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Practical Mysticism
Practical Mysticism is a work by one of the foremost 20th century Christian mystics, Evelyn Underhill. Her book, Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness, is the authoritative text of modern mysticism. This shorter work, Practical Mysticism, is an abridged version of Underhill's theology, and a perfect starting point for immersion into the subject.
Underhill is at her simplest here, yet her language is still poetic and enjoyable to read. She invites the reader to become involved in mysticism ("the art of union with reality"), giving simple examples of how it is relevant to everyday people. Underhill was greatly influenced by mystics such as St. Teresa, Ruysbroeck, St. Augustine, and Thomas a Kempis, and examples from these writers, as well as poets like Keats and Whitman, are sprinkled throughout the book. A fine place to start before diving into her more intense works, Practical Mysticism has captivated generations of readers, and is still the premier text for the introductory study of mysticism.
(Copied from CCEL, which also hosts the downloadable ebook).
Underhill is at her simplest here, yet her language is still poetic and enjoyable to read. She invites the reader to become involved in mysticism ("the art of union with reality"), giving simple examples of how it is relevant to everyday people. Underhill was greatly influenced by mystics such as St. Teresa, Ruysbroeck, St. Augustine, and Thomas a Kempis, and examples from these writers, as well as poets like Keats and Whitman, are sprinkled throughout the book. A fine place to start before diving into her more intense works, Practical Mysticism has captivated generations of readers, and is still the premier text for the introductory study of mysticism.
(Copied from CCEL, which also hosts the downloadable ebook).
74 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
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1387 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Underhill
267 books165 followersEvelyn Underhill was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism.
In the English-speaking world, she was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. No other book of its type—until the appearance in 1946 of Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy—met with success to match that of her best-known work, Mysticism, published in 1911.
Read more:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_U...
The Evelyn Underhill Association
http://www.evelynunderhill.org/
In the English-speaking world, she was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. No other book of its type—until the appearance in 1946 of Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy—met with success to match that of her best-known work, Mysticism, published in 1911.
Read more:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_U...
The Evelyn Underhill Association
http://www.evelynunderhill.org/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
January 8, 2020
When you choose to read a book on an esoteric topic—particularly a topic many find abstruse—you should choose a book written by someone who knows her subject and writes in simple, elegant prose. For example, if you wish to learn a little something about mysticism, you could do no better than read Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill.
Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)—novelist and mystic, poet and pacifist—was born in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Like many who grew up in the Edwardian era, she had a romantic’s interest in the psychic, the mystic, the medieval and the occult. (She was a friend of Arthur Machen, and acquainted with the Order of the Golden Dawn). However, as she became more serious about her spiritual studies, she abandoned her agnosticism for Neoplatonism, and eventually abandoned Neoplatonism for a very Catholic Anglo-Catholicism (if her husband had not strongly disapproved, she might have officially joined the Roman church.)
A person of disciplined habits and mind, she managed to pursue her religious studies, writing, and meditations without neglecting the social and charitable duties of a barrister’s wife. (She believed spirituality should transform everyday life, not replace it). Her classic work Mysticism (1911) was extremely popular and influential, and not only was she was one of the first women to lecture on spirituality at English universities, but she was also the first woman permitted to conduct retreats for the Anglican church.
Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for Normal People (1914) distills the essence of Underhill’s spiritual discoveries and presents them to the everyday reader in a clear and beautiful style.
I will end with a representative sample of that style. Here she uses the image of a tapestry to challenge the notions of “reality” and “fact” in our view of everyday life:
As a tapestry picture, however various and full of meaning, is ultimately reducible to little squares; so the world of common sense is ultimately reducible to a series of static elements conditioned by the machinery of the brain. Subtle curves, swift movement, delicate gradation, that machinery cannot represent. It leaves them out. From the countless suggestions, the tangle of many-coloured wools which the real world presents to you, you snatch one here and there. Of these you weave together those which are the most useful, the most obvious, the most often repeated: which make a tidy and coherent pattern when seen on the right side. Shut up with this symbolic picture, you soon drop into the habit of behaving to it as though it were not a representation but a thing. On it you fix your attention; with it you "unite." Yet, did you look at the wrong side, at the many short ends, the clumsy joins and patches, this simple philosophy might be disturbed. You would be forced to acknowledge the conventional character of the picture you have made so cleverly, the wholesale waste of material involved in the weaving of it: for only a few amongst the wealth of impressions we receive are seized and incorporated into our picture of the world.
June 9, 2011
As someone working on a serious Zen practice it was interesting to read a more Christian take on spiritual practice that was very much was in alignment with Zen. Well written and understandable and certainly inspirational. Be warned though, it is actually lacking on practical advice as to how one practices. Much more a book to confirm ones spiritual suspicions than a guidebook to daily practice.
