The Interior Castle Series, #3: Meditation
This is the third in a series of contemplations on St. Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual masterpiece, The Interior Castle.
In our present times, I find that I often struggle with all the different ways the word “meditation” is used. Meditation is talked about and taught everywhere in our current mindfulness and spirituality culture, and there are a multitude of ways it can be practiced.
So many ways, in fact, that it can be intimidating, or so confusing that it can be hard to even bother.
I notice that many people who are learning to meditate tighten up at the thought of it. There is often an expectation of it having to be done “right,” or that something cool must happen. In my own practice, I don’t use the word “meditation.” I prefer to talk about “sitting.” When I work with people in spiritual direction, I often don’t refer to meditation at all. We just do it and don’t call it anything.
Like the word “prayer,” the word “meditation” can feel loaded and mysterious all at the same time.
Because of this confusion, I feel it is very important to try to honor St. Teresa’s view of meditation with some clarity.
St. Teresa teaches us that once we have become consciously aware of our praying, we then progress to meditation. In her eyes, and according to other Christian mystics of her time, meditation normally meant using one’s intellect, will, and imagination to reflect upon scripture and the life of Christ (of course, this can be applied to any scripture or deities that we are connected to). In a larger sense, meditation applies to all intentional prayer and spiritual practice that we consciously undertake.
The key word here is “consciously.” The Christian mystics believed that if we are conscious of what we are doing and are actively making it happen, it is considered meditation. This is different from contemplation. When we are contemplating, we are no longer in control of the experience or engaging our will, and we have been completely taken over by Grace.
In the chapter of The Interior Castle that describes the first mansion of the castle, St. Teresa tells us that to enter our interior castle (our soul) we must engage in prayer and meditation. What she is telling us is that we must become consciously aware of being engaged in a relationship with the Divine. Prayer is the act of becoming aware and consciously engaging in conversation, and meditation is the active way in which prayer can be given and received.
We can meditate on imagery that brings us closer to our Beloved, like artwork, poetry, and nature. We can meditate on scripture or holy words and imagine ourselves in scenes and watch how they unfold in our imagination. What is key to note here is that the Christian mystics believed that when our will is involved in making active prayer happen, it is meditation.
Until it isn’t. At any point, our efforts can be met by Grace, and we find that we are no longer doing anything. Something is being done to us. This is when meditation turns into contemplation: a graced state in which the Divine has its way with us. A place that the Christian mystics knew well and, through their earnest teachings, continually point us to as a gift that we all have the potential to receive.
What St. Teresa is telling us when she says that we must pray and meditate to enter our soul is that we need to start to meet God halfway. She prods us to start putting in the time and effort into actively becoming aware of our role in a relationship that we are mostly sleepwalking through. She asks us to wake up!
One of my directees offered a beautiful metaphor to describe her relationship with the divine before she consciously became aware of prayer and meditation as an active participant in a relationship. She said, “It’s a bit like going out on a first date and I literally just talk about myself the entire time. I don’t ask questions and I don’t listen. Then I wonder why my date doesn’t ask me out again.”
I love this metaphor because we’ve all been there. We’ve been the one doing all the talking, we have all been the one doing all the listening. In our desire to discover our divinity and grow closer to our Beloved, we need to talk and listen. Give and receive. Be active and be silent.
St. Teresa of Ávila points us to this because she knows this is the only way to proceed in the cultivation of our souls.
The practices of prayer and meditation are the way into our interior castle, and they will preoccupy us for years until we achieve a spiritual maturation that allows us to go further into our own being.
St. Teresa describes all that we can expect in these beginning stages of spiritual evolution in the first three mansions of The Interior Castle. I encourage you to read this book. Teresa’s teachings from the 16th century are as vibrant and true today. Sometimes, it can feel like she is right here leaning over our shoulder and whispering it all in our ear. Prodding us onto the right path. There is nothing archaic about what she is telling us.
St. Teresa points us to the truth of the Way.
If you desire support for your prayer life or want to know more about journeying into The Interior Castle, I am here to walk with you. Please reach out to me at leigh@leighamurray.com or sign up at www.leighamurray.com to set up a complimentary session to learn more.
Reference
Teresa of Avila. The Interior Castle. Riverhead Books, 2003.