Prayer of the Heart in Christian and Sufi Mysticism
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
Guiding the reader through the stages of mystical prayer—a way to create a living relationship with the Divine within the heart—this book draws upon Christian and Sufi sources such as St. Teresa of Avila, ‘Attâr, St. John of the Cross, and Rûmî. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee describes the stages of prayer: how prayer is first born of need, but then takes one deep within the heart, into the stages of union and ecstasy. Through mystical prayer, one is drawn into the silence of real communion with God. Here, in the silence within the heart, a meeting and merging takes place that carries one beyond the self into the mystery of divine presence. This exploration delves into the secret of how to pray without ceasing, in which prayer becomes alive within the heart, and includes a chapter on the need to pray for the well-being of the Earth. It brings together the Christian and Sufi mystical traditions and will benefit any practitioner of prayer who is drawn to discover a relationship with God within their heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Vaughan-Lee (Love Is a Fire) complements intensity with brevity, which allows him to ignite passion, but keep it bounded. The author, a Sufi teacher, parallels the prayer practices of Sufi and Christian mysticism with ease, for both faiths encourage praying without ceasing. These prayers of the heart come "through grace and not through effort." Vaughan-Lee begins with the spiritual need for listening in quietude to shush the loud duality of mind and ego so as to achieve oneness with God. He bases his thinking on his experience as a teacher of Islamic mysticism and matches his life's vocation with that of St. Theresa of Avila, whose stages of prayer he reviews in one chapter. In the next, he compares the Jesus Prayer with the practice of Sufi dhikr, repetitive prayer, especially of God's name. He quotes Rumi, Sa'id al-Kharraz, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and St. Paul, among others, as easily as if they are family. He defines the circle of love from God, to God and dedicates a chapter to prayer for the earth as a sacred being. Vaughan-Lee's prayerful prose is poetic, inclusive, and intelligent.
