The Spiritual Life by Evelyn Underhill

The Spiritual Life Reviews

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  Hesam

  تابلوی شهسوار، مرگ و شیطان اثر دیورر
  
  
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  Ali

  I love Evelyn Underhill. I think she has such a clear way of writing that really cuts to the heart of the matter. I found this book inspirational and helpful to re-orient me in a very basic way to the spiritual life as connection to the life of God rather than just an inner, personal journey. As a chaplain whose primary work is pastoral counseling this is a reminder I really needed.
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  booklady

  Couldn't put it down--read it in 3 days. It was a charming book! Only pocket-sized and 124 pages (double spaced). Found it on my shelves last night (31 Mar 08) and hope to reread it.
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  Richard

  A spiritual classic, readable, understandable and rewarding. One of the great contemplative minds, and this book is an accessible way in.
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  Katy

  Underhill is a great mystic and wonderful writer. If you are looking for an introduction to the spiritual life, this is a good read. You have to keep it in historical context though. This book was written based on broadcasts she did in the 1930s. It was a time when all things spiritual in nature was ruled by men. Wemon were not teachers in the church. Given that linces I think it explains some of the things she writes that didn't jive with me (ie, not concerning yourself with the politics of the world). Don't throw the baby out with the bath water and you will find a great deal of depth and insight in her words.
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  Tamara Murphy

  These transcripts from four of Underhill’s radio broadcasts pack much depth and mystery in concise paragraphs surrounded, aptly, by a lot of white space on each page. This is the perfect book to read and re-read devotionally for those who wish to grow closer to God within the paradox of His mystery and His invitation to intimacy.
  
  Highly recommend!
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  Andrew

  A little book published in 1936 based on four broadcast talks given by Evelyn Underhill on the subject of spirituality, for everyday people. (Other famous Christian publications that were the result of turning broadcast talks into book form include Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, delivered between 1941-44, during WW2.) In her preface (written during Advent, almost exactly 86 years ago, and three years before the War), she recommends the book for use during Lent.
  
  Accessible, with some good stuff. I've been thinking about Tranquility, Gentleness and Strength ever since.
  
  "We mostly spend [our] lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have, and to Do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, on the material, political, social, emotional, intellectual—even on the religious—plane, we are kept in perpetual unrest: forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in, the fundamental verb, to Be: and that Being, not wanting, having and doing, is the essence of a spiritual life."
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  Leah

  4.5 stars.
  
  I really enjoyed this captivating collection of four radio talks about what it takes to lead a spiritual life. Anglican mystic Evelyn Underhill doesn't shy away from the intense truths of what a life of faith and spirituality will require and demand of fallible humans. Reading this during Lent has a different poignancy as well, since the idea of sacrifice is always close by in mind and heart.
  
  I appreciated her bold choice of words (especially in the '30's when she broadcasted these!), her dedication to the practical application of her thoughts, and her usage of quotations from other sage people of faith. Her advice never wavered from the knowledge that God must be at the centre of a spiritual life and I'll be gnawing on those descriptions for a long time.
  
  I'm looking forward to pulling this back out again some time to reflect deeper on these thoughts. I highly recommend this for any wishing to deepen their spiritual life.
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  Clayton Keenon

  This is actually a four star book. It is full of wisdom and insight. I was nourished by it, and I will certainly refer back to it. I’ll probably even quote it in a sermon one day.
  
  And yet, it really bothered me that for being a book about Christian spirituality, she never once mentions Jesus. The Bible is quoted. Christian theologians and mystics are quoted. Titles like God, Reality, and Creative Love are used all over the place, but never the name of Jesus. There is one mention of the cross, but as a way of explaining the sacrificial love of Christian, not of Christ.
  
  Obviously, at the foundation all she said was the person and work of Christ, but I wouldn’t have known that from reading this book. It’s all assumed and implied. I can fill in the gaps, but it was frustrating to read a hundred pages on “the Spiritual Life” and not have Jesus mentioned directly once.
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  Ginger Ciminello

  A powerful tiny little book. I struggled with parts one and four, but parts two and three were a direct hit. Such simple and direct conviction coming from this work.
  
  “Our spiritual life is His affair; because, whatever we may think to the contrary, it is really produced by His steady attraction, and our humble and self-forgetful response to it. It consists in being drawn, at His pace and in His way, to the place where He wants us to be; not the place we fancied for ourselves.”
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  The Cholo

  Very brief, simple book that makes a lot of "sense" about spiritual things. Originally, this was four separate "addresses," but this book presents them together. It's like a very poignant message you might hear at an exceptionally good church, minus the smoke machines and tapered jeans.
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  Robert Heckner

  A beautiful, intelligent, practical introduction (/reminder) to the Spiritual life. Could be read in a day, but hardly understood in a lifetime.
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  raysilverwoman

  a balanced and rather practical, down-to-earth view of what it means to live "spiritually". underhill puts it all in simple terms, which is no easy feat. much needed read in the chaos of this year.
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  Andrew Likoudis

  Very concise but full of wisdom.
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  Floyd

  A worth while read!
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  Margie Dorn

  Evelyn Underhill at her best. My favorite of all of them. This is a book I will read repeatedly.
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  Connie Clark

  What a beautiful little book! Very inspiring.
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  Pranada Comtois

  I think this elegant, little book is as important as Underhill's seminal work "Mysticism," which is a tome. I find myself underlining many passages I want to revisit and think deeply about. Though Ms. Underhill died in 1941, her books are spiritual classics. Though I'm a follower of
  another metaphysical path, I'm grateful that she boldly wrote. I found this an important addition to my library.
  
  
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  Mike Beranek

  Desperate for some cogent and attention holding reading on a hot Cretan beach I finally fell upon this light read by the monumental intellect Underhill, with great relief. It manages to be as relevant today as the several decades ago it was written and is grounded in a solid practical mysticism which demands to be rediscovered by new generations. My only complaint is it's measured length as an edition, as a few brief broadcasts only, and I'd have liked a little more - still too daunted to read her better known major tomes.
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  Blake Chenoweth

  This book always leaves me silent for a few hours after I read it. It is one of my favorites when thinking about the spiritual life. Ms. Underhill writes in a way that brings out the quietness of her life. She never traveled far from her home and loved working in the garden and experiencing the spiritual life from that.
  
  Another short read of a 100 or so pages that every Christian should read in their lifetime. Blesses me greatly every time.
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  Jeff

  An excellent book for a quick reminder on what's important in life. Not many digressions into examples, hypotheticals, or stories, which would have made this book better, but the lack of those things made it readable in two days. While the book is 3-stars, the ideas in it are undoubtedly 5-star material.
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  Ramarie

  I love it when one book leads me to another...that's how I got hold of this one. It's apparently one of the spiritual classics. It's a short book that speaks to cooperation and communion with God as keys to the spiritual life.
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  Patrick\

  Underhill always are her best with big-picture explication, less with material more personal - after all, isn't the personal privately for each of us? Make your own how-to handbook. I say.
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  Brandon

  Underhill is one of my favorites. This is a good one to be introduced to her writing.
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  S

  clarity simplicity and profundity
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  Frank Healy

  This book takes basic spiritual principles and takes them deeper. It is a good read for anyone who wants to go beyond the basics of spirituality.
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  Andrea

  brilliant and thoughtful. will read again and underline passages.