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A Little Book of Unknowing Kindle Edition
by Jennifer Kavanagh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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What if the facts on which we base our lives are shown to be unreliable? What if our expectations are confounded? What if we let go of those assumptions and expectations? What if we let go of our familiar, habitual ways of thinking? What if we let go of the very need to know? Unknowing is at the centre of spiritual life. It is only by creating a space in which anything can happen that we allow God to speak; only by stepping back that we allow space for that unpredictable Spirit that brings us gifts beyond any of our imaginings... "God dwells only where man steps back to give him room."
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Print length
74 pages
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Jennifer Kavanagh gave up her career as a literary agent to work in the community. She is a microcredit practitioner, facilitates conflict resolution workshops and is active in the Quaker community. She has published six books of non-fiction. In 2015 John Hunt will publish A Little Book of Unknowing, and her first novel The Emancipation of B. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B00TT5VXSU
Publisher : Christian Alternative (March 27, 2015)
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Jennifer Kavanagh
Jennifer Kavanagh worked in publishing for nearly thirty years, the last fourteen as an independent literary agent. In the past fifteen years she has run a community centre in London's East End, worked with street homeless people and refugees, and set up microcredit programmes in London, and in Africa. She has also worked as a research associate for the Prison Reform Trust and currently facilitates workshops for conflict resolution both in prison and in the community.
Jennifer contributes regularly to the Quaker press, and is an associate tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker study centre. She is a Churchill Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of a community of fools.
She has written nine books of non-fiction on the Spirit-led life, and two novels, most recently (in 2019) "The Silence Diaries", and "Practical Mystics: Quaker Faith in Action" .
Balancing an active life with a pull towards contemplation is a continuing and fruitful challenge. As she writes, “Life in the world is about a series of balances: of the life within and the outside world; inner experience and outward witness, plenitude and the void”.
"Jennifer is one of the most interesting writers of our generation on spirituality." Derek A. Collins, London Centre for Spirituality.
www.jenniferkavanagh.co.uk
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5 out of 5
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Bridget A. Balsamo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on July 11, 2016
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Excellent book
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Jack Call
5.0 out of 5 stars Leave the poor ego alone, but a great book anywayReviewed in the United States on May 29, 2017
Some of the statements Kavanagh makes in this book strike me as wise as wise can be. But mixed in with them are ones that I believe take us down the wrong path.
First, the wise part. It is a book of unknowing in that it celebrates the deep background of one's existence that always eludes one's intellectual grasp. It is not a matter of willfully remaining ignorant through laziness or a superstitious fear of finding out that reality doesn't conform to one's wishes. Instead, what Kavanagh recommends is an openness to being guided by what is not under one's control. She writes about "seeming coincidences which are glimpses of an existing connection, hitherto unnoticed," and states, "The more open we are, the more these seem to appear." (p. 27) She illustrates this way of living with anecdotes from her own life and quotations from the writings of others, and shows how this openness to being guided by what is not under one's control is the same thing as creativity, improvisation, waiting for clarity, and obedience to the will of God. She writes, "With the world inside us as our guide, we have moments of choice: to betray our true self or to say 'yes'." (p. 29)
The unwise part begins to creep in when she starts talking about the ego: "Obedience to that process means trust, is the very meaning of 'faith', the surrender of ambitions, plans, decisions made by the ego and the urge to control." This kind of language is familiar to me from the writings of Alan Watts, Huston Smith, and others. My problem with it is that it assumes a clear distinction between a good self, "the true self," and a bad self, "the ego"; and I think I am only one self, who is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and complex in many other ways as well. "Ego" just means "I" in Greek and Latin. I don't think it is helpful to castigate a bad "I" who is the one who makes mistakes and does bad things, as if this weren't the same "I" who sometimes understands and does good things. I would ask: Can't we pay attention to synchronicity without necessarily surrendering our ambitions, plans, and decisions? Isn't it better to enjoy an interplay between our plans and synchronicity? To recognize the importance of what we can control as well as the importance of what is beyond our control? I suspect that Kavanagh would answer, "Yes, yes, of course," but what came across to me in reading the book was too much of a recommendation of an unhealthy self-abnegation. Near the beginning of the book she wrote, ". . . [T]he unforeseen may contain riches that go beyond what in our habitual ways of thinking and in our workaday lives we are capable of imagining." But then a little later she wrote, 'In our action in the world, if we act from that state of ego-free emptiness we will transform the manner of our working. If we work for others, we will know to expect nothing in return." And I thought, "Well, which is it? Are we to find riches beyond our imagining, or nothing? If everybody followed the advice of her second statement, we should expect no one to enjoy the fruits of helping or of being helped by someone else. Consider those who wanted to be healed by Jesus. Were they wrong to want this? Were they ego-driven? Should they have wanted only that others should be healed? If you don't love yourself, then loving your neighbor as yourself equals not loving your neighbor.
I think there are two types of mysticism. One is expressed in Hinduism and Buddhism, and in some forms of Christian and Islamic mysticism. It is the longing for one's own annihilation in the belief that this is necessary in order to be one with God, or, in the case of Buddhism, to be in the bliss of nirvana. The other is the mysticism of Paul the Apostle, and perhaps of Jesus himself, in which one hopes that God will be all in all in a way that fulfills rather than wipes out individual selves, which each have life everlasting in God. The contrast of being ego-driven versus being ego-free goes with the first. The contrast between success in this life and this world versus the success of everlasting life goes with the second. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor. 15:19) My advice to readers is to read A Little Book of Unknowing with this second contrast in mind in order to appreciate the wisdom and beauty of this book. Mentally substitute "this worldly" for "ego-driven" and the like, and "faith in life everlasting" for "being free of the ego" and the like.
But back to the wisdom of this book. There is so much to remind one of the deepest, most important truth, which is, in the words of Julian of Norwich, whom Kavanagh quotes, that "all shall be well. All manner of things shall be well." Despite my criticism of the "ego vs. non-ego" talk, reading this book made me feel more patient, more accepting, calmer and less anxious. Dip into it almost anywhere and you will find excellent advice about how to live in tune with the Spirit. "There is no planning; we are asked to arrive fresh at every moment and respond to whatever happens." (p. 36) "Silence is a way towards God." (p. 38) "It was only when I heard the definition of prayer as 'attention' that it began to have meaning for me." (p. 40) "We do well to remember that being led by the spirit depends not so much upon God, who is always there to lead us, as upon our willingness to be led." (p. 50) I have stated my criticism. I also highly recommend this book.
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simon
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvellous.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2016
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Not as wonderful as meeting and chatting with Jennifer in person, but pretty impressive all the same. She continues in her books to nourish both the spirit and the ever inquisitive mind with ease and panache. So many of the insights ring true. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Grace
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely little book. Being in the unknown is ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2018
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A lovely little book. Being in the unknown is somewhere most of us don't want to be. Jennifer helps you to see the unknown as a place of possibilities and growth.
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Anna
5.0 out of 5 stars IlluminanteReviewed in Italy on October 19, 2019
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Davvero bello offre degli spunti sull'argomento a cui non avevo mai pensato
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Ann Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading and benefiting from its WisdomReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2016
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Jennifer Kavanagh has produced a gem here and I am very glad I purchased it. Anyone interested in the contemplative lifestyle would find this helpful.
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valerie scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2015
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It is the sort of book to refer to regularly, keep it by my bed.
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A Little Book of Unknowing Kindle Edition
by Jennifer Kavanagh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
Kindle
from $3.99Read with Our Free App
Paperback
$7.53
What if the facts on which we base our lives are shown to be unreliable? What if our expectations are confounded? What if we let go of those assumptions and expectations? What if we let go of our familiar, habitual ways of thinking? What if we let go of the very need to know? Unknowing is at the centre of spiritual life. It is only by creating a space in which anything can happen that we allow God to speak; only by stepping back that we allow space for that unpredictable Spirit that brings us gifts beyond any of our imaginings... "God dwells only where man steps back to give him room."
Read more
Print length
74 pages
Language
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Jennifer Kavanagh gave up her career as a literary agent to work in the community. She is a microcredit practitioner, facilitates conflict resolution workshops and is active in the Quaker community. She has published six books of non-fiction. In 2015 John Hunt will publish A Little Book of Unknowing, and her first novel The Emancipation of B. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B00TT5VXSU
Publisher : Christian Alternative (March 27, 2015)
Follow
Jennifer Kavanagh
Jennifer Kavanagh worked in publishing for nearly thirty years, the last fourteen as an independent literary agent. In the past fifteen years she has run a community centre in London's East End, worked with street homeless people and refugees, and set up microcredit programmes in London, and in Africa. She has also worked as a research associate for the Prison Reform Trust and currently facilitates workshops for conflict resolution both in prison and in the community.
Jennifer contributes regularly to the Quaker press, and is an associate tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker study centre. She is a Churchill Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of a community of fools.
She has written nine books of non-fiction on the Spirit-led life, and two novels, most recently (in 2019) "The Silence Diaries", and "Practical Mystics: Quaker Faith in Action" .
Balancing an active life with a pull towards contemplation is a continuing and fruitful challenge. As she writes, “Life in the world is about a series of balances: of the life within and the outside world; inner experience and outward witness, plenitude and the void”.
"Jennifer is one of the most interesting writers of our generation on spirituality." Derek A. Collins, London Centre for Spirituality.
www.jenniferkavanagh.co.uk
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
Bridget A. Balsamo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on July 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
Excellent book
HelpfulReport abuse
Jack Call
5.0 out of 5 stars Leave the poor ego alone, but a great book anywayReviewed in the United States on May 29, 2017
Some of the statements Kavanagh makes in this book strike me as wise as wise can be. But mixed in with them are ones that I believe take us down the wrong path.
First, the wise part. It is a book of unknowing in that it celebrates the deep background of one's existence that always eludes one's intellectual grasp. It is not a matter of willfully remaining ignorant through laziness or a superstitious fear of finding out that reality doesn't conform to one's wishes. Instead, what Kavanagh recommends is an openness to being guided by what is not under one's control. She writes about "seeming coincidences which are glimpses of an existing connection, hitherto unnoticed," and states, "The more open we are, the more these seem to appear." (p. 27) She illustrates this way of living with anecdotes from her own life and quotations from the writings of others, and shows how this openness to being guided by what is not under one's control is the same thing as creativity, improvisation, waiting for clarity, and obedience to the will of God. She writes, "With the world inside us as our guide, we have moments of choice: to betray our true self or to say 'yes'." (p. 29)
The unwise part begins to creep in when she starts talking about the ego: "Obedience to that process means trust, is the very meaning of 'faith', the surrender of ambitions, plans, decisions made by the ego and the urge to control." This kind of language is familiar to me from the writings of Alan Watts, Huston Smith, and others. My problem with it is that it assumes a clear distinction between a good self, "the true self," and a bad self, "the ego"; and I think I am only one self, who is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and complex in many other ways as well. "Ego" just means "I" in Greek and Latin. I don't think it is helpful to castigate a bad "I" who is the one who makes mistakes and does bad things, as if this weren't the same "I" who sometimes understands and does good things. I would ask: Can't we pay attention to synchronicity without necessarily surrendering our ambitions, plans, and decisions? Isn't it better to enjoy an interplay between our plans and synchronicity? To recognize the importance of what we can control as well as the importance of what is beyond our control? I suspect that Kavanagh would answer, "Yes, yes, of course," but what came across to me in reading the book was too much of a recommendation of an unhealthy self-abnegation. Near the beginning of the book she wrote, ". . . [T]he unforeseen may contain riches that go beyond what in our habitual ways of thinking and in our workaday lives we are capable of imagining." But then a little later she wrote, 'In our action in the world, if we act from that state of ego-free emptiness we will transform the manner of our working. If we work for others, we will know to expect nothing in return." And I thought, "Well, which is it? Are we to find riches beyond our imagining, or nothing? If everybody followed the advice of her second statement, we should expect no one to enjoy the fruits of helping or of being helped by someone else. Consider those who wanted to be healed by Jesus. Were they wrong to want this? Were they ego-driven? Should they have wanted only that others should be healed? If you don't love yourself, then loving your neighbor as yourself equals not loving your neighbor.
I think there are two types of mysticism. One is expressed in Hinduism and Buddhism, and in some forms of Christian and Islamic mysticism. It is the longing for one's own annihilation in the belief that this is necessary in order to be one with God, or, in the case of Buddhism, to be in the bliss of nirvana. The other is the mysticism of Paul the Apostle, and perhaps of Jesus himself, in which one hopes that God will be all in all in a way that fulfills rather than wipes out individual selves, which each have life everlasting in God. The contrast of being ego-driven versus being ego-free goes with the first. The contrast between success in this life and this world versus the success of everlasting life goes with the second. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor. 15:19) My advice to readers is to read A Little Book of Unknowing with this second contrast in mind in order to appreciate the wisdom and beauty of this book. Mentally substitute "this worldly" for "ego-driven" and the like, and "faith in life everlasting" for "being free of the ego" and the like.
But back to the wisdom of this book. There is so much to remind one of the deepest, most important truth, which is, in the words of Julian of Norwich, whom Kavanagh quotes, that "all shall be well. All manner of things shall be well." Despite my criticism of the "ego vs. non-ego" talk, reading this book made me feel more patient, more accepting, calmer and less anxious. Dip into it almost anywhere and you will find excellent advice about how to live in tune with the Spirit. "There is no planning; we are asked to arrive fresh at every moment and respond to whatever happens." (p. 36) "Silence is a way towards God." (p. 38) "It was only when I heard the definition of prayer as 'attention' that it began to have meaning for me." (p. 40) "We do well to remember that being led by the spirit depends not so much upon God, who is always there to lead us, as upon our willingness to be led." (p. 50) I have stated my criticism. I also highly recommend this book.
One person found this helpful
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simon
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvellous.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
Not as wonderful as meeting and chatting with Jennifer in person, but pretty impressive all the same. She continues in her books to nourish both the spirit and the ever inquisitive mind with ease and panache. So many of the insights ring true. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Grace
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely little book. Being in the unknown is ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
A lovely little book. Being in the unknown is somewhere most of us don't want to be. Jennifer helps you to see the unknown as a place of possibilities and growth.
Report abuse
Anna
5.0 out of 5 stars IlluminanteReviewed in Italy on October 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
Davvero bello offre degli spunti sull'argomento a cui non avevo mai pensato
Report abuse
Translate review to English
Ann Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading and benefiting from its WisdomReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
Jennifer Kavanagh has produced a gem here and I am very glad I purchased it. Anyone interested in the contemplative lifestyle would find this helpful.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
valerie scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
It is the sort of book to refer to regularly, keep it by my bed.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
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Brian Hull
Feb 10, 2022Brian Hull rated it liked it
Shelves: spirituality-religion-philosophy
2.5 rounded up to 3
flagLike · comment · see review
Maddie
Aug 20, 2019Maddie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: 2019, favourites, gifts, lwf, will-re-visit
Incredible. An instant favourite.
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Dawn
Sep 16, 2016Dawn rated it it was amazing
In this book, Jennifer explores what we really "know" (not much it turns out) and how we can come to terms with uncertainty in our lives. Her view is that we should embrace uncertainty as it can provide opportunities for growth and a deeper spiritual understanding.
As the title suggests, this book is short - it's only 73 pages - and you could probably read it in one sitting if you wanted. But actually, I think it's better to take your time reading it otherwise you might miss out on the points that Jennifer is making (one point being, ironically enough, you sometimes need to wait for the answer to come to you). I certainly think you will get more out of this book if you read it multiple times.
Jennifer writes very much with a faith perspective (specifically, a Quaker one), but that doesn't mean her book doesn't have value for people who don't believe in God/The Divine. As she points out science is a faith to some extent, so even the most confirmed atheist could benefit from reading this book (they could always skip passed the bits when Jennifer references the G word). (less)
