5 comments about Praying With Icons.

1. Icons paint the word of God. Visual pictures bring the His words alive in your heart. You feel the generations of prayer and walk backwards through creation . Why do they cause such a reaction among society? Could it be their power of bringing us closer to JESUS and why He came suffered, died and rose from the dead?



2. I read Jim Forest's _Praying with Icons_ a few years ago when it first appeared. I just finished re-reading it, and am even more impressed this time around. Anyone familiar with Forest's other books knows how comfortably fluid his style is, and how insightful his ideas are. Both of these qualities make this the single best introduction to icons I know.
   
   To my mind, there are three different but interrelated aspects of this book that are especially worth noting.
   
   The first is Forest's argument that "beauty bears witness to God," and that in depicting holy things beautifully, icons enhance our relationship with the Divine. This is a point well worth considering. Too often, I fear, beauty in the context of worship is either dismissed as irrelevant (all that matters is the word), venerated for its own sake (high church preciousness), or overdone and distractingly gaudy. But Forest reminds us that the beauty of icons is intended to aid in the transfiguration of those who pray before them. Icons are images of the wholeness of God, and they convey and impart some of that wholeness to us through their beauty. It takes a great deal of artistry to manifest that kind of beauty.
   
   The second point worth noting is Forest's observation that the writing/painting of an icon is in itself an act of worship and service, entered into reverently and prayerfully. There are traditions that dictate how the wood is prepared, how the colors are selected, what they represent, and so on. The care and love with which icons are made is a good reminder that all work with God's creation is, or ought to be, mindful and reverential. The fruits of all our mental and physical labor are, in one manner of speaking, iconic.
   
   The third especially noteworthy aspect of Forest's treatment is his tie-in of prayer with icons. It might seem that the connection between the two is obvious, but I'm not sure this is the cas, at least not in the contemporary U.S.. I've been in many homes where icons are displayed as curiosities, by totally secular hosts, on the walls right next to African masks and Peruvian weavings. Forest's reflections on prayer--that it involves the whole person, not just the intellect, that it requires the cultivation of stillness and silence, that a good prayer life is one that requires a great deal of deliberate discipline, and that the goal of our prayer life is theosis--are wonderful.
   
   In addition, as earlier reviewers have pointed out, the last 150 pages of the book discuss specific icons--Christ, Mary, the saints, the Transfiguration, etc--pointing out their language, their significance, and their histories. Readers of Forest's book will be well prepared to begin praying with icons, and to move on to other reflections on icons such as John of Damascus' _On the Divine Images_ or Leonid Ouspensky & Vladimir Lossky's _The Meaning of Icons_.
   
   Finally, the illustrations, in color as well as black-and-white, are fabulous. A book to read and re-read.



3. I had always looked at Icons and labeled them 'primitive christian art'. But after reading Jim Forest's book 'Praying with Icons', I have fallen in love with iconography. The Icon artist does not paint without intention; each item in an icon has theological significance.
   For me, reading this book, has been a journey, an opportunity to reflect and deepen my faith. The excerpts from the Orthodox writings and liturgy are profoundly moving. It also is a lesson to view ALL religious art in a deeper way. What was the artist trying to communicate? How did he feel about his subject matter? Why did he choose the colors, are they significant to his vision? What compositional elements did the artist use to communicate his message? These are some of the questions one can ask when they view ANY religious art.
   Lastly, an icon or a painting, can bring one to prayer; where one can clear away the clutter of modern life to reach that inner place within where one encounters truth, and communicates with the God who loves us.



4. Jim Forest, author of several books and a member of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship and other reconciliation and peace programs, has written a masterful work on icons and prayer. There is much in the political realm where Mr. Forest and I disagree, but putting differences aside, his book here is a wonderful work.