April 12, 2015
What Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross say in riddles, Evelyn Underhill makes crystal clear.
February 7, 2020
Some people say 'mysticism is a dangerous thing. It begins with mist and ends in schism' (haha)! Evelyn Underhill defuses this myth with this artistically written book addressed to the 'practical man who has lived all his days amongst the illusions of multiplicity'. She calls mysticism 'the Science of Love' - it asks us to stop seeing the world through our egoistic lenses and see it instead as it is. The world in fact for all its parts and diversity points to the Whole, the Real that gives unity to everything. The path of mysticism needs not be as ethereal and mystifying as it sounds to many people. It is a practical skill, to put it simply, of learning to see - a skill that the great theologian Thomas Aquinas reckons proper to all people, if only they get some training!
This is what the book is about. It invites us and tantalizes us with the rudimentary steps of learning to *see*..with our inner eyes/ the eyes of the heart - a spiritual discipline mystics call 'contemplation'. The great obstacles of spiritual perception are 'thoughts, convention and self-interest'. We need to stop asking the instinctive, selfish question 'what's in it for me?' and see things as they really are and adjust ourselves to that reality, which we will discover far transcend the narrow confines of our self-centred, parochial world!
Underhill gently invites us to some basic preparatory exercises of contemplation, training our eyes to see again by taking some simple objects to gaze upon, ceasing all habits of analysing, dissecting, measuring or labelling. As Teresa of Avila taught her disciples, 'I want you to do no more than to look.' That simple exercise when persisted long enough will gradually alter our way of looking at things, ourselves, others and the world around us. She then takes us through the three forms/phases of contemplation - the 'natural, the spiritual and the divine'. In short, they are (a) contemplation of the physical world, (b) inward contemplation in stillness and silence and finally (c) infused contemplation where we let go and God takes over and removes the last vestiges of our pride and self-interest, leading to union.
In the last chapters, she eloquently handles the practical man's greatest resistance: 'what is this all about? is it not another navel-gazing exercise fit for the idle?' No, she contends, the mystical life far from being an escapist exercise, a dreamy pastime, an altered state of consciousness or simply a 'spiritual' experience as an end in itself, is in fact a most practical life-transforming discipline that will overhaul one's vision and unleash our God-given energy for the world! We become what we were meant to be! That is, to become all flame - energised by the vision of the Whole as well as the well-exercised muscles of our will and love, 'nakedly stretched out through long periods of boredom and trials' and directed towards the mending of the broken, the union of the estranged, saving of the lost and the redemption of the world!
While Underhill clearly acknowledges and draws from the common discoveries of the mystical vision and insights in various religions, her contemplative worldview (if i can put it that way) remains firmly rooted in the Christian story that speaks of the telos of our communion with God as well as the renewal of the space-time cosmos for which her life and energy had been generously poured out!
This is what the book is about. It invites us and tantalizes us with the rudimentary steps of learning to *see*..with our inner eyes/ the eyes of the heart - a spiritual discipline mystics call 'contemplation'. The great obstacles of spiritual perception are 'thoughts, convention and self-interest'. We need to stop asking the instinctive, selfish question 'what's in it for me?' and see things as they really are and adjust ourselves to that reality, which we will discover far transcend the narrow confines of our self-centred, parochial world!
Underhill gently invites us to some basic preparatory exercises of contemplation, training our eyes to see again by taking some simple objects to gaze upon, ceasing all habits of analysing, dissecting, measuring or labelling. As Teresa of Avila taught her disciples, 'I want you to do no more than to look.' That simple exercise when persisted long enough will gradually alter our way of looking at things, ourselves, others and the world around us. She then takes us through the three forms/phases of contemplation - the 'natural, the spiritual and the divine'. In short, they are (a) contemplation of the physical world, (b) inward contemplation in stillness and silence and finally (c) infused contemplation where we let go and God takes over and removes the last vestiges of our pride and self-interest, leading to union.
In the last chapters, she eloquently handles the practical man's greatest resistance: 'what is this all about? is it not another navel-gazing exercise fit for the idle?' No, she contends, the mystical life far from being an escapist exercise, a dreamy pastime, an altered state of consciousness or simply a 'spiritual' experience as an end in itself, is in fact a most practical life-transforming discipline that will overhaul one's vision and unleash our God-given energy for the world! We become what we were meant to be! That is, to become all flame - energised by the vision of the Whole as well as the well-exercised muscles of our will and love, 'nakedly stretched out through long periods of boredom and trials' and directed towards the mending of the broken, the union of the estranged, saving of the lost and the redemption of the world!
While Underhill clearly acknowledges and draws from the common discoveries of the mystical vision and insights in various religions, her contemplative worldview (if i can put it that way) remains firmly rooted in the Christian story that speaks of the telos of our communion with God as well as the renewal of the space-time cosmos for which her life and energy had been generously poured out!
