The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works (Penguin Classics) New Ed Edition, Kindle Edition
by A. Spearing (Editor, Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars 145 ratings
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Contains
- The Cloud of Unknowing,
- The Mystical Theology of Saint Denis,
- The Book of Privy Counselling, and
- An Epistle on Prayer.
Against a tradition of devotional writings which focussed on knowing God through Christ's Passion and his humanity, these texts describe a transcendent God who exists beyond human knowledge and human language. These four texts are at the heart of medival mystical theology in their call for contemplation, calm, and above all, love, as the way to understand the Divine.
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About the Author
Born and raised in Surrey, Laura Hoggins developed her passion for lifting after discovering a CrossFit box in Hammersmith over three years ago. Inspired by the community of individuals whose priority was athletics and not their aesthetic, Laura quit her office job and moved into fitness full time. Now a fully trained Fitness Coach and Personal Trainer, Laura runs her own concept class, LIFTED, at the Ministry of Sound Fitness.
Laura has over 11,000 Instagram followers and has worked with British Women's Lifting, Women in Sport and This Girl Can to spread a campaign that she supports that 'strong is not a size'. Runner Up in Men's Health Gym Awards '18 for 'Smartest Coach' and a regular contributor to Woman's Health, Metro and Health & Fitness Magazine, Laura speaks on podcasts, at festivals and events across the country and is the female face celebrating lifting in the UK.
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@laurabiceps
https-//www.lifted.fitness/ --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B002RI9X7Y
Publisher : Penguin; New Ed edition (30 August 2001)
Print length : 202 pages
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From Australia
HELEN LEETE
5.0 out of 5 stars Good for comparing the mystical experiences
Reviewed in Australia on 25 April 2015
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Lovely little book. Again have both hard copy and Kindle. Good for comparing the mystical experiences, and writing of, say, Dr. David Hawkins, and Plotinus with Meadiaeval English mystics like St John of the Cross. Especially liked they way some passages were printed in Old or middle English!
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Nadine
5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to reading it when I've the time.
Reviewed in Australia on 25 April 2019
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Looking forward to reading it when I've the time.
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Mr B
5.0 out of 5 stars The cloud of Unknowing and other works. Spearing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2017
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There are a number of different translations of this, surprisingly perhaps, very English Medieval text, on the market. What it shares with Julian of Norwich, is in fact a kind of Englishness of spirit that is rarely acknowledged; you have to perhaps go back through the beautiful ‘Piers Ploughman’ to the Anglo Saxon ‘Dream of the Rood’, to recover that flavor. In fact it was Denys Turner’s brilliant book on Julian that prompted me to try it: and part of the power is in the language. Language in fact forms a key issue in the very readable and illuminating introduction, but it raises a perennial question: to what extent can a modern translator both access and replicate, the ‘sound’ of the original, and the language of Chaucer’s time is neither strange nor incomprehensible, it is just that it is unfamiliar.
So what have we got? It opens a translation from Dionys the Aperogite, or ‘The Mystical Theology of St. Dennis,’ which establishes the basic conceptual foundation stone for the ‘Cloud.’ There are two approaches to understanding God: one is to take the kataphatic approach that the knowledge of God is revealed by what he has created, an approach adopted beautifully by many of the Psalms; the other approach, the apophatic approach, is that God is so totally unknowable that we cannot say anything about him; the former is affirmative, the latter, reductive. The approach of the latter is also found in Plotinus, and is perhaps exemplified in the approach of St. John of the Cross, with the Via Negato, which is not to suggest that they are mutually exclusive, and in fact the contrast has been likened to the Mary or Martha debate. ‘The Cloud’ which to describe over-simply, is a manual for the practice of contemplation, is followed by a text on perhaps more general advice. One has to bear in mind that what the religious - the author is believed to have been a Carthusian Priest, writing in English – and that raises questions, who remained anon, is that for the Medieval religious, the boundary between what we would call prayer and what we might call contemplation, did not exist; and they were only the guidelines established by the earlier Desert Fathers.
