Amazon Book Reviews 4

Practical Mysticism
by Evelyn Underhill
Edition: Paperback
Price: $9.90

Availability: In Stock


Mysticism for Everyone!, August 2, 2009


Some people say 'mysticism is a dangerous thing. It begins with mist and ends in schism' (haha)! Evelyn Underhill diffuses this myth with this artistically written book addressed to the 'practical man who has lived all his days amongst the illusions of multiplicity'. She calls mysticism 'the Science of Love' - it asks us to stop seeing the world through our egoistic lenses and see it instead as it is. The world in fact for all its parts and diversity points to the Whole, the Real that gives unity to everything. The path of mysticism needs not be as ethereal and mystifying as it sounds to many people. It is a practical skill, to put it simply, of learning to see - a skill that the great theologian Thomas Aquinas reckons that is proper to all people, if only they get some training!

This is what the book is about. It invites us and tantalizes us with the rudimentary steps of learning to see..with our inner eyes/ the eyes of the heart.. a spiritual discipline mystics call 'contemplation'. The great obstacles of spiritual perception are 'thoughts, convention and self-interest'. We need to stop asking the instinctive, selfish question 'what's in it for me?' and see things as they really are and adjust ourselves to that reality, which we will discover far transcend the narrow confines of our self-centred, parochial world!

Underhill gently invites us to some basic preparatory exercises of contemplation, training our eyes to see again by taking some simple objects to gaze upon, ceasing all habits of analysing, dissecting, measuring or labelling. As Teresa of Avila taught her disciples, 'I want you to do no more than to look.' That simple exercise when persisted long enough will gradually alter our way of looking at things, ourselves, others and the world around us. She then takes us through the three forms/phases of contemplation - the 'natural, the spiritual and the divine'. In short, they are (a) contemplation of the physical world, (b) inward contemplation in stillness and silence and finally (c) infused contemplation where we let go and God takes over and removes the last vestiges of our pride and self-interest, leading to union.

In the last chapters, she eloquently handles the practical man's greatest resistance: 'what is this all about? is it not another navel-gazing exercise fit for the idle?' No, she contends, the mystical life far from being an escapist exercise, a dreamy pastime, an altered state of consciousness or simply a 'spiritual' experience as an end in itself, is in fact a most practical life-transforming discipline that will overhaul one's vision and unleash our God-given energy for the world! We become what we were meant to be! That is, to become a consuming fire - energised by the vision of the Whole as well as the well-exercised muscles of our will and love, 'nakedly stretched out through long periods of boredom and trials' and directed towards the mending of the broken, the union of the estranged, saving of the lost and the redemption of the world!

While Underhill clearly acknowledges and draws from the common discoveries of the mystical vision and insights in various religions, her contemplative worldview (if i can put it that way) remains firmly rooted in the Christian story that speaks of the telos of our communion with God as well as the renewal of the space-time cosmos for which her life and energy had been generously poured out! Comment | Permalink


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Spiritual Combat: How to Win Your Spiritual Battles and Attain Peace
by Lorenzo Scupoli
Edition: Paperback
Price: $10.85

Availability: In Stock
35 used & new from $4.99


a no-holds-barred manual of spiritual warfare, August 2, 2009


Like most spiritual classics, this book is best read slowly and in small portions at a time and then repeatedly over a substantial period of time. I tried reading it at first in one sitting and nearly got bowled over with spiritual indigestion! It is aptly described as a manual which methodically lays out strategic steps and guidelines for battling temptations and casting out one's inner demons. There are three main ideas:

1. Distrust yourself
2. Trust God
3. Various methods of overcoming temptations and winning spiritual battles.

This book confronts the deceitfulness of our fallen human nature and the endless justifications we are capable of generating to cover up our faults. Like a powerful microscope, it searches out our hidden faults and calls us to cultivate humility and trust God to change us. He organizes his materials under several spiritual exercises such as prayer, celebrating the Eucharist, governing our hearts, persevering through trials, yielding to God and cultivating inner peace.

Some counsels are so radical I think they are suited for 'spiritual commandos'. I nibble at the hem of this book's wisdom and hope to master the basics. The effects have been immensely humbling. It is no wonder that St Francis de Sales kept it with him for so many years. It is the sort of book that is so deep in wisdom and practical in scope one needs a lifetime to runminate over it and let it turn us right side up. Comment | Permalink