Knowing God With a Single-Minded Intention of Longing Love
Contemplative Practice in The Cloud of Unknowing
“Lift your heart to God with a humble impulse of love; and have himself as your aim, not any of his goods. Take care that you avoid thinking of anything…there is nothing for your reason or will to work on, except himself.” (CU 119-120)1
“For when you first begin to undertake it, all that you find is darkness, a sort of cloud of unknowing; you cannot tell what it is, except that you experience in your will a simple reaching out to God. This darkness and cloud is always between you and your God, no matter what you do, and it prevents you from seeing him clearly by the light of understanding in your reason, and from experiencing him in the sweetness of love in your affection. So set yourself to rest in this darkness as long as you can, always crying out after him whom you love.” (CU120-121)
The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an unknown Christian mystic in the late 14th century, has been influential in reviving the practice of contemplative prayer. The Cloud’s influence is especially notable in the contemporary practice of Centering Prayer as it was developed in the 1970’s by Trappist monks: Thomas Keating, William Meninger, and Basil Pennington.
The Cloud is primarily concerned with the “exercise” or practice of contemplation, which will be the focus of this post; however, the author of The Cloud assumes this practice of contemplation will be the result of an established practice of lectio divina. According to the author, “there are certain preparatory exercises which should occupy the attention of the contemplative apprentice: the lesson, the meditation, and the petition” (CU 187). The exercises of reading, meditating, and praying with the scriptures are preparatory and should lead the contemplative to an exercise that is “fundamentally a naked intent, none other than the single-minded intention of our spirit directed to God alone” (CU2 84).2
The Cloud of Unknowing
The author of The Cloud uses two primary metaphors to help explain the practice of contemplation: the cloud of unknowing and the cloud of forgetting. The metaphorical cloud of unknowing represents our inability to comprehend God.
“When I say “darkness,” I mean a privation of our knowing, just as whatever you do not know or have forgotten is dark to you…For this reason, that which is between you and your God is termed, not a cloud of the air, but a cloud of unknowing.” (CU 128)
The author of The Cloud takes a thoroughly apophatic approach to contemplation. As we have seen in a previous post, the apophatic approach embraces the inscrutability of God. We are well positioned for contemplation in so far as we recognize our inability to comprehend God. The author asserts that every rational being has two primary powers: the power of knowing and the power of loving. Regarding these two powers, only the power of love is able to know God.
“God, who is maker of them, is always incomprehensible to the first, the knowing power. But to the second, which is the loving power, he is entirely comprehensible…this is the everlasting miracle of love, which shall never have an end.” (CU 123)
Our inability to know God creates a cloud of unknowing between God and us. Nevertheless, with a simple impulse of love, a moment’s worth of love, we can penetrate the cloud and begin to know by love what we could never comprehend with our minds. In fact, the author insists, contemplation is the the shortest work that one can accomplish since it only takes a moment, which is exactly proportioned to a single impulse of the will.
“So be very careful how you spend time. There is nothing more precious…God shows that time is precious, for he never gives two moments of time side by side, but always in succession.” (CU2 56)
“For when rightly understood, it (i.e. contemplation) is nothing else than a sudden impulse…speedily flying up to God as the spark flies up from the burning coal. Marvelous also are the number of such impulses that can take place in one hour in a soul that is properly disposed for the exercise.” (CU 126)
The idea, it seems, is that we can indulge in one impulse per moment. If our humble impulses of love toward God match the succession of moments, then we can sustain a single-minded intention toward God. Of course, anyone who tries to keep a contemplative practice knows how this actually works. The impulse of love that flies up like a spark in one moment also fizzles and falls back down the next moment as we become distracted by some random thought. That being the case, as we pierce the cloud of unknowing with are impulses of love, we put anything that can get between us and God below the cloud of forgetting.
The Cloud of Forgetting
Inevitably, as we direct our attention and intention to God, various thoughts will distract us. The author is adamant that no thought, no matter how good or holy, should intervene and come between our intention of love and the unknowable God. Whenever a thought attempts to intrude into our single-minded intention, it should be cast beneath the cloud of forgetting.
“Therefore I will leave on one side everything I can think, and choose for my love that thing which I cannot think! Why? Because he may well be loved, but not thought. By love he can be caught and held, but by thinking never. Therefore, though it may be good sometimes to think particularly about God’s kindness and worth, and though it may be enlightening too, and part of contemplation, yet in the work now before us it must be put down and covered in the cloud of forgetting. And you are to step over it resolutely and eagerly, with a devout and kindling love, and try to penetrate the darkness above you. Strike that thick cloud of unknowing with the sharp dart of longing love, and on no account whatever think of giving up.” (CU2 60)
This quote brings the two clouds together and gives us some idea of how they might work in practice. As I sit in the stillness and silence, I am solely focused on my singular longing of love for God (i.e. piercing the cloud of unknowing). I am not thinking about God since that would entail thought; I am simply intending my heart’s deepest desire toward the God whom I cannot comprehend. As a thought arises that tempts to distract me, I cast it aside (i.e. under the cloud of forgetting) as not worthy of interrupting my sole longing for God. Happily, the author of The Cloud gives us a tool for casting these thoughts aside.
The Power of One Word
“For a simple reaching out directly towards God is sufficient…If you like, you can have this reaching out, wrapped up and enfolded in a single word. So as better to grasp it, take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two; for the shorter it is the better it is in agreement with this exercise of the spirit. Such a one is the word “God” or the word “Love.” Choose which one you prefer, or any other according to your liking…Fasten this word to your heart, so that whatever happens it will never go away. This word is to be your shield and your spear…With this word you are beat upon this cloud and the darkness above you. With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting.” (CU 134)
Let’s imagine I am sitting in contemplative prayer and my mind wanders, perhaps I begin to think about how I mustn’t forget to change the oil in the truck this week. In the moment that I realize I have drifted off, I mentally say my chosen word, “Love.” I do this repeatedly as I sit, and each time I say it, my focus is redirected toward God as I let go of whatever random thought is distracting me. As time goes along, and as my simple word becomes more and more intimately connected with my longing for God, then the moment I say the word my attention and intention immediately become focused toward God.
In a rather small nutshell, that is the general practice offered to us in The Cloud of Unknowing. I will close by pointing out that this practice does not need to be limited to those moments when we are sitting in contemplative prayer. Ideally, we can use our simple word to keep our hearts oriented toward God even as we go through our busy day. Contemplation is not simply a method of prayer; it is a way of being in the world. And, as always, we should be gentle with ourselves and each other. No one’s spiritual practice will be perfect, and we shouldn’t expect our own to be perfect. In the contemplative life, progress is perfection.
“And if you are willing to do this, all that is required of you is to woo him humbly in prayer, and at once he will help you. Call upon him then, and let us see how you get on. He is always most willing, and is only waiting for you. So what are you going to do? How will you move him?” (CU 119)
The Cloud of Unknowing, author unknown (Ed. James Walsh, S.J.; Paulist Press, 1981)
The Cloud of Unknowing, author unknown (Trans. Clifton Wolters; Penguin Books; 1961)