One of the interesting things about ‘The Cloud’ is that in a way, it continues with a Platonic thread: from Plato, to Plotinus, to Proclus, to Denys – a Christian student of Proclus. Aquinas, concerned as he was about the purity of doctrine, was concerned about the Greek element he discerned in the writings of Denys, but that concern is no different from the concern of the early Islamic Theologians, as to the influence coming from outside of the prophetic tradition, which in their view really began with Adam. That is in a way, a by the way. This is a lovely translation that is as illuminating as it is perhaps practical, and its in a Penguin!
16 people found this helpful
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Momac
5.0 out of 5 stars Union with God in this life.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2017
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Very interesting and uplifting book for those who have a desire in their heart to be united with God in unconditional love.
The concepts of the cloud of unknowing and the sea of forgetfulness are very practical and useful ways of guiding the seeker towards God.
5 people found this helpful
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colin skilton
5.0 out of 5 stars Will chnage your life forever
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2019
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For those who follow the Christian faith this is book comes very highly recommended. the first time I read this book it changed my life forever and for the better. The wisdom and insight into human understanding is amazing and every time I read it I find something else there to enjoy. I whole heartedly recommend this book and hope you enjoy the words as much as I have.
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Colin Wimsett
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring but vague.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 December 2020
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Unlike other versions I have looked at, the language in this translation is easy to understand. Inspiring book - more on philosophical side than practical, as quite vague in personal application.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2018
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Powerful religious read.
3 people found this helpful
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Mrs. J. S. E. Greenhalgh
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2018
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a difficult read, needs explaining
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E. Pascal-n
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2018
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Thank you so much
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dJinga
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2018
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Fascinating
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Ian D
5.0 out of 5 stars It was hard to get into but very rewarding once I managed it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2013
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It was hard to get into but very rewarding once I managed it. I find it best reading this particular work at a rate of no more than a chapter a day, allowing time for reflection.
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Martin Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 May 2016
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Worth reading
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beware -language can be a barrier between the Soul and God, but there is no alternative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2013
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This is a Christian spiritual classic, written in the fourteenth century, which sets out to capture in language the nature of God and the longed-for relationship of the contemplative soul with God. The author is unknown but thought to be a priest who was probably also a monk. He argues that essentially God is unknowable and indescribable and that therefore all words are inadequate and sometimes quite misleading, as in when He (for want of a better pronoun) is described as 'out there' or 'up there' or 'within'. This sort of language is not to be understood in a bodily or physically spatial sense but spiritually. We have to use words because we inhabit the physical world and have only those terms to describe what is essentially of the spirit and not describable in words at all. However, if we don't use words we have only silence which doesn't enable us to share wisdom and experience. Fortunately, the book is written in short chapters which enables the reader to digest and absorb (to use more physical terms) what is being put forward.
I have found the book really helpful at this particular stage of my own journey. It helps me to make sense of some of my own experiences because it deals with questions I have had and which had not been addressed to my satisfaction before. As there is a lot within the writing to take in it is the sort of guide to come back to from time to time, and specific chapters might be of particular help in particular life situations.
I would recommend this to anyone seeking, through setting aside a time of quiet, a closer relationship with God.
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kdv
5.0 out of 5 stars The Cloud of Unknowing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2011
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This modern version of "The Cloud of Unknowing" has made the work more intelligible to todays readers by replacing the archaic language of older versions whilst retaining the original sense. This has always been a challenging book to read and understand but I feel that this version has gone a long way towards providing the practical guidance that the original author intended for his readers. It is not an easy book, as instructional treatises go, but at least with this edition you are not confused by the mysteries of language.
10 people found this helpful
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upanishads
5.0 out of 5 stars the cloud of unknowing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 May 2011
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known this book for years,don't need to be a Christian, it is full of honest wisdom a classic of true spirituality.
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Jim
4.0 out of 5 stars The Cloud moves you.
Reviewed in Canada on 21 June 2015
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Reading this book must be like eating your favourite desert, slow and meditatively.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on 22 April 2017
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A very insightful read. I'm ready.