   His introduction page, about him and his wife receiving a rare and beautiful icon of Mary and their reverence in opening it grabs the faithful reader immediately. One wants to discover what makes icons so special. As an Orthodox Christian, I found his opening statements to be reverent and exciting. He brilliantly gives a concise but needed history on icons since many people have no idea why there are icons. He writes about how icons are a "transmission of Christian tradition and faith" and how they are "an aid to worship." The reader will further learn how icons are made, the prayer of the iconographer and the importance of icons in the life of the Christian faith.

   The pictures in the book of various icons are a great aid and are intertwined nicely in the text (some color and some black and white photos). A great buy for any Christian and in particular the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faithful.




5. For someone just getting into Orthodoxy, this book has been priceless. Icons are very special in Orthodoxy, and I felt it essential to know more about them. There are wonderful pictures of icons, windows into heaven. So captivating! Although there is sufficient information on icons, the books focuses on prayer of The Orthodox using icons. A great addition to any Orthodox or Christian library!

5 comments about Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying With Icons.

1. Henri Nouwen's book on praying with icons features the spiritual, emotional, and scholarly perspectives of the author, a priest, psychologist, and academic. The integration of these viewpoints provides something for every reader. Those interested in academics will benefit from the historical background and list of resources. Those wishing to begin or improve their prayer practice will be drawn to the author's description his own encounters with the icons. Those who don't get around to acquiring, learning about, and praying with icons can profit from the spiritual insights that Nouwen discovered during his prayer and study. And everyone will appreciate the full color reproductions of the chosen icons: The Holy Trinity, The Virgin of Vladimir, The Savior of Zvenigorod, and The Descent of the Holy Spirit.
   
   In his description of The Virgin of Vladimir and The Descent of the Holy Spirit, Nouwen mentions the subjects' line of vision. He was at first disconcerted that he could not "make eye contact" with the Virgin, who seems not to be looking directly at the painter or viewer. Nouwen suggests that the iconographer deliberately portrayed the Virgin as looking inward to the heart of God and also outward to the heart of the world, "thus revealing the unfathomable unity between the Creator and creation." Meditating on The Descent of the Holy Spirit icon, Nouwen points out that the 12 disciples form "a perfectly harmonious community," though they are not interacting with one another in any way. Rather, Nouwen observes, "they are listening together to the God within." They are united not by their common psychological make-up, he writes, but by the Holy Spirit descending upon them.
   
   In addition to careful examination and meditation on the four icons, Nouwen looks at the relationship among them. Each individually and all together, "they give us a glimpse of the house of love prepared for us by Jesus and invite us to experience, even now, the joy of living there." Henri Nouwen's "Behold the Beauty of the Lord" can bring some of that joy to every pray-er, reader, and student.



2. I've read some of his other books and have always appreciated his writing. I purchased this book to be a resource for a Retreat I will be leading. It's a wonderful resource. Has lots of great information in it.



3. As an Orthodox Priest, I did not agree with Nouwen. He does not give correct information about the icons he is reviewing. He is not qualified to interpret icons.



4. I first read this book in the late 80s, just before a period of return to the Catholic tradition of my youth, and I was reminded of it this past Sunday while gazing at stained glass windows in a local church.
   
   The book is a wonderful introduction to Christian iconography, from a spiritual master and healer. In addition, it is very effective as a first step toward sitting and gazing as a spiritual practice. Indeed, sitting, and seeing, becomes a profound experience of prayer in itself, and Nouwen's little book will be appreciated by those seeking a retreat from the agitation, clamor and distraction of daily life.



5. This isn't a dogmatic book that tells the reader what one must get out of praying with icons. Nouwen simply relates an experience he had over a course of several years while visiting l'Arche, a community for people with mental handicaps, in Trosly, France. Each year, when he visited, a different icon was placed on the table of the room where he stayed. Nouwen simply records the fruits of his meditations for us to read.

   In doing so, he aptly teaches the reader more about praying with icons than any "how to" book ever could.

   This book came at a perfect time for me in my spiritual journey. I was just beginning to open up to the world of praying with icons, when Nouwen lit a fire within my soul. I hope the book does the same for you.

