In the Interior Castle, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) outlines seven stages of growth toward union with God–a union that is not so much a state as a way of living into active partnership with God. As we learn to avail ourselves of God, rid ourselves of frivolous or self-defeating habits, and integrate all that life with God offers us, we journey through all that Christianity celebrates about the life of Christ, particularly the mystery of new life found as we move beyond the smallness of self toward the goodness and majesty of God. Using the book, Palace Within: Exploring Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, we will move through the material in the first five dwelling places of Teresa of Avila’s classic mystical text, discovering for ourselves the possibilities that life-with-God opens up for us and for our hurting world. This course will be primarily lecture, with time for reflection on insights gained through the weeks in between class meetings.