...beautifulSeptember 16, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
BEAUTY is a book worth owning and reading again and again. Sometimes it feels like a meditation, and sometimes a scholarly paper, drawing on art and poetry and music to explicate its theme. These different approaches don't clash -- in fact they weave together incredibly well. O'Donohue's own writing is an example of the changing beauty he studies in this book.
The Secret to YouthSeptember 5, 2008 If the secret to youth is to fill your mind with beauty, then John O-Donohue's book The Invisible Embrace-Beauty is mandatory reading for those seeking a long and robust life. His observations about all things beautiful--from the illuminated landscapes of a his homeland, Conamara, Ireland, to the soaring heights that music lifts our souls, to the sending of a loved moving onto their final journey are profound. Dance, sculpture, painting--art in all its' forms, express the beauty of self-actualization. Answering our individual calls to creativity, says O'Donohue, is critical to a clear psyche and the road to all good works. Once a priest, he presumes a world imbued with an all pervasive deity and a continuation of the individual soul into afterlife. Still, his brilliant, poetic expressions demonstrate a secular understanding and mastery of the language seldom seen in modern writers. The narrative incorporates many quotes from past literary luminaries illustrating the depth of his research. This book is serious soul food for those hungering for purity of thought and inspirational literature.
www.LindaBallouAuthor.com Wai-nani, High Chiefess of Hawai'i
Beauty the Invisible Embrace CDsFebruary 28, 2008 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
Love of the Beautiful; God; and the Passing of John O'DonohueFebruary 25, 2008 21 out of 22 found this review helpful
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.
Beauty simply isFebruary 22, 2008 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
