Beauty: The Invisible Embrace | John O'donohue | Love of the Beautiful; God; and the Passing of...

Beauty: The Invisible Embrace | John O'donohue | Truly an inspiration

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Beauty: The Invisi...

	Beauty: The Invisible Embrace John O'donohue Harper Perennial, 2005 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beauty does not linger, it only visits.
Yet beauty's visitation affects us and invites us into its rhythm,
it calls us to feel, think, and act beautifully in the world:
to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful.

Beauty is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. Bestselling author John O'Donohue opens our eyes, hearts, and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty by exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us to the dignity of silence, profundity of stillness, power of thought and perception, and the eternal grace and generosity of beauty's presence. In this masterful and revelatory work, O'Donohue encourages our greater intimacy with beauty and celebrates it for what it really is: a homecoming of the human spirit. As he focuses on the classical, medieval, and Celtic traditions of art, music, literature, nature, and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us toward new heights of passion and creativity even in these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis.

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Love of the Beautiful; God; and the Passing of John O'Donohue

I discovered John O'Donohue this past year (see my review "Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom") and have been working ever since to bring him to San Francisco's East Bay to speak and conduct a retreat. Unfortunately, as I was putting pen to paper to write my review of "The Invisible Embrace - Beauty," I learned he died in his sleep, January 3, 2008, on vacation near Avignon. He was just 53. O'Donohue was an original thinker, a gifted writer, and a philosopher that fully understood the human condition and emphasized the triumphal power of divine love.

"Beauty" outlines another encounter with the divine. The majesty of beauty is its gracious wholesomeness. The Beautiful unifies feeling, thought, and dream. The book "endeavors to mirror this one-ment." This acquaintance coaxes the soul to the land of wonder where the journey becomes a bright path between source and horizon, awakening and surrender.

O'Donohue begins "Beauty" with the the call of beauty; where it dwells; its music; its color; and the joy of its shapes. He then explores imagination (beauty's entrance), attraction (the eros of beauty), and the beauty of the flaw. He concludes with beauty's relationship to death and God.

"When we lose sight of beauty our struggle becomes tired and functional. When we expect and engage the Beautiful, a new fluency is set free within us and between us. The heart becomes rekindled and our lives brighten with unexpected courage."

The "cry of our times" is to awaken beauty as we feel most alive in the presence of beauty for it meets the needs of our soul. And once awakened, there is a great sense of homecoming as beauty is God. Love of the beautiful is a secret and sacred passion of all as it is embedded in our search for God.

O'Donohue has written another "Beautiful" book that will serve as a reference guide for years to come.

For those who want to learn more about John O'Donohue and his literary contribution, I have included a number internet posts made on the event of his death:

* I too was touched so deeply by John O'Donohue - by his writings which my wife shared with me a few years ago.
* I'm very saddened by the passing of John O' Donohue. Though I never had the privilege of meeting him I felt I knew him through his work. He was truly a beacon of light and love. God bless him on his eternal journey.
* I am so saddened by John O'Donohue's passing. For over eleven years I have absorbed his books which have made me understand and appreciate my Celtic-Catholic roots. Slan agus beannacht leat.
* He was a breath of fresh air and sunshine enfolding wonderful wit and wisdom with a passion for the Eternal.
* When I read Anam Chara, I was stunned by how much I was moved by his words and ideas. It was at once comforting and thought provoking. I am so very grateful that John shared himself with the world.
* John constantly called us to awaken to the great mystery of which we are apart and to become more and more aware of the intimacy we share with all...I am deeply grateful to him for the way in which he affirmed the deep longing with the past, present and future. May we honour him by living our own individual lives as authentically as he lived his.
* I have often turned to his writing and recordings for solace and guidance through some difficult times in the last few years and had hoped to go on retreat with him in Connamara this May.
* When I heard the news of O'Donohue's death, I cried. His books, especially "Anam Cara" and "Eternal Echoes," were personal favorites. His knowledge of Gaelic and rural Ireland, combined with his philosophical training, gave his writings a special beauty. His poetic perception and spiritual wisdom made his writings a wonder of insightfulness.
* John O'Donohue's brilliant and beautiful wordcraft has touched my heart and helped bring about great peace and growth in my life over the last decade. May his legacy of beauty and courage reach far into the future and bless many generations to come.
* He brings, and will continue to spread through his writings, a timely, universally spiritual message of interconnectedness and common humanity to a troubled world.
* His Anam Cara Celtic Wisdom returned me to that world within that opens us to the universe.

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Truly an inspiration

I adored this book from page one to the last. It is such an inspiration to me and I
felt like a found in this book my "bible" and guide to life as I have created it.

Awake to the Beauty that surrounds you!

This CD fills the very essence of my soul! As a Franciscan religious I appreciate the beauty and splendor of all of God's creation! John O'Donahue has captured the essence of the Franciscan Spirit! St. Francis called everything by the intimate name of "brother" and "sister"! As St. Francis says, "Put on new glasses" "adjust your focus" and you will see beauty all around you." With St. Francis we can all say "My God and My All"! Thank you and God bless you, Sister Rose Therese Di Gregorio OSF.

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Beauty simply is

The very sad news is that there will be no more books by John O'Donohue because of his untimely death in January. The blessing is that we have a treasury of wisdom and elegance in his published writings and various recordings. We can still listen to his Irish lilt and laugh at his humor; we can still read his prose and poetry suffused with wisdom and caring. Beauty is a book which reminds us how we should look at the world around us, expectantly looking for signs of beauty to counter the other signs of neglect, pain, violence, dis-harmony. He takes us beneath the surface, urging us to troll the depths of our souls to find our beauty. Every sentence will call you to ponder more deeply and invite you to look anew at life.

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Beauty the Invisible Embrace CDs

John O'Donohue's beautiful voice brings alive the poetry of his words to open, soften, delight, inspire listeners to a deeper sence of the Mystery, God which is all around us expressed in everyday life through the infinate sources of Beauty. His book is equally wonderful, hearing his Irish voice is like adding music.

reviews: page 1, 2

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