"The ‘way’ Eckhart proposes, so far as he does so at all, follows the apophatic route of classical Christian contemplation favoured in the Order of Preachers during his formative years and as taught by his close contemporary St Gregory of Palamas in the East and practitioners of the via negativa in the West such as Richard of St Victor. What Eckhart in fact teaches is that the silent repose of contemplation, the polar opposite of ecstatic rapture, is the ‘place of rest’ where one encounters the divine Presence in the ground of the soul.

“The elements of spirituality Eckhart would have learned as a young friar are reflected in this passage from the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas, which Eckhart would have known well: ‘Contemplation is the soul’s clear and free dwelling on the object of its gaze; meditation is the survey of the mind while occupied in searching for the truth; and cogitation is the mind’s glance, which is prone to wander.”

Woods, Richard. Meister Eckhart: Master of Mystics. New York: Continuum, 2011, p. 100