Meister Eckhart

~1260 Gotha, Germany– ~1328
Path: christian mysticism wikipedia

This page was last revised on 2/21/24.

A man may go into the field and say his prayer and be aware of God, or, he may be in Church and be aware of God; but, if he is more aware of Him because he is in a quiet place, that is his own deficiency and not due to God, Who is alike present in all things and places, and is willing to give Himself everywhere so far as lies in Him.

Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.

God is at home, it's we who have gone out for a walk.

I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.

I am what I wanted and I want what I am.

If I had a friend and loved him because of the benefits which this brought me and because of getting my own way, then it would not be my friend that I loved but myself. I should love my friend on account of his own goodness and virtues and account of all that he is in himself. Only if I love my friend in this way do I love him properly.

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.

Love is as strong as death, as hard as Hell. Death separates the soul from the body, but love separates all things from the soul.

My Lord told me a joke. And seeing Him laugh has done more for me than any scripture I will ever read.

Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.

One must not always think so much about what one should do, but rather what one should be. Our works do not ennoble us; but we must ennoble our works.

Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.

Some people prefer solitude. They say their peace of mind depends on this. Others say they would be better off in church. If you do well, you do well wherever you are. If you fail, you fail wherever you are. Your surroundings don't matter. God is with you everywhere -- in the market place as well as in seclusion or in the church. If you look for nothing but God, nothing or no one can disturb you. God is not distracted by a multitude of things. Nor can we be.

Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love a cow - for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage.

Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.

The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.

The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.

The soul does not grow by addition but by subtraction.

Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.

There’s a place in the soul where you’ve never been wounded.

Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.

We are all meant to be mothers of God...for God is always needing to be born.

When the Soul wants to experience something she throws out an image in front of her and then steps into it.

Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding delight in doing it.