Saint Teresa of Avila as an Interspiritual Mystic

<p>Teresa of Avila&rsquo;s &lsquo;epic life&rsquo; inspired George Elliot&rsquo;s book Middlemarch, and even Florence Nightingale described Teresa as &lsquo;the most active of the mystics&rsquo;. Teresa was a Spanish Carmelite Nun, who reformed the Discalced Carmelite Orders for stricter observance. &lsquo;Discalced&rsquo; means &lsquo;Barefooted&rsquo; &mdash; hence, no shoes for vows of poverty. However, it is lesser known that Teresa of Avila was born of first generation Jewish &lsquo;Conversos&rsquo; in Southern Andalucian Spain which was strongly influenced by both Jewish Mystical Kabbalah as well as Sufi Islamic Mysticism, after centuries of Islamic Rule. Therefore, Teresa&rsquo;s spirituality and mysticism has been argued by academic scholars, Green &amp; Swetleiki, to be not just Christian but indeed a blend of Christian, Islamic-Sufism and Jewish Kabbalah.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/interfaith-now/saint-teresa-of-avila-as-an-interspiritual-mystic-d0330ead9ad8"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>