Prayer of the Heart in Christian and Sufi Mysticism

by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Guiding the reader through the stages of mystical prayer—a way to create a living relationship with the Divine within the heart—this book draws upon Christian and Sufi sources such as St. Teresa of Avila, ‘Attâr, St. John of the Cross, and Rûmî. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee describes the stages of prayer: how prayer is first born of need, but then takes one deep within the heart, into the stages of union and ecstasy. Through mystical prayer, one is drawn into the silence of real communion with God. Here, in the silence within the heart, a meeting and merging takes place that carries one beyond the self into the mystery of divine presence. This exploration delves into the secret of how to pray without ceasing, in which prayer becomes alive within the heart, and includes a chapter on the need to pray for the well-being of the Earth. It brings together the Christian and Sufi mystical traditions and will benefit any practitioner of prayer who is drawn to discover a relationship with God within their heart.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Mysticism, Christianity, Philosophy

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee is a Sufi mystic.

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (born 1953, London) is a Sufi mystic and lineage successor in the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order. He is an extensive lecturer and author of several books about Sufism, mysticism, dreamwork and spirituality.

:: History
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee was born in London in 1953. He began following the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi path at the age of 19, after meeting Irina Tweedie, author of Daughter of Fire: A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master. He became Irina Tweedie's successor and a teacher in the Naqshbandiyya Sufi Order. In 1991 he moved to Northern California and founded The Golden Sufi Center to help make available the teachings of this Sufi Lineage (see http://goldensufi.org).

:: Works
Author of several books, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe on Sufism, mysticism, Jungian psychology and dreamwork. He has also specialized in the area of dreamwork, integrating the ancient Sufi approach to dreams with the insights of Jungian psychology. Since 2000 the focus of his writing and teaching has been on spiritual responsibility in our present time of transition, and an awakening global consciousness of oneness. More recently he has written about the feminine, the world soul, the anima mundi, and the emerging field of spiritual ecology (see http://workingwithoneness.org). He has also hosted a number of Sufi conferences bringing together different Sufi orders in North America (see http://suficonference.org).
His initial work from 1990 to 2000, including his first eleven books, was to make the Sufi path more accessible to the Western seeker. The second series of books, starting from the year 2000 with The Signs of God, are focused on a spiritual teachings about oneness and how to bring them into contemporary life, with the final book in this series being Alchemy of Light.
Llewellyn has been featured in two films, One the Movie & Wake Up. He has also been featured in the Tv series Global Spirit and in August 2012, he was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey as a part of her Super Soul Sunday series. He also writes a blog on the Huffington Post.

:: Books
* The Lover and the Serpent: Dreamwork within a Sufi Tradition (1990: out of print)
* The Call and the Echo: Sufi Dreamwork and the Psychology of the Beloved (1992: out of print, reissued in 1998 as Catching the Thread: Sufism, Dreamwork, and Jungian Psychology)
* The Bond of the Beloved: The Mystical Relationship of the Lover and the Beloved (1993)
* In the Company of Friends: Dreamwork within a Sufi Group (1994)
* Travelling the Path of Love: Sayings of Sufi Masters (1995)
* Sufism: The Transformation of the Heart (1995)
* The Paradoxes of Love (1996)
* The Face Before I Was Born: A Spiritual Autobiography (1997, 2nd Edition 2009 with new Introduction and Epilogue)
* Catching the Thread: Sufism, Dreamwork, and Jungian Psychology (1998)
* The Circle of Love (1999)
* Love is a Fire: The Sufi's Mystical Journey Home (2000)
* The Signs of God (2001)
* Working with Oneness (2002)
* Light of Oneness (2004)
* Moshkel Gosha: A Story of Transformation (2005)
* Spiritual Power: How It Works (2005)
* Awakening the World: A Global Dimension to Spiritual Practice (2006)
* Alchemy of Light: Working with the Primal Energies of Life (2007)
* The Return of the Feminine and the World Soul (2009)
* Fragments of a Love Story: Reflections on the Life of a Mystic (2011)
* Prayer of the Heart in Christian and Sufi Mysticism (2012)

Reviews

[Dua Syed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ties together insights on prayer within the Christian and Islamic mystical tradition. I really enjoyed certain chapters: “Prayer and Listening” gave me a completely new perspective on how learning to pray is in fact learning to listen, the Dhikr chapter talks about how you can be in constant remembrance of Allah, tying dhikr to things like breathing and walking, and the chapter on “Praying for the World” beautifully talks about the connection between man and nature - how post-modernity views the natural world as an inanimate machine that needs to be conquered and not a living being itself.

It draws on the ayah calling humans the guardians and representatives of Allah (khalifatullah) on Earth. What a fascinating way to tie Islam to environmentalism!

I like how the book keeps emphasizing that connecting through prayer doesn’t mean you always have to be secluded in worship — perfection isn’t to demonstrate miracles but to participate in daily affairs yet still see the “Face of God” everywhere (Quran 2:115). “The hands at work, the mind and heart with God.”

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on interior prayer. Inspiring!

[Asmae Wahmane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quote : " This prayer is the essence of my being, a covenant of love, a remembrance, a meeting, and a merging. It is a living oneness within me that belongs to every moment of the day and night. This prayer is my practice, an offering of myself, my own most intimate way of being with my Beloved. What else can I do in this world but pray? We are love's prayer. "

[David Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When praying, pray, when eating porridge, eat porridge." - St. Teresa, Interior Castle, trans. Mirabai Starr, Introduction, p.12

[George Charbadze · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone who struggles with prayer, this book provides an incredible perspective and insight. To me it is not a book to be read and set a side - it's a referance guide to deepening my spirituality.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how to rate this book. He lost me a couple of times...I don't think this is a book for the casual spiritual seeker. This man really, REALLY loves God and it seems as though he sort of goes off the deep end a couple of times. Or maybe I am just not "there" enough to understand him completely, which is entirely possible. Overall I really liked his message and I can apply some of what he discusses to my daily life so I gave it 4 stars.

[Paul Rack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it twice in the last month. Short but profound book bringing together Christian and Sufi mysticism through an examination of the "prayer of the heart." Very inspiring and helpful. This book is a blessing.

[Jeff Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book comparing Sufi Mysticism with the Christian idea of the Prayer of the Heart. Lots on my favorite prayer, the Jesus Prayer.

[Terry Lancaser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful and inspiring! A simple yet brilliant exposition concerning the development of the heart and the practice of devotion.