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Chris Morse
5.0 out of 5 stars Do not read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2011
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This is a most intresting book. It's definatley not for everyone and even starts off with a warning from the unknown 1370's writer to not read, speak of or quote the book to anyone who is not ready to follow through with what this book is offering.
With that in mind, I will just explain the title.
There are 2 ways to think of God:
1- Positive. God is Good, Great, Wonderful etc. All based on characteristics we are familiar with because we see them as human attributes as well.
2- Negative. God is not Good, Great, Wonderful etc, because these are all human words and attributes and can never describe God the unmade Spirit. So when we come to face God our mind cannot comprehend Him and instead comes to a blank, or, Cloud of Unknowing.
This book will shed light on what could be misunderstood by anyone who is not already in a place of seeking Him and not what He can offer.
This version is translated by Colin Wolfer and has some great notes before each book.
Recommended, but bear in mind the Authors warning. if you are not ready you will be wasting your time completley.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2013
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While I think this is an indispensable companion book, I strongly suggest you also download the freely available copy written in old English. Although it is not as easy to read, in some ways the old-english version transmits the concepts, which are truly not easy to transmit in words, better than the modern English version. Because the concepts in the cloude of unknowing are really so alien to modern life and properly a new language should be invented to discuss them, the use of old english in some way achieves this by using slightly unfamiliar versions of words that if written in the common language lose meaning simply because of how we are used to treating the word and the automatic sensations it brings up in us.
My practice is to read the old english first and then if a word stumps me use this book to "translate" it for myself.
I need to add that I have no religion whatsoever, however the concepts described by the 14th century anonymous mystic who wrote it are truly universal and I wonder if he didn't keep his name out of it to avoid being burned at the stake!
One last point, I don't know if others will relate to this, but this book might have been utterly incomprehensible to me had it not been for an event that completely re-wired my outlook on life. I had a sudden experience that flung me into what i can only describe an alternate reality based in love, and in it, all the common rules of the material world no longer apply, in fact, many of the normal ways we go about our lives could even be seen as wrong and liable to only bring misery to our lives instead of love and joy. This book, so far, is the only thing I have found that actually describes this alternate reality well. It has been helpful to me to understand when my faith has been weak. I say faith, but please not I have no religion, yet there is a love, a indeed...Cloude of Unknowyinge as it were, and to be in it in faith is the only way to really have that sense that you are fulfilling your purpose here on Earth by just being yourself, your true self. It is difficult to describe and will always sound cliched, and never in a million years did I think i would find myself finding guidance, and comfort, even joy and laughter in a book written more than 500 years ago by a mystic who had also discovered this alternate reality, and captured its essence in the form of a guidebook so beautifully.
28 people found this helpful
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Mrs. H. R. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfied customer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2013
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I purchased this book for my father who had been looking for a copy for some time. It was delivered quickly and was just what he wanted.
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Dr Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2014
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A excellent read.
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Genny, Harlow
4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Lenten reading.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 May 2016
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Much food for the soul here. Recommended.
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Mr E.L. Newsome
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful spritual writing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 April 2014
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Very challenging to read but sublime writing. Not for those who are out for an easy way into Christian spirituality but for a more seasoned spiritual travellers.
4 people found this helpful
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christopher whittington
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2014
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Great
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Sinead McCarthy
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2014
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Good service
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Douglas Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars Cloud of Unknowing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2014
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Very interesting book. A classic of English medieval mysticism.
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Debra Dyson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2014
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Exellent
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David Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading if you want spiritual awakening.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2017
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It gave a good account to reach a balance in your life and achieve spiritual contentment. A very good read from an author born six centuries ago.
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Witchwork
3.0 out of 5 stars The Cloud of Unknowing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2013
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I bought it because it is about making contact with a spiritual entity (God). I liked it because it matches other sources in placing great empahsis on clearing the mind of existing ideas and wisdom. I found it rather repetitive.
