What can we learn from a medieval hermit about how to live? A surprising amount perhaps. Julian of Norwich is the author of the oldest surviving book by a woman in English – her Revelations of Divine Love provides a fascinating guide to what it means to be well despite experiencing suffering.

Hannah Lucas is a scholar of Julian’s work, among other medieval contemplative literature. She explores the entanglement of illness and insight in her recent book Impossible Recovery: Julian of Norwich and the Phenomenology of Well-Being, including what Julian meant by saying “all shall be well” and “we are all one in love”.

Our conversation considers some parallels between Christian mystics and Indian traditions – particularly yoga, which Hannah also teaches. One dimension of this involves facing the world as it is instead of wishing it were otherwise, which has broad implications for everyday life, as we discuss.

See here for an introductory blog about Hannah’s book. She is the Newby Trust Research Fellow in English at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. From October, she will be an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow based at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the Technical University Berlin.

🙋‍♂️ To explore the evolution of yogic traditions, join me for The Path of Knowledge.

🧘‍♀️ I’m also running a retreat that draws on highlights from the course (Sep 25-28).

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