The Cloud of Unknowing

Divine Friendships: The Cloud of Unknowing (Anonymous)

God may be gotten and held by love, but never by thought.
-- Cloud of Unknowing, Ch. 6.

Our series on Divine Friendships continues Monday, September 13th with the Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English sometime in the latter half of the 1300s. The book advises that oneness with God cannot be obtained by knowledge and intellect, but by meeting God in the realm of “unknowing”. This is done by a simple but intense contemplation that places all other thoughts and desires under a "cloud of forgetting" to focus on a “naked intent” and a "dart of longing love" from the heart for God.

Alan Dillingham will facilitate the first part of this session by selecting a few key passages from the Cloud of Unknowing for the group to review, with commentary and background information on the text. The second part will be a period of reflective conversation by group participants. In preparation, click here to read a blog post by Alan on the Cloud of Unknowing.

Although there is no fee for this program, your generous donation to assist Rolling Ridge during COVID is greatly needed and appreciated. Thank you.

Click here for more events in our Divine Friendships series.

Click here for Alan Dillingham's website.