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Dolly Daydream
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2014
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unfinished
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Silence
5.0 out of 5 stars This is complete PLUS other Medieval writings
Reviewed in the United States on 12 December 2018
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This one I kept to read myself. My degree is in philosophy. This book not only presets "the Unknowing" but also touches on what others writers were doing at that time.
I love it.
Thank you.
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jwoodard
5.0 out of 5 stars A Spiritual Investment
Reviewed in the United States on 11 July 2014
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Taking the warning at the beginning that it is not meant for those with a casual or shallow spirituality into account, this work is an immensely deep and timeless guide to any Christian seeking nearness to God. Even in instances where I might disagree with the author's theology on some point, The Cloud of Unknowing is thought provoking and inspiring. The other works placed with the Cloud help put it into context. It is important that anyone who wishes to follow the author's advise do so thoughtfully and carefully. Concepts such as the impossibility to truly KNOW God and the impossibility for the senses and the mind to come to Him, along with the necessity to rely to a certain extent on the heart and emotions can easily lead in non-Christian directions if the reader does not have a mature understanding of spiritual matters. No matter how strange his teaching may seem at times, the author was an absolutely orthodox Catholic. It is important to remember where the author is coming from in such lofty literature to keep things in context. That done, it is easy for me, an Evangelical Baptist, to say that this work is as applicable for me today as it was during the middle ages when it was written. I also want to say that I always try to buy Penguin editions of any classic work I may be looking for. Penguin combines annotated and informational style that lends context with affordability. As a student, I appreciate both.
17 people found this helpful
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Carl Hall
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Text Small Print
Reviewed in the United States on 28 June 2009
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As a student of the "Cloud" for many years I appreciate having this text in my library, especially since it includes the "The Mystical Theology of St. Denis," "The Book of Privy Counselling," and "An Epistle on Prayer." However, the type face is so small that my 65 year old eyes tire easily when attempting to read it. If you're subject to eye strain, I'd recommend William Johnston's edition of "Cloud" and "Privy" or the "Cloud" from the "Classics of Western Spirituality" put out by Paulist Press along with its companion volume, "The Pursuit of Wisdom," containing other works by the "Cloud's" author. In any case, no student of contemplative prayer/meditation should be anything but thoroughly familiar with the treasure these texts contain.
72 people found this helpful
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Matt N
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book. Given its age, it was ...
Reviewed in the United States on 18 July 2016
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Very interesting book. Given its age, it was much easier to read than I was expecting and provided insight into the more mystical and contemplative practice of prayer meditation.
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aminod
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 1 July 2018
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Excellent insights
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John D. Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars Well liked but Underappreciated
Reviewed in the United States on 7 February 2010
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Are we and our institutions--individually and collectively--irredeemably mired in the flesh?
"Not!", says the wisely anonymous author of Penguin Classics' "The Cloud of Unknowing and [Three] Other Works", all dealing with the flesh-to-Spirit path to spiritual perfection.
The unknown author's recommendation that one pay particular attention to short words of one syllable (God, love, in, up, and so forth) is well taken, as is his insistence that one must read the entire text (to avoid misunderstandings) and indeed repeatedly re-read, in order to arrive at a proper understanding of all that the author would so dearly love to convey.
I was greatly helped by including translator A. C. Spearing's Introduction in the cycle of readings.
Your friend in Christ Jesus, John Douglas Adams.
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Barbara C. Sceusa
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it
Reviewed in the United States on 4 May 2015
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This is not a novel, but a book that explains religion and man of a certain time period that is still just as relevant today.
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arthur j barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars great service.
Reviewed in the United States on 6 September 2015
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what a read!!!great service....thank you
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Allan Lindh
5.0 out of 5 stars A climbers guide for the inner world of a human being.
Reviewed in the United States on 3 July 2013
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Nothing quite like it in English. Almost convinced me to learn Middle English. Speculation that it was written by a Carthusian, the great monastic order that has kept the faith for over 1000 years. Even Henry VIII's "investigators" admitted that they could no misconduct by the Carthusians, but they took their property and burned their leaders anyway. "Into Great Silence" is a marvelous documentary shot at their head monastery in France.
