Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

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 theimagination 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, 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.

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 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 toward new heights of passion and creativity.

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.

/Beauty/ is a hard book to classify - it's not a philosophy book, it's not a religion book, it just... is. It's like hopping on a tourist bus and cruising down the road of the beautiful, with John O'Donohue pointing out the sights along the way. "To your left, you will see the beauty of light dancing across the sky at twilight. And to your right, the misty beams of sun's fading glory illuminating every crevice and boulder on the mountainside..." You're not outright told what beauty is, per se. You are simply guided through the process of understanding beauty as not merely a characteristic, but as a force. O'Donohue illuminates what beauty *does* and where you might find it.

This is a magical, wonderful book. It is written in a relaxed and almost lyrical style - as a book on the beautiful should be. True beauty cannot be described by the mere words of men, but John O'Donohue does an admirable job of opening us up to "the eternal grace and generosity of beauty's presence." That, in a nutshell, is what this book is all about.


Just perfect   March 28, 2004
 36 out of 41 found this review helpful

Once again, O'Donahue delivers a treatise on the beauty of life, the beauty of living fully and the beauty of belief. This book is really a marvelous experience. The author challenges the reader to choose being awake, aware and available. I loved it.


Love of the Beautiful; God; and the Passing of John O'Donohue   February 25, 2008
 22 out of 23 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.




A good look at the aesthetic dimension to God   October 25, 2006
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

Beauty: The invisible embrace is essentially a poetic and theological reflection on the beauty of the world, the universe, of life, and of God, using ideas from Christian tradition, theology, mysticism, and poetry.

The ideas in here are deeply Neo-Platonic and will be easily recognised by anyone who has read Plotinus (in a way this book unfolds the ideas in his work 'On Beauty) however they are also deeply tinged with O'Donahue's Celtic appreciation for the beauty of nature. It is perhaps not surprising Ireland has produced many great thinkers and poets who refreshingly don't see the world as a horrible place infected by sin, but rather a beautiful reflection of God's glory. The greatest Celtic philosopher, Eriugena, called the universe 'God's theophany.'

Indeed this book treats our world and our life as a theophany of divine beauty, to be celebrated at every moment despite its pain, vulnerability, and tragedy.


Truly an inspiration   March 11, 2007
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

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.