The Making Of A Mystic

This is a passionate book about a gifted woman. It is written from a psychological viewpoint using the developmental point of view of a number of contemporary developmental psychologists, both men and women. It is a critique of contemporary American shallowness and is an apologia for a feminist ethic and a feminist sense of prayer in a world dominated by competition, abstraction, and unthinking labor.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) achieved international fame with the publication of her book Mysticism in 1911. Continuously in print since its original publication, Mysticism remains Underhill's most famous work, but in the course of her long career she published nearly forty books, including three novels and three volumes of poetry, as well as numerous poems in periodicals. She was the religion editor for Spectator, a friend of T. S. Eliot (her influence is visible in his last masterpiece, Four Quartets), and the first woman invited to lecture on theology at Oxford University. Her interest in religion extended beyond her Anglican upbringing to embrace the world's religions and their common spirituality. In time for the centennial celebration of her classic Mysticism, this volume of Underhill's letters will enable readers and researchers to follow her as she reconciled her beliefs with her daily life. The letters reveal her personal and theological development and clarify the relationships that influenced her life and work. Hardly aloof, she enjoyed the interests, mirth, and compassion of close friendships. Drawing from collections previously unknown to scholars, The Making of a Mystic shows the range of Evelyn Underhill's mind and interests as well as the immense network of her correspondents, including Sir James Frazier and Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore. This substantial selection of Underhill's correspondence demonstrates an exceptional scope, beginning with her earliest letters from boarding school to her mother and extending to a letter written to T. S. Eliot from what was to be her deathbed in London in 1941 as the London Blitz raged around her.

This brief, accessibly written volume introduces key figures, texts, and themes of the mystical tradition and shows how and why the mystics can speak to the church today. Jason Baxter, an expert educator and storyteller, explains that the mystical tradition offers a more robust understanding of God than our current shallow conceptions. Featuring engagement with primary sources and suitable for use in a variety of courses, this book argues that the mystics have much to say to contemporary Christians searching for authentic modes of spirituality.

Excerpt from The Making of a Mystic In the Lent terms of the years 1915, 1916, and 1917, I delivered courses of Lectures at Cambridge, on "Spiritual Exercises and their Psychological Results"; "The Development of the Religious Consciousness in East and West"; and "The Practice of Mysticism." These lectures, which were given in the Psychological lecture room, were purely academic. They brought me into contact, however, with a number of people whose interest in mysticism, and in the spiritual experience and methods of meditation of saints of all religions, was not merely that of the scholar. I found myself being constantly asked for advice by men and women who wished to become pilgrims on the mystic way, and who felt the need for intense religious experience, without having any opportunity for practising the austerities of the contemplative life. I myself, as I had better confess quite frankly, am a mystic, in so far as I find the world of spiritual experience more real than the material world, and look on our union with God as the aim of humanity. And though I agree with Dr. Rendel Harris that, "those people who talk of undertaking the guidance of souls are both dangerous and impertinent," I could not avoid giving these seekers after truth such help as was within my power, which was little enough, of course. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

When he loses his son and his wife in childbirth James is totally bereft. An introduction to a hermit gradually changes his life irrevocably. Although the Hermit turns out to be a Roman Catholic, James finds he can completely identify with his profound spirituality, precisely because it is so scriptural and drawn from the same Christian Masters who had originally inspired him.

When Life Cried Out is a courageous woman's amazing adventure as she surrendered to the Spiritual to discover what life and self-love are all about. As you journey with the author through fearful agoraphobia experiences, profound metaphysical escapades, and mystical revelations, the adventure turns prophetic as it touches the heart of the reader. The story not only speaks to the heart of spiritual seekers, but also insightful passages remain within the soul of the reader long after the book has been completed. It is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand life at higher levels.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) achieved international fame in 1911 with the publication of her book, Mysticism, now in its eighteenth edition. In the course of her long career she published nearly forty books, including three novels and two volumes of poetry, as well as numerous poems in periodicals. She was the religion editor for Spectator, a friend of T. S. Eliot (her influence is visible in his last masterpiece, Four Quartets), and the first woman invited to lecture on theology at Oxford University. In time for the centennial celebration of her classic Mysticism, this volume of Underhill's letters will enable readers and researchers to follow her as she reconciled her beliefs with her daily life. The letters reveal her personal and theological development and clarify the relationships that influenced her life and work. Drawing from collections previously unknown to scholars, this volume demonstrates an exceptional range and scope, including Underhill's earliest letters from boarding school to her mother, correspondence with Nobel prize laureate Rabindinrath Tagore and Sir James Frazier, and a letter written to T. S. Eliot from what was to be her deathbed in London in 1941 as the London Blitz blazed around her.