Underhill's book was written at the outbreak of World War I, at a time of "struggle and endurance, practical sacrifices, difficult and long continuous effort" when, she believed, practical mysticism was the activity needed most. Read 56 reviews from the worlds largest community for readers. 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. Thus he may become aware of the universe that the spiritual artist is always trying to disclose to the race. 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. In the following paragraph, Underhill defines the meaning of the phrase "Practical Mysticism": The following discussion consists of the first two chapters of Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for Normal People by Evelyn Underhill, a contemporary. Underhill's practical mysticism is secular rather than religious, since "it is a natural human activity." In this book Underhill sets out her belief that spiritual life is part of human nature and as such is available to every human being. Practical Mysticism is a book written by Evelyn Underhill and first published in 1915.
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