Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Description

In this eagerly awaited follow-up to his international bestsellers ANAM CARA and ETERNAL ECHOES, John O'Donohue turns his attention to the subject of beauty - the divine beauty that calls the imagination and awakens all that is noble in the human heart. In these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis, we are riven with anxiety; our trust in the future has lost its innocence, for we know now that anything can happen from one second to the next. In such an unsheltered world, it may sound naive to suggest that this might be the moment to invoke and awaken beauty, yet this is exactly the claim that this book seeks to explore. DIVINE BEAUTY is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. O'Donohue opens our eyes, hearts and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty. Rather than 'covering' this theme, he uncovers it, exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us home to the dignity of silence, the profundity of stillness, the 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, on art, music, literature, nature and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us towards new heights of passion and creativity. DIVINE BEAUTY is an exquisite treasury of Forms of the Beautiful. Its surface employs narrative, image, anecdote and myth, while into the silence of its subtext are sown seeds of reflection that gradually blossom in the heart.

John O'Donohue was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of T bingen in 1990. He is the author of several works, including a collection of poems, Echoes of Memory, a book on the philosophy of Hegel, Person als Vermittlung, Conamara Blues, and the international bestsellers, Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes and Divine Beauty. His latest work, Benedictus- A Book of Blessings will be published in 2007. John travels widely in Europe and the US, where he lectures and holds workshops. He lives in Ireland.

'A thinker who seamlessly weaves philosophy and theology, O'Donohue stops us in our tracks, reminding us that we might be alive for reasons other than productivity or consumption' * Sunday Times *