August 31, 2024
Just finished reading this book for a class on mysticism in Eastern and Western traditions. I will definitely be writing about this one in the future.
Underhill wrote and published Practical Mysticism during a time of global unrest. Published in 1915, the book was birthed into a world embroiled in the Great War. So, while “mysticism” may seem detached, uninvolved, and otherworldly to some, Underhill certainly does not present it in this way.
A Catholic writer, Underhill surveys many mystics, though primarily samples from Christians. Her discussion of mysticism can be understood best as a critique of capitalist habituation—making people care more about consumption, work, professional development, and status rather than the things that really matter. Material possessions and goal-oriented action remove one’s sight in such a way that one cannot really see the world as it is.
Underhill offers a method for rejecting this worldly attitude and embodying the mystic life. This entails seeing God in the things around oneself (a very sacramental view typical from a Catholic). Then, when one can see God in one’s neighbors, or see God’s love sustaining the existence of even things as small as hazelnuts, one begins to see that God pervades all. And because God pervades all, and because humans are free, humans have a choice to participate in this all-ness or not.
Though she writes from a Catholic perspective, Underhill believes that this capacity is open to everyone, regardless of religion. It is an invitation for people to come together despite their differences, to forsake the superficial distractions and cares that lead to war, and set themselves aside. It could be said that Underhill thinks that the foundational sin of the modern era is thinking oneself to be the center of the universe.
Underhill wrote and published Practical Mysticism during a time of global unrest. Published in 1915, the book was birthed into a world embroiled in the Great War. So, while “mysticism” may seem detached, uninvolved, and otherworldly to some, Underhill certainly does not present it in this way.
A Catholic writer, Underhill surveys many mystics, though primarily samples from Christians. Her discussion of mysticism can be understood best as a critique of capitalist habituation—making people care more about consumption, work, professional development, and status rather than the things that really matter. Material possessions and goal-oriented action remove one’s sight in such a way that one cannot really see the world as it is.
Underhill offers a method for rejecting this worldly attitude and embodying the mystic life. This entails seeing God in the things around oneself (a very sacramental view typical from a Catholic). Then, when one can see God in one’s neighbors, or see God’s love sustaining the existence of even things as small as hazelnuts, one begins to see that God pervades all. And because God pervades all, and because humans are free, humans have a choice to participate in this all-ness or not.
Though she writes from a Catholic perspective, Underhill believes that this capacity is open to everyone, regardless of religion. It is an invitation for people to come together despite their differences, to forsake the superficial distractions and cares that lead to war, and set themselves aside. It could be said that Underhill thinks that the foundational sin of the modern era is thinking oneself to be the center of the universe.
January 8, 2023
On one hand: very flowery language that frequently caused me to zone out. On the other: an author that quotes Walt Whitman, St Francis and Buddhist teachings all with the same reverence. In the 1940's. Clearly this was written for me.
June 1, 2016
Certainly different from the self-help books of the current era that I was expecting, but it was beautifully written and highly motivating all the same.
October 19, 2017
Wonderful book!
This little book needs to be read again and again. It makes clear and accessible many things that many other writers veil in a mist of confusion.
This little book needs to be read again and again. It makes clear and accessible many things that many other writers veil in a mist of confusion.
April 17, 2019
At the outset, Underhill promises a secular insight to practical mysticism. But what even is mysticism? I wasn’t positive picking this book up. I was surprised to find her vision of it bears striking resemblance to the modern and much more successfully secular concept of “mindfulness.” At the outset, she defines the practical aspects of mysticism (to be differentiated from levitation, healing, the parlor bag of magic tricks sometimes associated with the cryptic word) as “a union with reality.” A complete union, with all beauty and horror and everything in between understood as components or expressions of a kind of imperfect perfection - a beautiful puzzle that can not be understood except in moments when one is united with reality.
By the book’s end, her faith seems to overrule her intentions, and god makes a recurring and central presence - though for a book written in England in 1913 by a devout catholic, perhaps no reference to a specific vision of god counted as secular.
Her promise is the only thing which she doesn’t deliver. If faith is a part of your experience, cherish her references to it. If faith does not factor into the equation for you (as it does not for me), there is still an abundance of pleasure to take in her insights and her exceptionally poignant prose. I found myself dog-earring nearly half the pages, so peppered is the text with passages worth revisiting.
It’s short. It’s potent. It’s insightful, and hopeful. It’s worth the read.
By the book’s end, her faith seems to overrule her intentions, and god makes a recurring and central presence - though for a book written in England in 1913 by a devout catholic, perhaps no reference to a specific vision of god counted as secular.
