Radio Respite: Megan Don

Megan Don is the author of Meditations with Teresa of Avila. She is a spiritual counselor and teacher of “The Pathway of the Mystic.” She leads pilgrimages to Avila, Spain and other sacred sites in Europe. Megan devotes herself to awakening the mystic within humanity and teaches an embodied spirituality that honors all traditions. Saint Teresa Avila had the unique ability to blend a rich mystical inner life with the practical skills required for everyday living and creating. Despite her status in the spiritual community, she often struggled with self-doubt, fear, and lack of validation by others. Through sheer perseverance, she became a living example of what it means to simultaneously be one with God, self, and the outer world. In Meditations with Teresa of Avila (New World Library, March 10, ,2011) Megan Don translates the writings of this beloved spiritual figure and makes the topic of her life and work readily accessible to a contemporary audience. An intellectual as well as a mystic, Saint Teresa of Avila was a woman ahead of her time. Born in 1515, she entered the Carmelite Monastery at age 20 and ultimately reformed the way the monastery and order operated. Her inspiring, direct connection to God combined with her practical work in the secular world has made her revered and loved by women and men of many religious backgrounds. Saint Teresa’s writings described the soul as a clear crystal castle with many rooms, or dwellings, to be entered as one seeks the inner mansion, the dwelling place of God. The seven dwellings are: Awakening; Return; Self-Knowledge; Interior Recollection; Surrender; Betrothal; and Sacred Marriage. Meditations with Teresa of Avila explores each of these seven dwellings and presents several lessons with guided meditations for each one.