Mysticism

A probing, inspiring exploration of mysticism not as religious practice but as a mode of experience and way of life by one of the most provocative philosophical thinkers of our time. Why mysticism? It has been called "experience in its most intense form," and in his new book the philosopher Simon Critchley poses a simple question to the reader: Wouldn't you like to taste this intensity? Wouldn't you like to be lifted up and out of yourself into a sheer feeling of aliveness, both your life and those of the creatures that surround you? If so, it might be well worthwhile trying to learn what is meant by mysticism and how it can shift, elevate, and deepen the sense of our lives. Mysticism is not primarily a theoretical issue. It's not a question of religious belief but of felt experience and daily practice. A rough and ready definition of mysticism is that it is a way of systematically freeing yourself of your standard habits, your usual fancies and imaginings so as to see what is there and stand with what is there ecstatically . Mysticism is the practical possibility of the achievement of a fluid openness between thought and existence. This is a book about trying to get outside oneself, to lose oneself, while knowing that the self is not something that can ever be fully lost. It is also a book about Julian of Norwich, Anne Carson, Annie Dillard, T.S. Eliot, and Nick Cave. It shows how listening to music can be secular worship. It is a book full of learning, puzzlement, pleasure, and wonder. It opens the door to mysticism not as something unworldly and unimaginable, but as a way of life.

Evelyn Underhill was a brilliant scholar who spent many years researching the history and literature of the mystic way. Her book 'Mysticism' was the result of all this endeavour, and has remained the classic in its field, constantly in print since its first publication in 1911. The book is divided into two parts, the first exploring the relationship of mysticism to such diverse subjects as magic, metaphysics, theology and psychology, while Part Two provides a detailed examination of individual mystical consciousness, covering the soul's steps to Illumination. This pioneering study comes with a comprehensive annotated bibliography, allowing present-day students to find the primary texts described with such clarity in Underhill's seminal work.

A probing, inspiring exploration of mysticism not as religious practice but as a mode of experience and way of life by one of the most provocative philosophical thinkers of our time. Why mysticism? It has been called "experience in its most intense form," and in his new book the philosopher Simon Critchley poses a simple question to the reader: Wouldn't you like to taste this intensity? Wouldn't you like to be lifted up and out of yourself into a sheer feeling of aliveness, both your life and those of the creatures that surround you? If so, it might be well worthwhile trying to learn what is meant by mysticism and how it can shift, elevate, and deepen the sense of our lives. Mysticism is not primarily a theoretical issue. It's not a question of religious belief but of felt experience and daily practice. A rough and ready definition of mysticism is that it is a way of systematically freeing yourself of your standard habits, your usual fancies and imaginings so as to see what is there and stand with what is there ecstatically . Mysticism is the practical possibility of the achievement of a fluid openness between thought and existence. This is a book about trying to get outside oneself, to lose oneself, while knowing that the self is not something that can ever be fully lost. It is also a book about Julian of Norwich, Anne Carson, Annie Dillard, T.S. Eliot, and Nick Cave. It shows how listening to music can be secular worship. It is a book full of learning, puzzlement, pleasure, and wonder. It opens the door to mysticism not as something unworldly and unimaginable, but as a way of life.

Evelyn Underhill was a brilliant scholar who spent many years researching the history and literature of the mystic way. Her book 'Mysticism' was the result of all this endeavour, and has remained the classic in its field, constantly in print since its first publication in 1911. The book is divided into two parts, the first exploring the relationship of mysticism to such diverse subjects as magic, metaphysics, theology and psychology, while Part Two provides a detailed examination of individual mystical consciousness, covering the soul's steps to Illumination. This pioneering study comes with a comprehensive annotated bibliography, allowing present-day students to find the primary texts described with such clarity in Underhill's seminal work.

Classic study by noted authority provides accessible introduction to mysticism and its relation to metaphysics, psychology, theology, magic, and symbolism. Also, detailed study of mystical consciousness: awakening of the self, purification of the self, voices and visions, ecstasy and rapture, dark night of the soul, much more.

Classic study by noted authority provides accessible introduction to mysticism and its relation to metaphysics, psychology, theology, magic, and symbolism. Also, detailed study of mystical consciousness: awakening of the self, purification of the self, voices and visions, ecstasy and rapture, dark night of the soul, much more.