# Love and Will explained — Practical Mysticism

> Chapter companion for Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill.

## What happens

This chapter explores the integration of love and will in the contemplative life, emphasizing that true contemplation is an active, passionate, and self-forgetful act of communion with Reality, not idle musing. It discusses the necessity of recollection and self-simplification as complementary practices that gather the soul's powers into unity, enabling a progressive transformation of character and perception. The chapter argues that love and will, rather than pure intellect, are the primary faculties for mystical knowledge, and that this loving intuition transcends but does not oppose reason.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love as a Path to Knowledge

The chapter centers on love and will as the primary means of attaining mystical union, arguing that loving intuition surpasses intellectual analysis in knowing the Divine.

### Contemplation and Action

Contemplation is presented as an active, energetic 'stretching out' towards Reality, not passive dreaminess, integrating will and love in a dynamic encounter.

### Self-Simplification and Purification

The chapter emphasizes self-simplification and detachment as essential preparations for the mystical life, working in tandem with recollection to unify the soul's powers.

## Character check-ins

### Jan van Ruysbroeck

Quoted describing contemplation as a 'loving stretching out' towards Reality, and referenced for the concept of 'gathering the forces of the soul into the unity of the spirit'.

### John Keats

Mentioned in the context of the supremacy of feeling over thought, aligning with the mystical emphasis on loving intuition.

## Key lines

> By love may He be gotten and holden, but by thought never.

God can be attained and held through love, but never through intellectual thought alone.

_This quote underscores the primacy of love over intellect in the mystical path._

> a blind intent stretching … a privy love pressed

A focused, blind intention reaching out, a secret love pressing forward.

_Describes the essence of contemplation as an ardent, directed movement towards Ultimate Beauty._

> we behold that which we are

What we perceive of Reality is conditioned by our own inner state and character.

_Highlights the mystical principle that only the real can know Reality, linking perception to personal transformation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/vi-love-and-will
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters