PASSIO

Home
Podcast
Shop
Archive
About

Notes on Poverty, Death & Nothingness: St Paul of the Cross

Not your friendly Instagram mystic
Christian mystics have a curious magnetism in these troubled times. Can we understand them on their own terms?
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
The other side of the fence
Your enemy is God's gift to you: Part 2 — meeting others outside our own social experience
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
Your enemy is God's gift to you
There is a possibility, however slim, that our arguments can lead us to miraculous change.
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
Is poverty the problem — or wealth?
For many centuries, voluntary poverty was the mark of revolutionary movements of all kinds, not just religious orders
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
Breaking the cycle of power
The eccentric St Paul of the Cross, who took peculiar delight in his own “nothingness,” opens a loophole in our embattled political imagination.
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
In praise of nothingness
St Paul of the Cross seems to find a childlike freedom in having nothing to prove.
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
The opposite of positive thinking
For St Paul of the Cross, authentic joy comes from experience and compassion — not internalised storytelling
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
Let's talk about mystical death
What the diaries of a mystic tell us about 'letting go'
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
First, be present with the other
Social and economic context matters. But there's something in being genuinely present first.
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
Ancient mystic morning routine
Sitting with suffering long enough to leave the competitive grind behind
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
How can joy grow out of suffering?
Introducing 'Notes on Death, Poverty and Nothingness' — exploring the writings of St Paul of the Cross.
 • 
The Passio Project
 and 
David Benjamin Blower
© 2025 PASSIO
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture