A little book for normal people

"Evelyn Underhill's unique gift was to demythologise mysticism, claiming that the spiritual life was open to anyone". ANGELA TILBY, PRODUCER, BBC RELIGIOUS TELEVISION

Practical Mysticism, asserts the author, is written for "the average man. I presuppose in my readers no knowledge whatsoever of the subject ... I have merely attempted to suggest the practical conditions under which ordinary people may participate in the experience of the traditional mystics. The abnormal states of consciousness which sometimes appear in connection with mystical genius are not discussed ... This is a little book for normal people."

Mysticism is the art of union with God. Evelyn Underhill teaches us how to obtain that union through contemplation (seeing with the inner eye in detachment from the outer visible world) and through peeling away conventions and self-interest so as to more clearly see God. The various stages of this quest are described, along with the required self-discipline.