---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contemplation, as it has come to be…"
description: "\"“Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the Christian tradition, is a return to the paradisiacal state of union with God, which brings to fu..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg"
---

#  Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the…

![“Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the Christian tradition, is a return to the paradisiacal state of union with God, which brings to fulfillment the redemptive act of Christ. It is the beginning of a level of consciousness, beyond ordinary consciousness, in which one begins to…” quote by William Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg)

> ““Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the Christian tradition, is a return to the paradisiacal state of union with God, which brings to fulfillment the redemptive act of Christ. It is the beginning of a level of consciousness, beyond ordinary consciousness, in which one begins to experience the reality of new life, of risen life. It is an experience of union with God and a realization of our oneness with our brothers and sisters.””

[William Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shannon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes Christian contemplative practice as returning to a divine union, achieving higher consciousness and a sense of new, risen life shared with all.

**In simple terms:** Contemplation leads to divine union and higher consciousness.

Key Takeaway

Seek deeper spiritual connection.

Themes

spirituality contemplation union

Mood

reflective reverent

Type

Brothers and sisters:0 Contemplation:1 Meditation:0 New life:0 Philosophy of Mind:0 Contemplation Come:0 Ordinary Consciousness:0 Risen Life:0 Consciousness Ordinary:0

When to use this quote

- personal prayer
- group meditation
- spiritual retreats

Key Concepts

theology mindfulness transcendence

Questions to Reflect On

- What does union with the divine mean to you?
- How can contemplative practice affect daily life?

A Different Perspective

Interpretations of contemplation vary across traditions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Consciousness Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-ordinary-3107345/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Contemplation Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation-come-714914/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [New life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-life/) [Ordinary Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-consciousness-1743995/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Risen Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risen-life-2588147/)

## Related quotes

> [“This renewed a contemplation which often had come to my thoughts in former time, when first I began to see the merciful dispositions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/this-renewed-a-contemplation-which-often-had-come-to-my-thoughts-in/)

[Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/)

> [“The spiritual life (adhyatma-jivana), the religious life (dharma-jivana) and the ordinary human life of which morality is a part are three quite different things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/the-spiritual-life-adhyatma-jivana-the-religious-life-dharma-jivana/)

[Śrī Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/)

> [“To cast off the delusive way of ordinary consciousness while sitting on a cushion in a quiet room is only the beginning. The student…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katsuki-sekida/to-cast-off-the-delusive-way-of-ordinary-consciousness-while-sitting/)

[Katsuki Sekida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katsuki-sekida/)

> [God deliver me from people who are so spiritual that they want to turn everything into perfect contemplation, come what may.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/god-deliver-me-from-people-who-are-so-spiritual-that-they-want-to/)

[Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/)

> [Our justification hinges on a risen life, present in us now because Christ is present with us now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-f-m-zahl/our-justification-hinges-on-a-risen-life-present-in-us-now-because/)

[Paul F. M. Zahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-m-zahl/)

> [“The gospel news is of an all-or-nothing venture undertaken by our blessing God. He pursued us all the way into the far country of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-dawson/the-gospel-news-is-of-an-all-or-nothing-venture-undertaken-by-our/)

[Gerrit Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-dawson/)

> [Your God still walks in Eden, between the ancient trees, Where Youth and Love go wading through pools of primroses. And this is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-noyes/your-god-still-walks-in-eden-between-the-ancient-trees-where-youth/)

[Alfred Noyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-noyes/)

> [“The need of theory is supported by the eros of the philosopher. It is not the expression of his will to conquer nature. Therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-meier/the-need-of-theory-is-supported-by-the-eros-of-the-philosopher-it-is/)

[Heinrich Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-meier/)

> [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

> [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

> [Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly. He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He's an outcast, but has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/mr-peabody-is-this-genetic-anomaly-he-does-have-brothers-and-sisters/)

[Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/)

[Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/)

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

## More Brothers and sisters quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/)

[Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/)

> [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly. He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He's an outcast, but has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/mr-peabody-is-this-genetic-anomaly-he-does-have-brothers-and-sisters/)

[Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/)

> [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

> [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

> [How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-p-johnson/how-many-years-has-it-taken-people-to-realize-that-we-are-all/)

[Marsha P. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/)

> [I have 10 brothers and sisters. My mother raised us because my father died when I was 8.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-10-brothers-and-sisters-my-mother-raised-us-because-my-father/)

[Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/)

> [We have forgotten to be our brothers and sisters keepers. And we have forgotten that the Number 1 goal is to love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/we-have-forgotten-to-be-our-brothers-and-sisters-keepers-and-we-have/)

[Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/)

> [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/)

[Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/)

> [Brothers and sisters, white people will come in to chastise us. But since we are no longer forsaken, and are the people of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/brothers-and-sisters-white-people-will-come-in-to-chastise-us-but/)

[Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/)

> [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [With a basic understanding of all humans as brothers and sisters, we can appreciate the usefulness of different systems and ideologies that can accommodate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/with-a-basic-understanding-of-all-humans-as-brothers-and-sisters-we/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [God helping me, I will help my brothers and sisters in Christ, because they are my brothers and sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/god-helping-me-i-will-help-my-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ-because/)

[Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/)

[Browse all 956 Brothers and sisters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the Christian tradition, is a return to the paradisiacal state of union with God, which brings to fulfillment the redemptive act of Christ. It is the beginning of a level of consciousness, beyond ordinary consciousness, in which one begins to experience the reality of new life, of risen life. It is an experience of union with God and a realization of our oneness with our brothers and sisters.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Shannon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shannon/contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-understood-in-the-christian/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Brothers and sisters"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shannon/contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-understood-in-the-christian/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/william-shannon-287210_brothers-and-sisters_contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-under_2752020.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Contemplation, as it has come to be understood in the Christian tradition, is a return to the paradisiacal…” — William Shannon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "William Shannon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shannon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Contemplation, as it has come to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shannon/contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-understood-in-the-christian/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shannon/contemplation-as-it-has-come-to-be-understood-in-the-christian/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