Her promise is the only thing which she doesn’t deliver. If faith is a part of your experience, cherish her references to it. If faith does not factor into the equation for you (as it does not for me), there is still an abundance of pleasure to take in her insights and her exceptionally poignant prose. I found myself dog-earring nearly half the pages, so peppered is the text with passages worth revisiting.
It’s short. It’s potent. It’s insightful, and hopeful. It’s worth the read.
July 20, 2025
This is a condensed version of the author's earlier book, Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. That book was recommended by a friend, but this one was available from the library.
This is a remarkably easy to read introduction to mysticism, a topic I thought I knew something about but, at least as the author defines it, I did not. And how does she define it? "Mysticism is the art of union with Reality". There are clues to the rest of book from this statement (and from that seemingly innocuous word in the title, 'Practical'):
Art? - Like all artists, the Mystic must practice, learn, and grow. There may be some savants that arise fully formed as masters of their art, but most of us hoe a difficult row to achieve mastery. The practical path to artistry in this case is meditation and recollection. Meditation in this sense, at first at least, is the focus upon a subject - more the meditations of philosophers than the fakir on a bed of nails. More pensive thought than no-thought. At first this will be difficult. "Never before has the stream flowed so slowly, or fifteen minutes taken so long to pass." Amen. But eventually, Underhill promises, like calluses forming on the fingers of a beginning guitarist, "as your meditation becomes deeper it will defend you from the perpetual assaults of the outer world." Recollection is "in essence no more and no less than the subjection of the attention to the will."
Reality? - As you can guess from the capitalization in the definition, this is not your everyday reality of the five senses. Anyone who has watched the basketball dribbling video or performed the experiment with the bucket of cold and bucket of hot water knows the senses are not to be trusted. It is the brain that sees and hears, not the eyes and ears so our construct of reality is not the Reality of the mystic - what "the philosopher calls the Absolute and the religious mystic calls God." (There we are with those capital letters again.)
Union? - Chapter by chapter, Underhill takes you on the path to union, by preparation of the self, then to union with "the World of Becoming, the World of Being, and finally with that Ultimate Fact."
The language of the book is remarkably accessible despite being written on the eve of WWI. The ideas are well organized on flow from point to point. Underhill often anticipates the reader's questions, curiosity, and skepticism - ready with the answers. In the last chapter, The Mystical Life, she opens:
"And here the practical man, who has been strangely silent during the last stages of our discourse, shakes himself like a terrier which has achieved dry land again after a bath; and asks once more, with a certain explosive violence, his dear old question, 'What is the use of all this?'"
I had thought this myself: it's all well and good there exists the Blakes and Lord Byrons of the world, but if that were all there were, we'd soon all starve to death.
Underhill answers by likening the journey toward a union with Reality to travel, the acquisition of skill in a sport of field of knowledge. At the very least, 'a deepening and widening of outlook' limited only by the 'perfection of your generosity, courage, and surrender'.
This book is a good place to start that journey.
This is a remarkably easy to read introduction to mysticism, a topic I thought I knew something about but, at least as the author defines it, I did not. And how does she define it? "Mysticism is the art of union with Reality". There are clues to the rest of book from this statement (and from that seemingly innocuous word in the title, 'Practical'):
Art? - Like all artists, the Mystic must practice, learn, and grow. There may be some savants that arise fully formed as masters of their art, but most of us hoe a difficult row to achieve mastery. The practical path to artistry in this case is meditation and recollection. Meditation in this sense, at first at least, is the focus upon a subject - more the meditations of philosophers than the fakir on a bed of nails. More pensive thought than no-thought. At first this will be difficult. "Never before has the stream flowed so slowly, or fifteen minutes taken so long to pass." Amen. But eventually, Underhill promises, like calluses forming on the fingers of a beginning guitarist, "as your meditation becomes deeper it will defend you from the perpetual assaults of the outer world." Recollection is "in essence no more and no less than the subjection of the attention to the will."
Reality? - As you can guess from the capitalization in the definition, this is not your everyday reality of the five senses. Anyone who has watched the basketball dribbling video or performed the experiment with the bucket of cold and bucket of hot water knows the senses are not to be trusted. It is the brain that sees and hears, not the eyes and ears so our construct of reality is not the Reality of the mystic - what "the philosopher calls the Absolute and the religious mystic calls God." (There we are with those capital letters again.)
Union? - Chapter by chapter, Underhill takes you on the path to union, by preparation of the self, then to union with "the World of Becoming, the World of Being, and finally with that Ultimate Fact."
The language of the book is remarkably accessible despite being written on the eve of WWI. The ideas are well organized on flow from point to point. Underhill often anticipates the reader's questions, curiosity, and skepticism - ready with the answers. In the last chapter, The Mystical Life, she opens:
"And here the practical man, who has been strangely silent during the last stages of our discourse, shakes himself like a terrier which has achieved dry land again after a bath; and asks once more, with a certain explosive violence, his dear old question, 'What is the use of all this?'"
