Preface This little book, written during the last months of peace, goes to press in the first weeks of the great war. Many will feel that in such a time of conflict and horror, when only the most ignorant, disloyal, or apathetic can hope for quietness of mind, a book which deals with that which is called the "contemplative" attitude to existence is wholly out of place. So obvious, indeed, is this point of view, that I had at first thought of postponing its publication. On the one hand, it seems as though the dreams of a spiritual renaissance, which promised so fairly but a little time ago,...

J AN VAN Ruysbroeck-three of whose most important works are here for the first time presented to English readers-is the greatest of the Flemish mystics, and must take high rank in any list of Christian contemplatives and saints. He was born in I273, at the little village of Ruysbroeck or Ruysbroeck between Brussels and Hal, from which he takes his name; and spent his whole life within his native province of Brabant. At eleven years old, he is said to have run away from home and found his way to Brussels where he was received by his uncle Jan Hinckaert, a canon of the Cathedral of 5t Gudule....

This little book, written during the last months of peace, goes to press in the first weeks of the great war. Many will feel that in such a time of conflict and horror, when only the most ignorant, disloyal, or apathetic can hope for quietness of mind, a book which deals with that which is called the "contemplative" attitude to existence is wholly out of place. So obvious, indeed, is this point of view, that I had at first thought of postponing its publication. On the one hand, it seems as though the dreams of a spiritual renaissance, which promised so fairly but a little time ago, had...

Thank you for checking out this book by Theophania Publishing. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon. We have thousands of titles available, and we invite you to search for us by name, contact us via our website, or download our most recent catalogues. THE little family of mystical treatises which is known to students as "the Cloud of Unknowing group," deserves more attention than it has hitherto received from English lovers of mysticism: for it represents the first expression in our own tongue of that great mystic tradition of the Christian Neoplatonists which...

2015 Reprint of 1916 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Kabir's poems give off a marvelous radiant intensity." - The New York Times Book Review. A weaver by trade and a mystic by nature, the 15-century poet Kabir created timeless works of enlightenment that combine the philosophies of Sufism, Hinduism, and the Kabbala. Expressed in imagery drawn from common life and the universal experience, Kabir's poems possess an appealing simplicity. This collection of 100 songs reflects nearly every aspect of the mystic's thought and...

2015 Reprint of 1934 Printing. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this little book, which is based upon the principal articles of the Nicene Creed, Underhill to suggested to the modern Christian how close the connection is between the great doctrines of his religion and that "inner life" which is too often regarded as a more spiritual alternative to orthodoxy: how rich and splendid is the Christian account of reality, and how much food it has to offer to the contemplative soul. These meditations were originally presented at a...

A CHRISTIAN CLASSIC
Scholars date the anonymous authorship of The Cloud of Unknowing to 1375, during the height of European monasticism. We have now, as they had then, a deep longing to connect with our Creator. The Cloud of Unknowing documents techniques used by the medieval monastic community where prayer and meditation were essential elements in growing in faith and in the knowledge of God. Written as an instructive book for young men joining the monastic order, the work is instructive, but not somber. The work embraces the reader with a humorous, yet tender, call...

Underhill sets out her belief thatspiritual lifeis part ofhuman natureand as such is available to everyhuman being.Underhill's practicalmysticismissecularrather thanreligious, since "it is a natural human activity." In the following paragraph, Underhill defines the meaning of the phrase "Practical Mysticism" Therefore it is to a practical mysticism that the practical man is here invited: to a training of his latent faculties, a bracing and brightening of his languid consciousness, an emancipation from the fetters of appearance, a turning of his attention to new levels of the world. Thus he...