20| Prayer, Mystics + the Dark Night of the Soul | Spiritual Development VI

This episode focuses on Union with God, and some history on those who have sought it and wrote about it. What do we experience in our heart, body, and mind when we're experiencing God's love and feeling united with Him? Here's an article on mushashi proteins and how the brain chooses to actively forget something: https://www.popsci.com/article/forgetting-actively-controlled-process-brain Mystics, in the history of the Catholic church, saw the value of experience in relationship with God. -Periphery -Julian of Norwich -Revelation of Divine Love 1395 https://catholicstrength.com/?s=st+teresa+mansions St. Teresa of Avila -Mansions 1-3 correspond to the purgative stage of the journey (turning from sin to virtue); -Mansions 4-5 correspond to the illuminative stage of the journey (entering into supernatural prayer); -Mansions 6-7 correspond to the unitive stage of the journey (spiritual betrothal and marriage). Additionally, mansions 1-3 correspond to the active part of the journey, where the soul is conscious of its own effort, supported by grace, to overcome sin and draw closer to God, whereas mansions 4-7 correspond to the passive part of the journey, where the soul becomes aware that God is acting upon it. (Reference: Mary E. Giles, 161; and as explained by Saint Teresa herself) Discussing our own attempts to daily prayer, the struggles, the anger that can come up when we pray.