Evelyn Underhill's 1914 short companion to her larger Mysticism (1911), aimed at lay readers with no monastic vocation and no mystical pretensions. Across ten chapters she sketches a contemplative path organised around recollection, purgation, illumination and union — the classical via mystica reframed for ordinary working life.
The book was finished as the First World War broke out; her preface acknowledges the catastrophe and argues that contemplation matters more, not less, in such a moment. One of the central English-language introductions to contemplative Christian practice for the laity, it has been continuously in print for over a century and has influenced figures as different as T. S. Eliot, Charles Williams, Aldous Huxley, and Thomas Merton.
Mysticism is the art of union with Reality. The mystic is a person who has attained that union in greater or less degree; or who aims at and believes in such attainment.
Chapter I, "What is Mysticism?"
First lines
This little book, written during the last months of peace, goes to press in the first weeks of the great war. I had not thought, when I began it, to issue it at this time; and I have altered nothing in order to bring it into relation with our new circumstances.
Contents
Preface
I. What is Mysticism?
II. The World of Reality
III. The Preparation of the Mystic
IV. Meditation and Recollection
V. Self-Adjustment
VI. Love and Will
VII. The First Form of Contemplation
VIII. The Second Form of Contemplation
IX. The Third Form of Contemplation
X. The Mystical Life
Reception
One of the central English-language introductions to contemplative Christian practice for the laity, continuously in print for over a century and influential on figures as different as T. S. Eliot, Charles Williams, Aldous Huxley and Thomas Merton. Underhill's larger Mysticism remains the scholarly reference; Practical Mysticism is the gateway that has actually been read. Recent scholarship (Greene, Cropper) has placed her in the Anglo-Catholic revival and noted her decisive turn from Roman Catholic to Anglican identity. Critics in academic mysticism studies have argued her schema is more Bergsonian and Catholic than the cross-traditional 'mystical experience' label suggests; that argument has not weakened the book's usefulness for its actual readers.
Frequently asked
What is Practical Mysticism about?
It is Evelyn Underhill's guide to the contemplative path for ordinary lay readers — those with no monastic vocation and no mystical pretensions. Across ten chapters she outlines the classical via mystica (recollection, purgation, illumination, union) reframed for everyday working life. The preface, written as the First World War began, argues that contemplation is more necessary in crisis, not less.
How does Practical Mysticism relate to Underhill's larger book Mysticism?
Mysticism (1911) is the full scholarly treatment — over 500 pages examining the history and psychology of Christian mystical experience. Practical Mysticism is the shorter companion, distilling the same framework into a readable guide for non-specialists. In practice, Practical Mysticism is the book that has been continuously read; Mysticism is the academic reference.
Is Practical Mysticism specifically Christian?
Underhill draws almost entirely from Western Christian contemplative sources — Teresa of Ávila, Julian of Norwich, Thomas à Kempis, Meister Eckhart. Her framework (via mystica) is Catholic-derived, though she was Anglican. Academic critics have argued the book is less cross-traditional than its secular framing implies; in practice, readers from various backgrounds have found it useful as a gateway to contemplative practice.