The 85th anniversary of the death of Evelyn Underhill passed this week without much fanfare, which she would have disliked anyway. “Quiet,” in fact, might be the best single word to summarize her message to the world, although the word “less” is also a strong contender. She insisted in particular on less noise, less (spiritual or material) activity, less ego claims: a lesson which the Western industrialized world of her time needed badly, and we still do.
I regard Evelyn Underhill as a precursor of Matthew Fox’s spiritual theology, even though she might seem at first rather focused on the I-God relationship, which Fox denounced as “acosmic” — i.e., leaving out nature and the universe — and thus very problematic. Moreover, she belonged to the English upper class, with the resulting trappings, which may not make her immediately palatable to some of our readers.
However, the following are my reasons, which hopefully will send some of you to the (re)discovery of her writings:
- She made “mysticism” sound like a good word, after centuries of bad reputation; her 1911 ground-breaking study entitled Mysticism was followed by many more titles intended for a general audience, such as Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for Normal People;
- She democratized mysticism, maintaining that everybody is a mystic in principle and asserting that the mystic life is not about special efforts;
- She insisted that the experience of God is primary, theologizing about God is secondary, and the institutional Church is a kind of tertiary reality, although she welcomed all these dimensions in her life (she found in Anglicanism a less dogmatic home than Roman Catholicism);
- She looked at Jesus as a mystic, and at early Christianity as a mystic movement, which helped her to be very relaxed in her relationships with Christians of different stripes, as well as with mystics of other religions, which she quotes copiously;
- She was socially engaged, experimenting both with Christian socialism and Christian pacifism; she never used her own mystical experiences as an excuse to stay out of the fray, yet she always maintained that deep social change is possible only through the spreading of mystical consciousness.
I am especially struck by her famous quote: “Mysticism is the art of union with Reality.” Usually — quite correctly — this phrase is interpreted to mean that, for Evelyn, thinking and talking about God and spirituality is a phase which must be overcome in favor of the direct experience of the divine.
But this quote can also be seen as a statement about the fundamental sanity of true mysticism, including its psychological aspects. People who have developed their innate mystical capacities do not need to believe in ideologies of any kind, or in the projections concocted by their own minds. They are completely free to know the world and its divine Source, without judgments of any sort. No more condemnation of oneself and others. No more anxiety about achievements or pleasures. Simply union.
Evelyn knew special moments of bliss. In her private diaries, she confessed the experience of being plunged into an Ocean of Love… swallowed up — breathless… melting into the Supreme… She speaks also of formless joy and darkening enlargement, which are remarkably deep expressions of mystical union.
Yet for the most part, her mysticism was about everyday life. Both achievements and pleasures — to be clear — are to be honored in this life, but they do not take the central stage, as the ego recedes and the true Self — now using Jungian terminology — grows and expands.
The Union with Reality is an art, because one must toil at it and be creative with it. One must, in the first place, aspire to be free from the many traps of one’s own mind and social circumstances. One must also believe that such a union is possible in the course of one’s earthly life, which is the same as believing that one can, in fact, become whole. And then one must work at it with quiet determination, walking the tight rope of putting in all your efforts and never expecting your efforts by themselves to bring you anywhere.
There is no general path; each of us must find our own. Evelyn Underhill’s main counsel is to proceed slowly but steadily, fixing the mind and the heart on the presence of Eternity in our earthly life:
Do not entertain the notion that you ought to advance in your prayer… All real progress in spiritual things comes gently, imperceptibly, and is the work of God… Remember that the only growth that matters happens without our knowledge, and to try to stretch our souls is both dangerous and silly. Think of the Infinite Goodness, never of your own state.
References to Evelyn Underhill’s mystical experiences quoted from Robin Wrigley-Carr, The Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill.
Banner Image: A Zen-like photo of a place for contemplation at Gethsemani Abbey. Photo by Tabitha Kaylee Hawk on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
What do you make of Underhill’s definition of mysticism as “union with reality”?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic Warrior for Our Time
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
6 thoughts on “Evelyn Underhill: a quiet revolutionary”
Thank you Gianluigi for honoring Evelyn Underhill’s views on mysticism.
My initial reservation when I read that “the mystic life is not about special efforts” was relieved when I read, later on, that “the Union with Reality is an art, because one must toil at it and be creative with it” and further: “One must work at it with quiet determination.” Then came the final word about that “work”: “All real progress in spiritual things comes gently, imperceptibly, and is the work of God.”
Indeed, at least as I see it, “special efforts” are needed to overcome the ego’s reluctance to “let go and let God work.” Prayer and meditation are among such efforts.
As far as defining mysticism as “union with reality,” to the ambiguous and much debated concept of “reality” I prefer Graf Dürckheim’s definition of mysticism as a journey towards the “Center of Being,” the unmapped journey about which Antonio Machado wrote “Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar,” “traveler, there is no path, the path is made by walking.” Walking requires efforts, “get up and walk” is a call to work, an invitation to the labor of being born (again).
Thank you for your meditation on Evelyn Underhill. Monday was the day we membered her. I travelled to north London to try and find her grave. From the directions I was given I must of been close but didnt find it. But it was a cool restful and still graveyard. So sitting there on such a lovely day I felt close to the mystery she wrote of. I will go again.
A quest: could the Daily Meditations be made audible for those who are blind to listen to?
This is a very good question which I hope the technical members of the team will be able to answer.
Thank you Gianluigi for honoring Evelyn Underhill and the Mystic in All of Us, including All physical/nonphysical spiritual dimensions and beings. The mystics experience, remind, and inspire Us to be aware/conscious of our own unique human and Divine ONENESS with SOURCE~LOVE within and among Us in All ongoing Beautiful Co-Creation in the Sacred Process of the Eternal Present Moment… Being & Becoming….
“Union with reality”
It’s a very special “reality” — an intensely SUPER-Reality, that “Mystical Experiences” connect with/become.
And the Mystical Experience that Jesus hinted at, “on top of the mountain,” is even beyond all others. It is a Mystical Experience that transcends ALL the other types of perception. It is BOTH Cosmic AND FAR BEYOND Cosmic. It is BOTH intimately personal and FAR BEYOND personal, BOTH Communal and beyond Communal, Both With-All of-Earth and beyond All-Earthly, both of-God and beyond-God (as we think of Him/Her). It is also, in a second Transcendent Revelation that’s variously described, Beyond “Jesus” (the person) and becomes, intimately, a merging with “Christ” (however you wish to name Him/Her).
It is radical.
It is Universal (it happens in other major religions, but is described somewhat differently, depending on their religious/cultural beliefs).
And it is almost forgotten in the Christian West. It is THE original, underlying reason for a belief in ONE GOD — but you’d never know that.
AND it is so typical that Evelyn’s grave remains somewhat hidden, her death forgotten.
Women mystics tend to be erased rather easily.