It is a fascinating essay, as much an exposition on religious ecstasy as about Virginia Woolf. I continue to read, but was stopped while this soaks in.

“Because mysticism is not controlled by institutional religion, having ecstatic experiences is not dependent upon being affiliated with a religious tradition or upon "belief' in God. As accounts show, these experiences happen to anyone." “Heschel perceived radical amazement as a universal insight into an objective aspect of reality, of which all men are at all times capable; . . . The sense of the ineffable is not an esoteric faculty but an ability with which all men are endowed; And as Plotinus so beautifully spoke of this universal capability, "'Shut your eyes and change to and wake another way of seeing, which everyone has but few use."' Virginia Woolf was one of those few.”

Heady stuff for a master’s thesis. I wonder how it was received.

Thanks for posting this. I started reading, and am saving it for later. I’m eager to read more about the religious ecstasy experienced by atheist, Virginia Woolf.