I had thought this myself: it's all well and good there exists the Blakes and Lord Byrons of the world, but if that were all there were, we'd soon all starve to death.
Underhill answers by likening the journey toward a union with Reality to travel, the acquisition of skill in a sport of field of knowledge. At the very least, 'a deepening and widening of outlook' limited only by the 'perfection of your generosity, courage, and surrender'.
This book is a good place to start that journey.
September 26, 2024
understood about 20% but that 20% really hit
November 12, 2024
I’ve seen this book referenced constantly so it was time to finally read it for myself!
September 6, 2022
Uno espera al leer este libro un tratado de ascética stricto sensu, pero no ocurre así.
La autora mostró grosso modo cómo es el camino del ascenso espiritual y el modo de realizarlo.
Parte uno de la necesidad de poner atención en un elemento para pasar consiguientemente al segundo paso que es apreciar lo divino en todo. Corona la ascensión el tema de recibir la gracia de sentir a Dios. El estilo desenfadado si bien parece ayudar a la lectura, lo desasosiega a uno porque parece que trató Underhill un tema tan serio con desparpajo, con simpleza. A mi parecer la selección de algunas citas dificultó más la comprensión de las ideas expresadas en este texto. Para un neófito el texto puede resultar intolerable. No lo recomiendo al público en general.
La autora mostró grosso modo cómo es el camino del ascenso espiritual y el modo de realizarlo.
Parte uno de la necesidad de poner atención en un elemento para pasar consiguientemente al segundo paso que es apreciar lo divino en todo. Corona la ascensión el tema de recibir la gracia de sentir a Dios. El estilo desenfadado si bien parece ayudar a la lectura, lo desasosiega a uno porque parece que trató Underhill un tema tan serio con desparpajo, con simpleza. A mi parecer la selección de algunas citas dificultó más la comprensión de las ideas expresadas en este texto. Para un neófito el texto puede resultar intolerable. No lo recomiendo al público en general.
May 11, 2019
A new friend revealed her mystic visions to me and I had to swallow my initial violent rejection of her DMT-fractal-Fibonacci-primalspiral stuff. And then I realized I don't actually know anything about mysticism and modern spiritualism. So this is my introduction. Not a great start though there is some good stuff here about slowing down and being less materialistic, etc. Christian Mysticism in particular seems inherently contradictory. Focusing on the Saints who claimed visions (St Francis of Assisi, St Teresa - patron saint of headaches) Underhill writes about the oneness of everything. Seems to me the nature of morality, the Christian perspective on good and evil (which really is foundational to the belief and can't be extracted from it) cannot coexist with modern Monism. The second half of the book is a condescending guide to mental ascension.
Look, I'm sure there's something to stillness of thought, meditation, and even completely different mental states (the mind is an amazingly weird thing). I'm positive that all this is rewarding and achievable with a bit of work, but for me the rational (λόγος) is where the fun's at.
Look, I'm sure there's something to stillness of thought, meditation, and even completely different mental states (the mind is an amazingly weird thing). I'm positive that all this is rewarding and achievable with a bit of work, but for me the rational (λόγος) is where the fun's at.
July 11, 2017
hard to understand, repetitive
October 9, 2021
I found this book vague and certainly not practical to my walk with Jesus.
July 18, 2022
Mysticism is one of those 'things' that has mystified me, that I regarded as an esoteric way of life for some special few persons who might have the solitary time and interest to ?ponder.
I have been reading about the (Biblical) Epistles of Paul here and there lately. Surprisingly, he was referred to as a mystic. Really? That missionary in the first century C.E. who is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles as an adventurer-- beaten, imprisoned, mocked, beloved nevertheless, and always coming back for more. A mystic?
Underhill's classic 20th century book is titled Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for NORMAL PEOPLE.
I got curious.
I have been captivated by it and also felt it a bit plodding at moments. Yet, very enlightening.
Far from being esoteric, she explains, mysticism has the potential to remake the world of things or at least a little bit of it, 'nearer the heart's desire'.
It shows up anywhere, in any creative pursuit-- in poverty (Francis of Assisi), politics (Catherine of Siena) , sickness (Julian of Norwich)-- and in any ordinary life where there is singleness of purpose toward the unity of all things. The names mentioned here happen to be Christians, but mystics can be from any or no religion, any or no specific career. It is a seeking, touching, tasting of the beautifull and true--wherever found. Rather than an intellectual pursuit, it is "a passionalte outflowing to the universe, always followed by an impulse to creation. . . Each mystic brings "new ways of seeing and hearing...does something to amend the sorry universe of common sense, the more hideous universe of greed, and helps redeem others from servitude to a lower range of significances".
For me, it clarified the meaning of the word 'contemplation'.
