The German mystic, Meister Eckhart, once said, “God is super essential darkness.” God is mystery and God can be found in the dark. Mystery and darkness are associated with the Path of the Via Negativa, named by theologian Matthew Fox as one of the paths of “Creation Spirituality,” a teaching re-discovered by Fox from his deep study of Western and Eastern mystical traditions. Creation Spirituality shares many of the teachings and principles of Unity.
The Via Negativa opens us to our divine depths. We learn that we are cosmic beings not only in our joy and ecstasy, but also in our pain and sorrow. The Via Negativa is the journey into the great mystery of the Self, the mystery of God. It is a feminine path, and it also teaches us about darkness, mystical depths, emptying, letting go, pain, suffering, stillness, and silence.
We have all had experiences of the Via Negativa: anytime we are still and silent in meditation; those moments when we experience a mystical awakening; times in our life when we are attempting to let go and let God; those dark nights of the soul; as well as lesser experiences of pain and suffering.
Throughout this week I invite you to:
- Follow the commandment of the Via Negativa: “Dare the dark!”; go within; meditate; pray; surrender; take time to feel your pain, your grief, identify where it is in your body, and then breathe into it.
- Meditate on God as “super essential darkness” and as mystery.
- Turn off the lights at night and feel the peace.
We can call this process of befriending darkness and silence “endarkenment.” May you become filled with God in the silence, or endarkened!
Love & blessings!
Rev. Kathy