Practical Mysticism - Evelyn Underhill

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Résumé :
A timeless invitation to meditation, contemplation, and the quiet awakening of the soul in everyday life. Practical Mysticism reveals the contemplative life as a living, practical path open to every person. Writing for normal people, Evelyn Underhill presents meditation, recollection, love, and will as genuine stages of inner awakening rather than abstract religious theory. Blending Christian mysticism with clear psychological insight, this timeless guide shows how attention, silence, and contemplation can transform daily life into a deeper awareness of reality. Long cherished by spiritual seekers, it remains one of the simplest and most beautiful introductions to the mystical path. This large print edition offers renewed access to a luminous work of contemplative spirituality, ideal for readers seeking peace, balance, and spiritual depth in everyday life. Excerpt: Therefore it is to a practical mysticism that the practical man is here invited: to a training of his latent faculties, a bracing and brightening of his languid consciousness, an emancipation from the fetters of appearance, a turning of his attention to new levels of the world. Thus he may become aware of the universe that the spiritual artist is always trying to disclose to the race. This amount of mystical perception---this 'ordinary contemplation', as the specialist call it,---is possible to all men: without it, they are not wholly alive. It is a natural human activity, no more involving the great powers and sublime experiences of the mystical saints and philosophers than the ordinary enjoyment of music involves the special creative powers of the great musician....

Sommaire:
Evelyn Underhill was one of the greatest spiritual writers of the twentieth century. For her, true mysticism is, first of all, active and practical, an organic life process in which the whole self is engaged, rather than simply an intellectual apprehension. Underhill's little book on the topic deserves to be read since it is still used in most courses that discuss mysticism and still attracts contemporary spiritual seekers. In this work, she explores meditation, spirituality, mindfulness, recollection, contemplation and mystical life. Begin with Evelyn Underhill a journey of peace today on the path to a better, more balanced life. LARGE PRINT EDITION Excerpt: Therefore it is to a practical mysticism that the practical man is here invited: to a training of his latent faculties, a bracing and brightening of his languid consciousness, an emancipation from the fetters of appearance, a turning of his attention to new levels of the world. Thus he may become aware of the universe that the spiritual artist is always trying to disclose to the race. This amount of mystical perception---this 'ordinary contemplation', as the specialist call it,---is possible to all men: without it, they are not wholly alive. It is a natural human activity, no more involving the great powers and sublime experiences of the mystical saints and philosophers than the ordinary enjoyment of music involves the special creative powers of the great musician. Contents: PREFACE CHAPTER I. WHAT IS MYSTICISM? CHAPTER II. THE WORLD OF REALITY CHAPTER III. THE PREPARATION OF THE MYSTIC CHAPTER IV. MEDITATION AND RECOLLECTION CHAPTER V. SELF-ADJUSTMENT CHAPTER VI. LOVE AND WILL CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST FORM OF CONTEMPLATION CHAPTER VIII. THE SECOND FORM OF CONTEMPLATION CHAPTER IX. THE THIRD FORM OF CONTEMPLATION CHAPTER X. THE MYSTICAL LIFE ...