Rhineland mysticism (Eckhart's Gelassenheit, Tauler, Suso)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Henry Suso · 1300 · Rhineland, Germany

What it is

Rhineland (or German Dominican) mysticism names three fourteenth-century Dominican friars and their circle: Eckhart of Hochheim (c. 1260–1328), Johannes Tauler of Strasbourg (c. 1300–1361) and Henry Suso (Heinrich Seuse, c. 1295–1366). Britannica describes Tauler, Eckhart and Suso as the chief…

Format

• The primary texts give no phased programme, session count or format: Eckhart's own teaching resists technique, and Tauler and Suso wrote sermons and devotional books for monastic and lay hearers. No source gives a session count or duration. The framework below has two layers: the developmental…
• Formation in virtue first. SEP notes Eckhart treats the higher detachment as for those already well formed in virtue (Sermon 101), and holds that "the perfection of virtue comes by struggle" (Talks of Instruction n. 9).

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• guilt about cutting back; deterioration despite reduction. Working if: symptoms settle within the client's usual functioning.
• the client hiding experiences out of shame or because they consider them graces. Working if: early reporting and timely adjustment.
• reluctance to disclose for fear of being judged "unorthodox" or "too religious". Working if: the client can name the practice, its meaning and their wishes for therapy.
• "without why" becoming loss of all goals or of self-care; burnout justified as selfless service. Working if: less approval-driven striving, steadier engagement, ordinary tasks less resented.
• the adverse experiences listed in 4.11 (anxiety, depersonalisation, intrusive trauma material, sleep disruption); use of silence to avoid feelings. Working if: client reports more ease, less…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.