I’m writing this blog post the morning after returning home from a lovely weekend where I was the guest presenter at Minnesota Contemplative Outreach’s fall retreat. We spent our time together reflecting on my book Eternal Heart: the Mystical Path to a Joyful Life.
So many retreats that I lead are structured around the writings of one of the great mystics of the past, such as Julian of Norwich, Thomas Merton, or the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. It’s a bit humbling when I’m asked to speak about my own writing. But it’s also an honor, so when I’m asked to talk about one of my books, I’m glad to do so.
In one of this past weekend’s retreat conferences, I spoke a little about my creative process. I suppose you would call me a “right brained” writer, which means I approach my work intuitively rather than systematically. I don’t write in a linear fashion; rather, I develop a concept (in this case, a book about the spiritual gifts of the heart), and then sketch out the key themes and main ideas that I want to cover, before finally getting down to the task of writing (and revising) the book.
Eternal Heart has ten chapters. The first chapter is actually “Chapter 0” and the final chapter is “Chapter ∞” so the numbering is a bit unconventional, to say the least. But this unusual sequence actually fits some of the ideas about emptiness, eternity, and infinity that inform the key ideas of this book.
A slight digression: writing about mysticism is challenging! By its definition, mysticism concerns the mystery of God, in relationship with the mystery of being human, and such “mysteries” can best be expressed by silence, not by words. So writing about mysticism is a fools’ errand. Nevertheless, following the New Testament idea that we are called to be fools for Christ’s sake, I’ve learned to embrace my own inner harlequin and so I love to write about this impossible topic.
Anyway, back to the weekend retreat: in describing the writing process, I shared with the group the ten original themes or ideas that I structured the chapters around. I mentioned how, in the writing process, sometimes themes like this can evolve or even be subtly hidden in the final work. Nevertheless, these were the ideas that guided me as I wrote Eternal Heart. After the retreat, the leaders of Minnesota Contemplative Outreach asked me if I could share these themes with their community, and so that’s the purpose of this post.
Here, then, are the themes of each chapter of Eternal Heart:
| 0 | Infinity | Do you want a happier, more joyful life? Within your heart you have been given all that you need. |
| 1 | Passage | The path to joy is in your heart. So what are you waiting for — get on the path! |
| 2 | Silence | Silence is the matrix of possibility. Imagine the possibilities… |
| 3 | Discernment | The very Mind of God is encoded in your heart. Celebrate what this means for you. |
| 4 | Renewal | No one (and no heart) is perfect. Yours will make mistakes. Acknowledge when you need renewal, and accept the gift of new life. |
| 5 | Wisdom | Be patient with your own imperfections and your slow process of growth and healing. Let yourself be transformed. |
| 6 | Love | Calibrate your life to the Divine Love that has already been poured into you. Receive it and give it. |
| 7 | Eternity | You have all the time in the world. So take your time. This is the initiation into joy. |
| 8 | Joy | Know that you are always and already one with God. This is the fullness of joy. |
| ∞ | Courage | Now what? The future is yours to imagine — and create. Hope, trust, and be courageous. |
So when you read the book, look for these themes. Some of them are easier to spot than others. Think of this like an Easter Egg Hunt, or even “Find Waldo Now” — only the “Waldos” are ideas that I hope can bless you as you continue to respond to the amazing gift of Divine Presence and Love: in your heart, and in your life.
