecstasy.  In this state consciousness of one being in the body ends.  All sense activity ceases including memory and imagination.  This is the highest level of mystical experience.

THOMAS MERTON

Thomas Merton was a Catholic Priest and mystic.  He greatly inspired both Catholic and Protestants alike.  He wrote more than 70 books most of which are available to read today.  He was influenced by Meister Eckhart realizing the necessity of inner stillness as a means of letting God in.  He also practiced spiritual contemplation and meditation.

Merton believed the was to God and self-realization was to be yourself.   In this he felt that to know God you had to know yourself.  Being yourself was understanding that you are love by God and are love yourself in God.

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Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon was born in Essex England in 1844.  He became one of the pastors at New Park Street Chapel in Southwark England at the young age of 19.  Within a few short year Spurgeon was the most sought after and well known preacher in England.  He took every opportunity to preach and the messages in his sermons focused on the Gospel message and the absolute necessity of regular prayer.  He especially emphasized praying for one specific issue at a time rather than several things at one.  He taught a commitment to seeking the person of God with singleness of mind.  Believing you already received what you were praying for in faith was key to having prayers fully answered.  Spurgeon left behind over a 5000 volume library and thousands of handwritten sermons.  His sermons still inspire Christians today and his is known as the "Prince of Preachers".

Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart was born in 1260 near what today is Gotha Germany.  He was a theologian, scholar and mystic.  He was  Dominican monk and his sermons were directed to those under his pastoral care as well as fellow Dominicans and nuns.  His sermons were notable for dealing with mans inner life and mystical relationship with God.  His focus was generally on the creative power of disinterest and detachment and the importance of inner stillness.  He was inwardly enlightened and experienced union with God and the soul.  As a preacher his efforts were designed to lead others to the same state of mind and soul.   Eckhart preached inner stillness as the vehicle give yourself over to God.  He thought that the path to God required singleness of mind.  This could only be accomplished by inner silence and stillness without which our  minds are bound to wander, totally beyond our control..  By focusing on God with inner stillness we could let God in.