Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila was a sixteenth century Spanish mystic. Her early contemplative life was influenced the by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuit order. Born in Castile, Spain in 1515 to a wealthy family, Teresa entered a Carmelite convent at the age of twenty. Teresa’s religious fervor negatively affected her health, and she found herself back at home so her father could oversee her care during the year-long period she experienced paralysis. Once her health returned, Teresa returned to the convent where the visions and revelations returned. In 1562, she founded a reformed house of Carmelites that emphasized the mystical union with Christ as something to which all Christians were called. Few understood Teresa’s visions except John of the Cross who was her friend, spiritual director and fellow co-reformer of their respective Carmelite orders. In 1970, Teresa was named as a doctor of the church by Pope Paul VI, one of only four women who have received this honor from the Vatican (Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, and Therese of Lisieux). Teresa had a strong and intimate sense of God’s love and goodness. She encouraged others to cultivate a relationship with God through prayer and devotion. She recognized that each person had their own path and encouraged them to follow God’s lead. Her best known works are the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, the later refers to an ever deepening journey to God. There are seven rooms in the interior castle. Each room is a concentric circle that leads from the outer to the inner life. Teresa died in 1582 after a life as a reformer, theologian, and spiritual director, always in service to the God of her revelations.
Week Three - you are invited to:
Listen to the yoga nidra.
Explore your own interior castle:
Draw your vision of the journey into the heart of God.
Draw a labyrinth. Click on the button below to visit my friend Lars Howlett’s website, Discover Labyrinths, for a guide to drawing the labyrinth.
Create a visual representation of the journey into the heart of God using materials at home or incorporating found objects.
Write about your experience of journeying deeper into the heart of God.
Walk a labyrinth to experience the embodied sense of moving from the outer world to the inner world, and back out again. If you’re new to the labyrinth and want to learn more about the labyrinth or tips for walking the labyrinth, click the button below to learn about how to walk a labyrinth.
Notice how the guided yoga nidra meditations move you from the outer world, to the inner world, and back out again. Journal about your experience.
What other experiences do you have in your life where you notice the movement from outer to inner and back to outer again?
Share this week’s experience or your creation on Tribe.
“There is a secret place. A radiant sanctuary. As real as your own kitchen. More real than that. Constructed of the purest elements. Overflowing with the ten thousand beautiful things. Worlds within worlds. Forests, rivers. Velvet coverlets thrown over featherbeds, fountains bubbling beneath a canopy of stars. Bountiful forests, universal libraries. A wine cellar offering an intoxi cation so sweet you will never be sober again. A clarity so complete you will never again forget. This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway… Believe the incredible truth that the Beloved has chosen for his dwelling place the core of your own being because that is the single most beautiful place in all of creation.”
The Interior Castle, Teresa of Ávila, translated by Mirabai Starr