   NEGATIVE: I will offer only one negative point concerning this book. The glue on my copy was defective and the front portion of the cover pulled away from the book. It has been my experience that what happens with one book, may happen with many. Still, I feel completely comfortable recommending it.

5 comments about Transfigurations.

1. I bought Transfigurations and Grey's earlier book Sacred Mirrors at the same time. Both are visually amazing and the print quality is excellent. I especially liked reading about Alex Grey's journey as an artist that is part of Transfigurations. It's not a path I would want to tread, but knowing about his life gives good insight and empathy into the aesthetics of his work. I'm very glad he met with Tibetan culture, which obviously has influenced him greatly, and helped him escape the dark trap of Euro-American nihilist existentialism



2. I bought this book for my son who'd asked for a coffee table art book
   by Alex Grey, and he was happy to have received it. When it was under the tree unwrapped after Christmas, I took a look, and it's an interesting work. I'm not sure if it's in his room or if he took it to college; I'll have to look. If it's home, I can read more of it.
   
   It arrived in beautiful condition.



3. Transfigurations is a beautiful book that does an excellent job presenting the work of Alex Grey, one of the most important artists of our times. There is no artist quite like Alex Grey. For many years, I have used this book and an earlier Grey book, Sacred Mirrors, as a transformative tool both in my own life and helping others.



4. Although my other books reviews are totally sarcastic this one is sincere. Giving TRANSFIGURATIONS five stars tells you nothing, it is my most cherished possession purchased from Amazon. Alex Grey is the most beautiful inspiring artist I know of, disturbing as well. For both reasons I get goosebumps each time I hear his weird kind of slimy sounding voice on the DVD and audio tapes that I also purchased. I find his whole dark side very intimidating and there are a couple of spots where the blur between holy and immoral is way to ominous for my churchy little, reactionary mind to consider but I'm sure that in his genius he is expressing things that, like all of his works, are simply way beyond my comprehension.
   
   Even though I really like Grey's self-portraits as a boy, I usually skip past the first thirty-five or so pages to his more inspiring works of colorful anatomy charged with energy and connected to occult and mystical symbols of the spirit. I've always thought of these symbols as pertaining to aesthetics who live an isolated existence, however, for Grey's works they seem to be intimately associated with love, family, personal growth, and the journey through life.
   
   I find his most beautiful works to be his oil on linen anatomical scenes of his family which include one of him and his wife embracing and another with both of them, eyes shut, in a moment of reverence with their daughter in which all three pineal glands are actively sharing an interwoven and upward spiraling rainbow of purely intelligent energies. Another is of his young daughter, as a toddler, who draws out a sphere from her heart encircled by a rainbow of noble and vital energy containing within it a Tibetan symbol of primal purity.
   
   Alex Grey expresses better than anyone I've found how religious symbols from around the world are spun from the same spiritual desires and aspirations of people everywhere and are all equally divine.
   
   Transfigurations shows Alex Grey's development through his life cycle from the dark cocoon of young manhood through his emergence as a man of tremendous knowledge and beauty expressed in fantastic colors and intricate and intriguing layers and details. He is clearly one who has made an incredible journey in life and easily ranks with all of the most famous and greatest artists in art history.



5. Truly edifying, powerfully enlightening art of the nervous system (peeled open) and all its glory.

   The universe is marvelous, indeed. Grey is a shining star.

2 comments about A History of Icon Painting.

1. The book presents a geographical history of the icon. Very good quality with the images and the paper. A great work that makes you understand the icon with a great deal of examples.



2. I am an iconographer and the priest who taught me everything I know gave me this book. Unlike many of the icon books I own, it gives a more detailed description of each icon. It also has many inset photos of the icons so that you may study details better. It is inexpensive and contains a wealth of knowledge. If you are looking for more information on this beautiful and sacred art, this is a good start.

1 comments about Icons.

1. Knowledgable presentation of the origin, meaning, creation, and use of icons. Great color photographs of the icons with sufficient detail to understand their artistic merit and relgious purpose. The end of the book provides small, color photographs with detail of the icons in the collection of the British Museum, making this book a "must have" for reference. A fabulous buy at this price and a scholarly, yet easy read for those unfamilar with the Byzantine icongraphy that spread to Greece and Russia. You gotta love this book.

5 comments about Art of the Cross.

1. This book is part memoir, and mostly photographs. I like the full page photos because they show not only a cross, but a "mood." Although I'm a big cowboy boot fan, the photos of the jewelry are actually my favorites...lots of luster and detail. This book is a great gift for a wanderer or a "collector" ...and a wonderful souvenir for anyone who love Santa Fe.



2. Beautiful Photos, Nice Gift Idea. Lots of Examples of Different Types of Crosses! Very Enjoyable.



3. I purchased this book for a friend and took time to leaf through it. It is short on content (a little more history on what you are looking at would have been nice) but the photos are beautiful. Buyer be aware that this is not a comprehensive all encompassing look at the cross ... it is largley limited to spanish and native american works.



4. Very nice little book with good photography and personal and chatty and interesting text. If you are a cross collector you will love having this book to enhance your collection. Even now with crosses becoming popular decorative objects, many visitors to my home are startled by my collection. So now I hand them this pretty little book to peruse, and they kind of understand a reason behind a unique collection. This book is very well priced too.



5. Leave it to Mary Emmerling to recognize spiritual icons as an art form. The book is beautiful in its simplicity. An hour spent soaking in its pages is akin to meditation.

1 comments about Windows into the Soul: Art As Spiritual Expression.

1. Michael Sullivan has written an engaging book that opened my heart to seeing both art and prayer in new ways. The exercises offered are easy access points for those who don't feel creative and would hesitate to call themselves artists. At the same time, experience artists will be inspired by Sullivan's story. The beautifully written chapters offer a wonderful glimpse into the author's spiritual journey. His authenticity and passion were very inspiring.

1 comments about Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology.

1. The introduction says "This is a book about the things people say about images". As a person who buys a lot of instructional books which I hope are insightful and succinct I found this overwritten. Someone liking miles of wordy literary type criticism might find it appealing.

5 comments about Damanhur: Temples of Humankind.

1. Damanhur: The Temples of Humankind (DTOK) is first and foremost for people with an interest in the intentional community Damanhur (in Northern Italy, since the mid 1970's) and what they have achieved with the construction of The Temples of Humankind. Perhaps you have been there and want a way to to show other people not only what you saw but to show them in a way that almost astounds as much as being in The Temples astounds. Perhaps you simply know about this place and would like to own and view a splendid production of photos and information on what has been created there. Or maybe you know someone who went there, in which case this book would make a great gift which I am sure they'd be happy to own (if they don't already have it!)
   
   Yet having said that, DTOK is for more than just people who already know about Damanhur and these Temples. Anyone with an interest in art and creativity will most certainly marvel at the incredible creativity document within DTOH. People with an interest in spirituality and human consciousness will likely find DTOH equally compelling. I am sure, that many who read this book will feel inspired to actually visit Damanhur and see them first-hand, and I couldn't recommend that more. So be warned, this might cost you more than just the price of Damanhur: The Temples of Humankind.
   
   Having visited Damanhur for a month and spent many hours in The Temples I can say that this book does a wonderful job of accurately and beatifically presenting what is hidden in those otherwise normal looking mountains. In all honesty I think many of the images look even more splendid that the real thing when it comes to the actual detail of the artistic works, simply because photos (well composed ones) have a way of hiding the fact that some of these artistic works are in need of some repair and attention. I don't see this as a negative, but rather positive in that it enables the reader to feel a taste of the magnificence one can ultimately only experience by walking in these chambers and temples in person. What the book lacks in size and scale (the Temples are quite huge when you're actually there), it makes up for by capturing these artworks at their best.
   
