'Why mysticism? Evelyn Underhill, a fascinating and slightly forgotten figure, who did so much to popularize mysticism in the early 20th Century, defines it as 'experience in its most intense form'. My offer to the reader in this book is simple: wouldn't you like to have a taste of this intensity? Wouldn't you like to be lifted up and out of yourself into a sheer feeling of aliveness, both your life and those of the creatures that surround you? If so, it might be well worthwhile trying to learn what is meant by mysticism and how it can shift, elevate and deepen the sense of our lives.' - Simon Critchley