Underhill outlines three stages of practicing contemplation. Stages implies a sort of journey for most people. And it reminds me of Teilhard de Chardin's words, that living is a process that we do not direct, but that we participate in with patience, without anxiety, with great trust.
This 'Little Book for Normal People' delivers.
I have been reading about the (Biblical) Epistles of Paul here and there lately. Surprisingly, he was referred to as a mystic. Really? That missionary in the first century C.E. who is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles as an adventurer-- beaten, imprisoned, mocked, beloved nevertheless, and always coming back for more. A mystic?
Underhill's classic 20th century book is titled Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for NORMAL PEOPLE.
I got curious.
I have been captivated by it and also felt it a bit plodding at moments. Yet, very enlightening.
Far from being esoteric, she explains, mysticism has the potential to remake the world of things or at least a little bit of it, 'nearer the heart's desire'.
It shows up anywhere, in any creative pursuit-- in poverty (Francis of Assisi), politics (Catherine of Siena) , sickness (Julian of Norwich)-- and in any ordinary life where there is singleness of purpose toward the unity of all things. The names mentioned here happen to be Christians, but mystics can be from any or no religion, any or no specific career. It is a seeking, touching, tasting of the beautifull and true--wherever found. Rather than an intellectual pursuit, it is "a passionalte outflowing to the universe, always followed by an impulse to creation. . . Each mystic brings "new ways of seeing and hearing...does something to amend the sorry universe of common sense, the more hideous universe of greed, and helps redeem others from servitude to a lower range of significances".
For me, it clarified the meaning of the word 'contemplation'.
Underhill outlines three stages of practicing contemplation. Stages implies a sort of journey for most people. And it reminds me of Teilhard de Chardin's words, that living is a process that we do not direct, but that we participate in with patience, without anxiety, with great trust.
This 'Little Book for Normal People' delivers.
April 9, 2019
This pressed all of my idiosyncratic buttons. Underhill lives up to her title and provides a paean to mysticism that is focused on its practical benefits. Her account is non-sectarian and surprisingly agnostic, full of pungent and striking language celebrating a viewpoint beyond the quotidian. Underhill lays out a structured account of the steps of mystic insight, but concludes that the result of such a vision should be a revitalized engagement with the world and not idle navel-gazing.
Her account is broad enough to encompass both Western and Eastern practices, and I greatly appreciated her non-peremptory approach in noting that the final vision of reality comes in flavors both personal or non-personal. While her account is psychologically attuned, it does not feel reductive, and while it's religiously interested, it does not feel doctrinaire. She is providing a structural account that tries to avoid a narrow reliance on symbolic systems, although she does tend to quote more Christian mystics.
As someone with an inherent tendency for "mystical experiences" but a discomfort with committing to any strong metaphysical or theological positions, I found this approach very reassuring. Even to the scientifically-minded, this book can have value. It provides a guidebook on thinking about transcendent realities, or simply scales of time beyond human lives, that can have a salutary effect on framing our own concerns and distractions. Underhill spoke deeply to my personal experiences of contemplation, and that validation is warmly appreciated. Also, as someone who lives in my head more than the world, I appreciate the kick in the ass that her conclusion provides. If your mystical insight doesn't prod you to make the world a better, more compassionate place, it's probably B.S.
Her account is broad enough to encompass both Western and Eastern practices, and I greatly appreciated her non-peremptory approach in noting that the final vision of reality comes in flavors both personal or non-personal. While her account is psychologically attuned, it does not feel reductive, and while it's religiously interested, it does not feel doctrinaire. She is providing a structural account that tries to avoid a narrow reliance on symbolic systems, although she does tend to quote more Christian mystics.
As someone with an inherent tendency for "mystical experiences" but a discomfort with committing to any strong metaphysical or theological positions, I found this approach very reassuring. Even to the scientifically-minded, this book can have value. It provides a guidebook on thinking about transcendent realities, or simply scales of time beyond human lives, that can have a salutary effect on framing our own concerns and distractions. Underhill spoke deeply to my personal experiences of contemplation, and that validation is warmly appreciated. Also, as someone who lives in my head more than the world, I appreciate the kick in the ass that her conclusion provides. If your mystical insight doesn't prod you to make the world a better, more compassionate place, it's probably B.S.
November 11, 2024
Underhill writes beautiful, lucid prose that tries to make mysticism practical, in the sense of there being concrete reasons for doing it and clear practices. The author argues that the so-called practical person who has no interest in spirituality or mysticism is in fact not practical at all, for they are lost in their thoughts and have no clear direction in life, like an eddy in a stream. The mystic is the real practical person, for their perception of reality grows, such that they see conventional reality more clearly and can intuitively know the reality beyond the five senses.
The suggested spiritual progression mirrors Zen (the spiritual tradition I am most familiar with), in the sense of it starting from knowing the relative (seeing things as they are), to the absolute (seeing the emptiness of all things), to transcendence of all dualities (in Christianity this would be communion with God, and in Zen complete, perfect enlightenment).
The book evokes the early 20th century where the Parliament of the World's Religions had recently started and theosophy was popular. For this reason, there was not a single mention of Christ and at least once mention of brahma - in a Christian book! But part of the point is that this book is non-sectarian, though its language is still Western/Christian e.g. the use of the word "soul" and "God".
To me, the book seems to ultimately argue for a bodhisattvahood where one hones ones spiritual capacity in order to be of service to the world. The point is not to shy away from or scorn the world, nor get stuck in a blissful trance state.
The book is short and I am sure will be fleshed out by Underhill's other writings. Probably a good read for all mystics.
The suggested spiritual progression mirrors Zen (the spiritual tradition I am most familiar with), in the sense of it starting from knowing the relative (seeing things as they are), to the absolute (seeing the emptiness of all things), to transcendence of all dualities (in Christianity this would be communion with God, and in Zen complete, perfect enlightenment).
The book evokes the early 20th century where the Parliament of the World's Religions had recently started and theosophy was popular. For this reason, there was not a single mention of Christ and at least once mention of brahma - in a Christian book! But part of the point is that this book is non-sectarian, though its language is still Western/Christian e.g. the use of the word "soul" and "God".
To me, the book seems to ultimately argue for a bodhisattvahood where one hones ones spiritual capacity in order to be of service to the world. The point is not to shy away from or scorn the world, nor get stuck in a blissful trance state.
The book is short and I am sure will be fleshed out by Underhill's other writings. Probably a good read for all mystics.
July 25, 2017
This book - with its great subtitle: 'A Little Book for Normal People' - came out in 1914, and is an introductory guide condensing Underhill's vast knowledge in the field of mysticism.
There are a lot of profound moments expressed in language that sparks, mixed in with a reasonable amount I just wasn't sure about. Rooted in the Christian faith, Underhill's methodology is to pull together the commonalities of various mystical traditions (from across various religions) and describe a path to experiencing the divine or 'Reality'.
Underhill sets out a three-stage progression along a spiritual pathway, developing human awareness, and examines what this might mean in normal life (hence the title). She's writing in the context of the beginning of WW1, and is conscious of this, even addressing (in the introduction) what contemplation and mysticism might mean in the midst of the hell of war.
Amongst the profound moments, she describes "the double movement of Transcendent Love, drawing inwards to unity and fruition, and rushing out again to creative acts". I was struck by that, recognising words that pretty accurately encapsulate (I realised) a decent chunk of what it is that I'd like my life to be about and for - they could almost be a motto for what I most desire. This doesn't mean I need to embrace her methodology in total, but it does suggest (at least) that she might be on to something.
There are a lot of profound moments expressed in language that sparks, mixed in with a reasonable amount I just wasn't sure about. Rooted in the Christian faith, Underhill's methodology is to pull together the commonalities of various mystical traditions (from across various religions) and describe a path to experiencing the divine or 'Reality'.
Underhill sets out a three-stage progression along a spiritual pathway, developing human awareness, and examines what this might mean in normal life (hence the title). She's writing in the context of the beginning of WW1, and is conscious of this, even addressing (in the introduction) what contemplation and mysticism might mean in the midst of the hell of war.
Amongst the profound moments, she describes "the double movement of Transcendent Love, drawing inwards to unity and fruition, and rushing out again to creative acts". I was struck by that, recognising words that pretty accurately encapsulate (I realised) a decent chunk of what it is that I'd like my life to be about and for - they could almost be a motto for what I most desire. This doesn't mean I need to embrace her methodology in total, but it does suggest (at least) that she might be on to something.
May 17, 2025
A very slow-paced and dense read, not easy to get through, and definitely not something I could rush. I found myself up terms and rereading sections just to stay engaged with the material. That said, the book offers a deep and structured look into the path of mysticism, which I appreciated.
If you’ve read other occult or mystical texts, you might recognize familiar concepts here, but this book explores them in a much more profound and layered way. The first 60% was genuinely insightful, with a sense of progression and inner unfolding that kept me curious. But after that point, I felt the content became quite repetitive, to the point where I ended up scanning or skipping through large sections.
Overall, while it was heavier than my usual taste and at times felt like a mental workout, it gave me a clearer and more complete understanding of mystical practice, especially certain points like the union other books often only skim the surface of. It’s a worthwhile read if you’re ready for something slow, contemplative, and willing to meet you at the depth you’re willing to go. Which if you let it will be very deep.
If you’ve read other occult or mystical texts, you might recognize familiar concepts here, but this book explores them in a much more profound and layered way. The first 60% was genuinely insightful, with a sense of progression and inner unfolding that kept me curious. But after that point, I felt the content became quite repetitive, to the point where I ended up scanning or skipping through large sections.
