Notes and further reading

This book is a personal theological and philosophical reflection, not a claim that meditation or prayer has been scientifically demonstrated to establish communication with God.

• The discussion of contemplative attention draws particularly from Simone Weil’s Waiting for God, including her essay Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God.
• The distinction between intellectual understanding and contemplative love is also explored in The Cloud of Unknowing, Chapter 6.
• For scientific context, see the 2025 American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guideline on blood pressure and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health’s review of meditation research.

These sources support the historical and scientific context of this book. The Godward Way, its account of the soul, and its interpretation of receiving divine love remain philosophical and theological propositions.