St Teresa of Avila’s Journey to Unity with Jasper Cooper

St Teresa of Avila is a major figure in the Christian Mystical tradition. With remarkable energy, devotion and dedication, she founded seventeen convents in Spain in the 16th century, revitalised Christian life and shared her teachings in a number of books. Her most powerful legacy is The Interior Castle.

Written with characteristic charm and humble attitude, St Teresa explains the 7 stages of the spiritual journey through the analogy of the soul ‘resembling a castle, formed of a very transparent crystal.’

The Interior Castle inspired our speaker Jasper Cooper to create a painting using St Teresa’s own imagery. The presentation will use her words and Jasper’s painting to present her path to unity, which is realised at the centre of the castle.

Jasper Cooper is married with two grown-up children. In his varied life of work, he has been a tennis player, tennis and squash coach and a school teacher. Today he is an author/illustrator of children’s books and an international tennis player in the over-65 category, ending 2019 ranked no.1 in GB and no.15 in the World.

Underlying his activities is an intense interest in practical philosophy and spirituality. In particular, he has a love for the Vedanta and the Christian Mystics. He’s not an academic scholar but a devoted enthusiast. His zeal for St Teresa and her book The Interior Castle springs from his personal experience in practising Advaita and meditation for 40 years.