Meister Eckhart

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. The eye in which I see God is the eye in which God sees me.

   Eckhart's most famous sentence says seeing God and being seen by God are one act. Knowing and being known meet in the same place. Look with attention and you will find yourself looked upon with love.

   Sermon 96 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924

2. God is nearer to me than I am to myself.

   We often picture God as far away and ourselves as close at hand. Eckhart reverses it. You do not have to travel to find what is already nearer than your own breath.

   Sermon 69 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924

3. God is always ready. We are the ones who are not.

   The delay is rarely on God's side. The door is open; we are busy elsewhere. Get ready, and you will find you are expected.

   Sermon 69 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924

4. God is at home. We are the strangers.

   God lives in the inner rooms of the soul, and we wander outside them. The fix is not to search harder but to come home. Spend some time each day inside yourself, where it is quiet.

   Sermon 69 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924

5. Go out of yourself for God, and God will go out of himself for you.

   Eckhart calls this letting go of self, not losing it. When you empty yourself of ego, there is room for something greater to fill it. Give up your grip and you receive far more than you let go.

   Sermon 12 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924

6. Let God be God in you.

   Much of our struggle is trying to be in charge of everything. Eckhart asks a simple question: what would it cost to step aside? Make room, and let the greater thing work.

   Sermon 12 (Pfeiffer numbering), C. de B. Evans, 1924