September 12 – The Mirror of Awareness
Training in wisdom has to do with purifying the heart and polishing the mirror of awareness. Cynthia Bourgeault
Gregg’s Reflection
The desert fathers often compared the heart to a mirror that must be polished through prayer, humility, and discipline. Evagrius wrote that when the mind is purified from passions, it sees the light of the Trinity. This polishing is the slow work of grace, removing the grime of distraction and ego so that God’s light may shine clearly.
Cynthia Bourgeault speaks of this same reality: our agitation and inner turbulence keep us from reflecting divine presence. Like a storm-tossed lake, our hearts ripple with fear, desire, and self-preoccupation. As the water stills, the surface becomes clear — and we begin to see both into our own depths and into the infinite depths of God.
This image challenges me personally. I know what it feels like to look within and see only murkiness or agitation. Yet even in that clouded mirror, God’s light is waiting. The invitation of psycho-spiritual work is not perfection but clarity — to return again and again to stillness, allowing the mirror of awareness to be polished by grace.
Scripture
In your light we see light.
Psalm 36:9
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
Ancient Quotes
When the intellect is purified, it sees things truly and reflects the light of God.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Centuries on Love 2.36
The one who sees oneself truly is greater than the one who sees angels.
Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies
Modern Quotes
Training in wisdom has to do with purifying the heart and polishing the mirror of awareness.
Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, p. 87–88
The purpose of the divine therapy is the healing of the roots of all our problems… so that we can receive the maximum amount of the transmission of divine life.
Thomas Keating, Invitation to Love, p. 51–52
Journaling Prompts
- How clear is the “mirror” of your awareness today?
- What habits, fears, or distractions cloud your ability to reflect God’s presence?
- Where have you glimpsed moments of inner stillness that reflect divine light?
- What practice might God be inviting you to polish the mirror of your soul?
Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 37 Reflection: Psycho/Spiritual Work