This gives valuable insights into communal silent prayer. I read the first chapters twice, as usually contemplative prayer goes over my head. But then found the content both challenging and easy to understand. I read it in a day. But it’s influence will linger. ~ Robert Jackson, Amazon

Written in easy to understand terms without a whole lot of history. Excellent for a new Quaker like me ~ Sheila G, Amazon

5 out of 5 stars: A very concise, but highly informative miniature 'magnum opus' , if such a thing is possible! This is a beautifully written book which balances some serious research through the annals of mysticism from before the medieval period, right across the timescale through to the writings of Evelyn Underhill and Rufus Jones in the twentieth century. I love the ways in which the author has linked the mystical and the practical, the contemplative and activist states of mind and being. There is a cornucopia of spiritual insights to be enjoyed here and I have no doubt that several re-readings of the book will bear much fruit for me as an avid reader. As a contemporary author in the area of liberal Quaker 'theology' she is a national treasure. This book comes highly recommended for all those who are interested in how mysticism can shape our lives and actions for the common good in today's world, whether, these readers consider themselves Quaker, or not. ~ Simon, Amazon

“Maybe we feel that ‘mystic’ is too big a word for us individually, but the Quaker way is without doubt a mystical one. I might conclude that not all Quakers are mystics, but that we will all, in some way and to some degree, be touched by the mystical, sometimes held by it and even, in some, be taken up in an all-encompassing embrace.” If in your Meeting, you dare to think the time is right to engage with others to speak a little of mysticism, or of what we all think we are doing in our largely silent meetings, this book will greatly help you and your Friends to grasp and share something of the wonder of the Quaker way at its best and most fruitful. This and other short books in this series of QUAKER QUICKS are readable, practical, and very helpful to those of us who seek to walk the Quaker way, as well as to those who are curious about what ‘Quakerism’ is. Local Meetings could do well to buy copies of these books, not only for their own Meeting House Library, but to offer copies to local public libraries and libraries in prisons, university chaplaincies, hospitals, and other faith communities where people might learn something of the Quaker way just at a time when they might be ready for something that is life enhancing. ~ Michael Wright, The Universalist

Jennifer Kavanagh is a well-known spiritual writer and has written this book on Quaker faith in action based on her own experience and insights. I would agree with a title that Quakers are indeed practical mystics in the true sense of the term, being both spiritually receptive and intensely engaged in social issues. The book gives a background on nature mysticism, describes meeting for worship, the nature of community, the imperative of service, the translation of faith into action, the importance of discernment and finding a balance in life. They are indeed a religious society of friends of truth, as their disproportionate impact on social change also demonstrate and illustrated in this book by a short biography of John Woolman (1720 –1772). Overall, this is an excellent and perceptive account of what it means to be a Quaker. ~ David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer

August 2020 The author adopts Evelyn Underhill's definition of mysticism as „the art of union with Reality. The mystic is one who has attained that union in greater or less degree; or who aims at and believes in such attainment' (quoted on p.9). This short and very readable book does indeed describe Quaker faith in action, and considers to what extent Quakers might properly be considered to be mystics. The central theme of this book is that Quaker practice does make mystics of those who participate, and 'practical' mystics at that. In developing the argument, this book looks carefully at the prayer practices which are the mark of the Quaker Meeting for Worship, and the ministry that might be offered at such meetings by individuals moved by the Spirit. Those used to Julian Meetings will find a lot that is familiar. But the account given here of the Quaker way goes further than that. It stresses the balance that is sought between spiritual experience and the action it brings about, the balance between the stillness of the Quaker Meeting and the clamour of the world. In the Quaker experience of the Meeting, the stillness and, for the most part, silence, is not just solitary prayer as it might be for some of us, but very much a communal activity as well. 'I like to think of Meeting for Worship as a triangle of the self, the Divine and the others in the room' (p.26). 'Reality' rather than 'God' in the definition of Mysticism 22 If Quietism is a temptation for some who seek to pray simply and in silence, Jennifer Kavanagh quotes the late Dutch Catholic priest, Henri Nouwen, to put us right: True contemplatives . . . are not those who withdraw from the world to save their own souls but the ones who enter into the centre of the world and pray from there. Mysticism is the opposite of withdrawal from the world. Intimate union with God leads to the most creative involvement in the contemporary world (quoted on p.57). I commend this book to all for whom prayer is important. It challenges the reader, but it also mightily encourages her. ~ Peter Rowe, Julian Meetings Magazine

Wonderful. A kind of manual to the specifics of Quaker life I believe we all should be buying copies of this and donating them to public libraries and patronising friends and relatives forthwith. ~ Jonathan Wooding, The Friend

Jennifer Kavanagh has done us a great service in writing a book that pinpoints one of the most elusive and intangible elements of Quaker life. Practical Mystics is about the subtle balance between spiritual experience and the action it brings about, between the stillness of a Quaker meeting and the clamour of the world. How does the mystical become the practical? Is there a transition point? Why do they merge? She answers these questions with thoughtfulness, insight and wisdom, writing as vividly about spiritual inwardness as she does about the urgent, unstoppable impulse to give service to others. The result is an inspiring book about a wellspring of inspiration. I thoroughly recommend it. ~ Geoffrey Durham, author of The Spirit of the Quakers and Being a Quaker: a guide for newcomers

This is a delightful book, blending the author's personal experience with a really helpful overview of the nature of mysticism. It is clearly written, very accessible, but above all inspiring. 'Practical Mystics' encourages each of us to live into that role. ~ Ben Pink Dandelion, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre

Jennifer Kavanagh has written a lovely book which I found to be to be compelling reading. In a very practical way she explains the meaning of mysticism for Quakers and how an experience ,which some might regard as being esoteric, can be truly meaningful for many today. ~ Terry Waite

Jennifer is one of the most interesting writers of our generation on spirituality. ~ Derek A. Collins, London Centre for Spirituality

In Practical Mystics, Jennifer Kavanagh introduces readers to the genius of the Quaker way - spirituality experienced in the midst of day-to-day life thus empowering those who try it to live deeply and well. ~ J. Brent Bill, author of Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality