Because in the school of the Spirit man learns wisdom through humility, knowledge by forgetting, how to speak by silence, how to live by dying.
Johannes TaulerRead
Often when He comes, He finds the soul occupied. Other guests are there, and He has to turn away. He cannot gain entry, for we love and desire other things; therefore, His gifts, which He is offering to everyone unceasingly, must remain outside.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates how distractions can prevent deeper spiritual connection and the acceptance of divine gifts.
Johannes Tauler highlights the importance of inner emptiness for spiritual fulfillment. When our souls are preoccupied with worldly desires or distractions, we may miss the opportunity to accept divine gifts, which can only be received in a state of openness and willingness to let go of other attachments.
Themes
SpiritualityDistractionDivine GiftsOpennessDesire
In practice
Example use cases
In a meditation retreat, one might reflect on this quote to emphasize the importance of letting go of worldly concerns.
More from Johannes Tauler
All quotes →Every one should find some suitable time, day or night, to sink into his depths, each according to his own fashion. Not every one is able to engage in contemplative prayer.
Johannes TaulerRead
As a good wine must be kept in a good cask, so a wholesome body is the proper foundation for a well-appointed inner ground.
Johannes TaulerRead
If you fall seventy times a day, rise seventy times and return to God so that you will not fall too often.
Johannes TaulerRead
If we really want to achieve true prayer, we must turn our backs upon everything temporal, everything external, everything that is not divine.
Johannes TaulerRead
If ye keep watch over your hearts, and listen for the Voice of God and learn of Him, in one short hour ye can learn more from Him than ye could learn from Man in a thousand years.
Johannes TaulerRead
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