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Truth Seeker 1
5.0 out of 5 stars Coming to Prrfection
Reviewed in the United States on 4 September 2015
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This book is a gold mine of direction in coming to a closer relationship with the One who loves us totally!!
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Ron J Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoying the Unknowing
Reviewed in the United States on 19 June 2015
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A collection of anonymous spiritual writings from ancient teachers of the mysteries of faith.
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Timothy Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars have found this to be the best of a blend of scholarly and yet readable
Reviewed in the United States on 12 May 2016
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This particular translation, in keeping with many regarding this, have found this to be the best of a blend of scholarly and yet readable. Understandably I have a few variant copies of different translations, all affording different issues regarding history, etc.Here, however, the conveyance is more readily experienced and understood. In particular "Mystical Theology". What is more is the price is outstanding.
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Chris M.
5.0 out of 5 stars They don't teach you this in church
Reviewed in the United States on 25 December 2013
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There's a realm of Christianity that I never found in church. It's been around for about 2000 years. It's been secreted away and practiced in remote locations, and it's always been hard to find. If you're looking for that realm, here is a good introduction to it. This isn't exactly a guide to that realm, but if you read the Cloud of Unknowing, you can figure out the path, the technique on how to approach the mystic's God and find that experience.
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mtngunr
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic contemplative prayer direction
Reviewed in the United States on 28 August 2017
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From the 1100s and well translated works by the anonymous author, a spiritual director of souls. Quoted in the Office of Readings for those who know that official publication, if wondering as to orthodoxy.
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Evolvingelder
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a spiritual book of ancient origin by anonymous ...
Reviewed in the United States on 23 November 2016
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This is a spiritual book of ancient origin by anonymous that focuses on ways to become closer in relationship to God.
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Sam McMillen
5.0 out of 5 stars I very much enjoyed this book
Reviewed in the United States on 20 January 2016
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I very much enjoyed this book. It is easy to understand but difficult to practise, but I will spend the rest of my life attempting it.
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Rodney
5.0 out of 5 stars This edition is as good as any and can be kept at hand on ...
Reviewed in the United States on 21 May 2015
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I have been enjoying this treatise in various forms for the last thirty years. This edition is as good as any and can be kept at hand on our mobile phones.
If I was to speculate as to the author's identity, well, who other than a Carthusian could have written such a work?
Chapter 68 gives the climax and crux of the treatise. The first dozen or so chapters give the practical instructions. Simple and sublime.
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Darin
4.0 out of 5 stars good price
Reviewed in the United States on 3 June 2016
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Decent quality, good price
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Msstma
4.0 out of 5 stars Review for The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works
Reviewed in the United States on 1 May 2011
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I ordered this book as a suggested read. It is one of the books Marilyn Manson studied.
I was very eager to get it but also hesitant as I am not as learned as he is. I do not believe in God or religion so wanted to see what it was about.
It has a very long introductory which I tried to skip but did have to got back and read because I would have been lost if I hadn't.
My second disappointment was the print in this particular issue is very teeny tiny! I had to use a ruler magnifier as well as my glasses to see it.
The writings themselves: the first part is a background and explanation of the real text. These are writings that apparently Monks and people from the middle ages who wanted to become closer to God were studying. The second half are the actual prayers and meditations.
I almost wish they had reversed the order of this book and let me read the prayers and meditations first. I hate having things explained to me before I read them because I like to make my own mind up and once you read interpretations one can't help but be influenced by that.
The prayers and meditation guides are mostly the usual give up all vices and study the Word and meditate, instruction's you'd expect to be given to monks. In all fairness I have not finished this book and hope to come back and write another review.
The book arrived quickly and in excellent condition, just jeers to the printing industry on how they are using uber small print now!
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Deborah Beasley, Parent Coach and Consultant
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and transformational!
Reviewed in the United States on 13 October 2014
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This little book opens the mysteries of the mystical life. Best read and understood by those with an established spiritual and prayer life.
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