ISBN: 9781903998748 Year Added to Catalog: 2006 Book Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 6 x 9, 128 pages Book Publisher: Green Books Old ISBN: 1903998743 Release Date: September 15, 2006 Web Product ID: 65
“In this gentle and inspiring book, John Lane creates the silence he longs for with the beauty of his words and the weight and poise of his thoughts. He evokes several spiritual traditions and many remarkable writers and mystics for whom silence was not just golden, but platinum. He makes important connections
between silence, which is necessary for our sanity and creativity, and enchantment, simplicity, and art. He is part of the soft, quiet, and reflective revolution that wants to replace the hysteria and violence of modern life with self-possession, contemplation, and deep pleasure. I am with him and thank him for this whispering manifesto.” —Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Dark Nights of the Soul
The importance of emptying the mind has been recognized for millennia
across a variety of cultures. Meditation is a way of life for millions; others find their creative inspiration in everyday activities such as gardening, walking, watching the sea, or listening to music. In his new book Spirit of Silence, John Lane explores the intrinsic human need for silence, solitude and serenity, and, drawing on religious and philosophical traditions from around the world, suggests ways in which we might find these in our own lives.
Silence touches us in many different ways: as something which offers sanctuary and tranquility; as something which brings us into touch with the inner depths which elude us in the hurly-burly of our everyday lives; as a source of joy or as an inspiration for art, literature and music; and because it awakens us to the present moment, which can only be fully experienced with a mind that is free of preconceptions. These encounters can be the source of a wonderful clarity.
And the need for silence extends beyond the individual: in fact, Lane argues,
it is at the root of our current ecological crisis. The short-sighted greed which is devastating the world is born of a culture fixated on sensation and possession. In the words of philosopher Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, “A barren destructive mind produces a barren, devastated environment. The desertification of the planet is created by the desertification of the human spirit.” Silence is not only the antithesis of such a culture, but its cure.
The Spirit of Silence is for those who wish to look beyond the speed and
superficiality of our modern lifestyle to find depth and spiritual space. It is devoted to clearing the clutter from our minds, and to feeding the creative heart and soul.
John Lane is a painter, author and educator. He was Chairman of the Dartington Hall Trust, founding director of the Beaford Arts Centre, and instrumental in the creation of Schumacher College in Devon, England. His books include The Living Tree: Art and the Sacred, A Snake’s Tail Full of Ants: Art, Ecology and Consciousness, Timeless Simplicity: Creative Living in a Consumer Society and Timeless Beauty in the Arts &
Everyday Life (all published in the UK by Green Books).
Book available October 2006 | Paperback | $18 | 1-903998-74-3 | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4|120 pages
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