Further Demystifying Mysticism

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
The Essentials of Mysticism Part 2


As I  look back on the things I have learned over the last few weeks. I am amazed at the personal insight I have gained into my prayer life. Even just looking at last week I have worked out that I can rest in spiritual music and gospel. I can write with the music but I can't pray well, I get  too easily distracted. To prepare for prayer, I prefer silence as a backdrop if possible. I do believe worship is type of prayer, but I get really involved in the music. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not useful for me to meditate. Interestingly I can worship and pray corporately.

I have learned that I really value silence and really enjoyed the resting in God with or without music.

Now for the second part of Evelyn's thoughts:

• Prayer should as rule begin with an intellectual act of deciding what I am going to do.
• Meditation is simply thinking methodically and steadily about spiritual things. I really like this description of meditation because it seems to demystify the process. She states that before we have spoken prayer, we need to meditate which I find quite interesting. It is almost like getting in the prayer zone. Also gets away from shopping list prayer.
• Prayer is not just an intellectual activity. As an old mystic said "it is by love, God may be gotten and beheld; by thought never."
• Prayer begins by thinking of God earnestly to the exclusion of other objects of thought. But where the office of thought finishes, the office of the will and feeling begins. Desire and intention are the most dynamic of our faculties.
• Now intellect and feeling are not entirely in our control. They fluctuate from hour to hour or day to day. Sometimes we are emotionally flat and/or intellectually dull, so it impossible to beat ourselves into some sort fervour.
• She stated that if we were dependent on a constant high level of feeling or understanding , we would be in a dangerous place. This is  releasing statement which means even if I don't get it all the time. Even when this my heart is cold and my wits dull it is still possible to drive toward God with our will, pressing steadily into God. This is a great perspective for me, because I am realising how understanding and emotionally driven I am in my prayer life. Now I am going to try and focus on consistently giving my will to Jesus.  As Evelyn said "Our wills are ours, to make them Thine".

So that is the plan for the week to work on the will. while incorporating the other factors I have learnt. I need to learn to sail up wind, against the wind and the waves