Shedding outer Layers

On walking inward with Meister Eckhart, with a side nod on why depth psychologists are drawn to mystics. Are you?

Sometimes a walk at the beach can turn into a walk inside. A Furchert, 2024.

Welcome to Cloister Notes, a letter for dancing monks and weary pilgrims and all kindred spirits who are longing for a deeper way. I am glad you are here! If you are looking for an intimate communion of fellow pilgrims join us for our Passionweek Consolations starting Palm Sunday by becoming a sustaining member. Looking forward journeying with you.

Dear fellow pilgrim,

Some weeks ago we meditated on a photo of an old Italian door, with layers of paint flaking as it stood, immovable, in the sun.

The first impulse of our postmodern people, I wrote about that flaky door, is to paint over. Just fix it, quick! But is there something to discover when, instead of painting over, we look deeper?

Instead of fixing things so the surface shines, this Lenten season, Meister Eckhart calls us to to shed our layers. To search for and cherish what lies beneath:

“A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don't know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox's or bear's, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.”

― Meister Eckhart

Thus it should be no wonder that psychologists find Meister Eckhart attractive, writes Matthew Fox in his book on Eckhart:

“Put this way, its evident why the great mystics cross path with deep psychologists. Both journey to find truth in the depth of selfhood and community; they delve into the “inner person,” rather than remaining on the surface with the “outer person”…

I so cherish how many colleagues from the counseling and helping professions are part of our Cloister family. Surely I would love to know what you think about this quote!

But let’s look some deeper. How does it help to differentiate between the outward and the inward aspects of a person? What layers are we suppose to shed to arrive at that sacred ground?

Eckhart describes the outer person as some one who perceives God mainly from the outside. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be or can become the first stage on the spiritual journey inward. People look up to wise teachers and sages, they read and they learn, and they seek knowledge and guidance. All of this is important and crucial on the way of becoming. Still, the person who perceives God only from outside sources does not have an inner understanding yet, of the Divine presence nor of oneself in light of it .

Eckhart names that Divine spark we encounter on the way inward “Seelenfünkchen”, literally translated the spark or light of the soul.

The path of the inner person he draws in six steps starts with that person still mainly oriented toward the outside, which then, like an infant taking in more and more solid food, becomes more and more aware of the life of the soul inside.

It is the path from the outer to the inner self, the outer person to the inner person, from being some-one to being a child of God.

Its the path towards the ground of the soul, where she tells of her Divine origin.

Learning from a child to be present. A. Furchert 2024.

Walking our walk as a child of God is not an easy task, isn’t it? Not because one does not believe that we are all children of God, but one finds it difficult to truly believe the same for one self, namely that indeed, you and me, “I am a child of God!” A child of Divine origin bound to earthly matters.

Much has to give on that way inward where we are content and in peace as simply as a child playing in the sand. We encounter much heartbreak on the way and must climb some walls and cross some valleys we created over our lifetime.

As therapists and counselors and spiritual directors we have seen it again and again. The beauty when a person takes the courage to peel away one of those protective layers not needed any longer.

We are facilitating after all, as the Clinical psychologist and spiritual teacher James Finley has it, a “path of detachment” of letting go, and yes, even of dis-illusionment.

We might notice that we attach ultimate meaning to relative goals, and thus we must learn to detach, then re-align, and then re-commit. This can mean the need to detach from what we thought was supremely important, by realizing that it might be important indeed but that it becomes just one thing among others in the light of the eternal.

A word about resistance:

You will likely meet resistance on the way inward — it always shows up when we start a pilgrimage to the sacred heart. When it does, remember that resistance is like a monastic wall. It is important and it protects us. We first need to welcome the wall and look at it like we look at the old door. We need to understand why it is there and what it is protecting. The pilgrimage inward is not a competition. We must find our own pace. We must be compassionate toward the resistance we meet. Doors should not be pried open when they are locked. Try a window instead. Chose another path. Or wait compassionately until it slowly swings open. You might find the key on the other side.

And may you walk hopeful this Lenten season, Almut (with Chuck and little one)

PS: If you can, leave a heart, a word or a line which resonated with you in the comments below, so we know you have been here :-)

A more personal note (and pics) for our sustaining members