In part one, Hedley shares some very personal experiences and his constant refrain is that what he is describing is something which every person can also experience. To assist and encourage us with this, he offers lots of practical exercises for us to try – different ways of praying, of thinking, of seeing, of exploring our world. All of this is designed to aid our journey into the mystery of God who is drawing us closer and deeper.
In part two, he describes four daily disciplines he sees in the stories of the saints, seers and mystics and which he enthusiastically commends to us. He says that when we give ourselves to these practices in our ordinary daily routine we could find ourselves in a dimension of living that is transcendent and transformative.
The seven chapters of part three tell stories about all kinds of people Hedley has read and thought about and in many ways befriended. He has certainly learned from each of them.
Hedley says to us with such convincing insight and attractiveness: you too can be a mystic – a way of seeing and experiencing the divine that is available to us all.
John Stewart