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dmorris95's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I am afraid that I can't say that I really liked this because I am not sure that I fully understand all that Underhill is trying to tell me. She is trying to make the practical "man" understand why mysticism is something that he should strive for. I believe that there are aspects of mysticism that I should apply to my life, but I am not sure that reading this book of Underhill's has made these any easier for me to comprehend. I am pretty sure this is not Eveylyn Underhill's fault, but all my own.
The major problem, for me, is that I just haven't given contemplation the time it deserves. One can't achieve proficiency in a practice if time is not given to actually doing that practice. I am willing to sit - for about three minutes. Anyone interested in contemplative prayer knows that isn't even a beginning.
Until I give prayer the time I need, this is all theory. All I can do is keep trying.
The major problem, for me, is that I just haven't given contemplation the time it deserves. One can't achieve proficiency in a practice if time is not given to actually doing that practice. I am willing to sit - for about three minutes. Anyone interested in contemplative prayer knows that isn't even a beginning.
Until I give prayer the time I need, this is all theory. All I can do is keep trying.
kryptik's review against another edition
4.0
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.
ajlewis2's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
There were several places in this short book where the author puts into words my own experiences in meditation. Much of her wording took time for me to understand, but when she described experiences, it was clear as a bell for me. The book seems to be more of an enticement rather than a how-to. At the end I also found great encouragement for the struggle I have had with ups and downs in the actual practice of meditation. The author is a person who is speaking from the heart of her own experience.
tomtas_anneli's review against another edition
3.0
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.
michaelromeo's review against another edition
The Ebook version I had was too poorly formatted to juggle. I'll have to get it in another format.
pattydsf's review
3.0
I am afraid that I can't say that I really liked this because I am not sure that I fully understand all that Underhill is trying to tell me. She is trying to make the practical "man" understand why mysticism is something that he should strive for. I believe that there are aspects of mysticism that I should apply to my life, but I am not sure that reading this book of Underhill's has made these any easier for me to comprehend. I am pretty sure this is not Eveylyn Underhill's fault, but all my own.
The major problem, for me, is that I just haven't given contemplation the time it deserves. One can't achieve proficiency in a practice if time is not given to actually doing that practice. I am willing to sit - for about three minutes. Anyone interested in contemplative prayer knows that isn't even a beginning.
Until I give prayer the time I need, this is all theory. All I can do is keep trying.
The major problem, for me, is that I just haven't given contemplation the time it deserves. One can't achieve proficiency in a practice if time is not given to actually doing that practice. I am willing to sit - for about three minutes. Anyone interested in contemplative prayer knows that isn't even a beginning.
Until I give prayer the time I need, this is all theory. All I can do is keep trying.
hilaritas's review
5.0
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.