Overall, while it was heavier than my usual taste and at times felt like a mental workout, it gave me a clearer and more complete understanding of mystical practice, especially certain points like the union other books often only skim the surface of. It’s a worthwhile read if you’re ready for something slow, contemplative, and willing to meet you at the depth you’re willing to go. Which if you let it will be very deep.
June 5, 2020
Listened to the public domain recording made available via LibriVox (4.5 hours).
Really great stuff here. I’m a big fan of the way Hill states the purpose of the book so clearly up front, and never strays from it. The evidence of success for a book like this is the depth which it draws from the mothers and fathers of mysticism, and Hill succeeds in spades. She manages to make plain sense of some of the impenetrable and broad St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avalia, and Cloud of Unknowing quotes.
For me, the gold standard of practical (and introductory) mysticism is Thomas Merton’s Seeds of Contemplation, but this is still really great.
Really great stuff here. I’m a big fan of the way Hill states the purpose of the book so clearly up front, and never strays from it. The evidence of success for a book like this is the depth which it draws from the mothers and fathers of mysticism, and Hill succeeds in spades. She manages to make plain sense of some of the impenetrable and broad St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avalia, and Cloud of Unknowing quotes.
For me, the gold standard of practical (and introductory) mysticism is Thomas Merton’s Seeds of Contemplation, but this is still really great.
September 5, 2021
There are a lot of good take-aways in this book and it was a worthwhile read. A good example is her quotation of Dionysius the Areopagite, "If anyone saw God and understood what he saw, then it was not God that he saw, but something that belongs to Him." She is very good at recognizing that spirituality is not spirituality that does not carry itself forward into physical daily life. I felt she was not as clear as I would have liked in describing a methodology (one needs to read Cynthia Bourgeault or Thomas Keating or Brother Lawrence for a better understanding of practicalities). I did prefer the book of hers that I read prior to this one, "The Life of the Spirit and the Life of Today."
November 3, 2017
Evelyn Underhill is poetic and earnest in her description of the mystic life. She contends that man naturally has both the ability and the need to reach beyond the world of our sight and experience the greater Reality. Her descriptions of five stages of the mystic life are simple - but by no means are these five easy steps.
A pleasurable read for anyone interested in mysticism, especially Christian mysticism. Not academically dense, but perhaps not always immediately clear in its poetry-like descriptions (as is often the case with mystic writings).
A pleasurable read for anyone interested in mysticism, especially Christian mysticism. Not academically dense, but perhaps not always immediately clear in its poetry-like descriptions (as is often the case with mystic writings).
August 28, 2019
I tried to absorb this material, but I may not be ready for it yet. After a while I was finishing it just to finish it rather than quit.
The value to me is a glimpse into the possibilities of mysticism, an awareness of the experiences of others which I have not experienced. I may never experience them, but it's good to know I can come back here if I start to long for guidance to another to level of connection with "the Real."
In the meanwhile, I am on my own spiritual journey and discovering my own path to be blessed.
The value to me is a glimpse into the possibilities of mysticism, an awareness of the experiences of others which I have not experienced. I may never experience them, but it's good to know I can come back here if I start to long for guidance to another to level of connection with "the Real."
In the meanwhile, I am on my own spiritual journey and discovering my own path to be blessed.
November 8, 2023
Another book I've read for research purposes, along with one of the author's novels (The Grey World). Evelyn Underhill addresses the contrast and commonality of Reality and the unknown. This book was published at the turn of the twentieth century, and I found, at times, the meaning was buried in the use of language, but there are gems here that I found useful for my research. The novel, The Grey World, seemed better at explaining the philosophies she writes of in this book. The novel was more "show," and this book is more "tell."
June 7, 2023
I found this a challenging read. There’s lots of good stuff which requires further thought and a real challenge to change your life and viewpoint. I’m not sure it succeeds in its aim to be “a little book for ordinary people “ rather it’s a book that requires work. I’m glad I read it but I suspect that if I hadn’t been doing it for my spiritual book group I might have got bogged down and not finished it.
October 9, 2024
4.5 A reread of a "primer" that Evelyn Underhill intended as an introduction for the general population to the methods and practice of contemplative prayer or mysticism, including a final chapter justifying its many benefits. Herself an Anglican mystic from the turn of the last century, she is well celebrated for her many works on the subject. I love her wit and the formal language of the period; the latter may be off-putting to some. (Today we are more apt to refer to the subject as contemplative prayer, mysticism having some exotic overtones.) Much easier to read than the 500-page classic, Mysticism.
April 13, 2019
I enjoyed this much more than I expected. It is a timely and interesting response to the mechanization of the human being within modernism. It argues for a tighter relationship to nature that is still valid to this day.
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