   Enjoy this book, and if you feel moved to visit Damanhur and you have the means to do so, then go for it.
   
   If this book interests you (and/or you enjoyed it) I think you'll also be pleased to know about:
   Damanhur: The Story of the Extraordinary Italian Artistic And Spiritual Community



2. What a wonderful book this is! I am a great fan of New York artist Alex Grey's work and he and his friends have made a superb job of this large format hard back book which features marvelous glossy photos from Darmanhur, the artistic and spiritual community near Turin in Italy. It's a must have for your coffe table if you're interested in the power of spiritual vision, artistic expression and intentional communities.
   
   I will treasure this book always. Thank you EBay for delivering it so promptly all the way to Australia!



3. Alex grey brings his clarity to the task of drawing the publics eye onto an unbelievable society that has profound lessons to teach the rest of the world about opening up to the complete truth of who and what we are as sentient beings.



4. What a great book. Visually stunning and very interesting. And published from a great publisher, CoSM.
   
   Support CoSM. They have some other really cool stuff.
   
   "The Temples of Humankind were a secret from even the closest neighbors for the next twenty years as artists, artisans and builders excavated and created the equivalent of a five-story subterranean building."
   
   "Profound appreciation goes to WENDY GRACE and MICHAEL HONACK, and the Tides Foundation, for financial support of the Damanhur book project."
   
   Thank you for your work in helping to illuminate the path...



5. This book is absolutely gorgeous. It contains tons of really interesting information on the temples (not to mention brilliant photography work). Beautiful.

5 comments about The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet.

1. I found Thomas Dubay's book on the subject of beauty quite interesting,but also inspiring.The chapters dealing with the wonders of the universe,the Macromarvels,the Midimarvels,and the Micromarvels are a must read for everyone.
   I did find the book a hard read.It is a book that contains so much information,scientific or otherwise,that it can be a quite a task to plough through it.Not a book at bedtime.It is one of those books that you have to read over again to get further meaning from it.Thomas Dubay is a very deep thinker,so as a reader it helps to be somewhat similiar in mind to digest the contents.



2. I've just began reading this book and couldn't put it down. As an artist, i think it is important to know the principles of beauty. I also watch the show of Fr. Dubay based on the book in EWTN. I recommend this book to anyone fascinated about Beauty, that ultimately points to its Divine Author. :)



3. ...thus the missing two stars.
   
   I made a private retreat at Christ in the Desert Monastery in the high desert of New Mexico, in the Santa Fe National "Forest", just recently, and found this book on the bookshelf in the common room of the guest quarters. Having read Happy Are You Poor by Dubay, and emphatically enjoying it, I decided to read it during my stay.
   
   The books title states enough about the content, so I won't spend much time talking about the different parts. I'll just say that he philosophically talks about beauty, and the impact that it has on people, and that beauty simply cannot be accidental, as the beautiful things that we as humans make are intentional. He then spends ample time going through the minutest details of anything from stars to hummingbirds, from orchids to cells, demonstrating that each is "perfect according to its own kind."
   
   The problem that I first noticed, was how horribly this book is punctuated. Either Dubay does not know how to use a comma, or his editor doesn't. Obviously, I don't know which it is. All I know, is that it took me longer to read this book than a typical one of comparable length would have, as I consistently read sentences, finishing them by saying, "What in the world is he trying to say?" After reading it over again, I would notice several sections of the sentence where a comma is needed, to structure the flow of the reading. If I had the book on me, I would supply a few examples, but it is nestled on a bookshelf amongst a plethora of other books at the monastery, and I am back home in Georgia.
   
   The other mistake, is the much-too-broad stroke that he paints for rock music. He quotes at least two sources that I can recall, Frank Sinatra and Allan Bloom, stating that rock music is formless, and thus ugly. The problem with this is not that some rock music is hideous, but that he doesn't specify as to what he means when he says "rock music". Rock music, like most musical genres, is extremely broad. I have always considered jazz and blues as being a branch of rock. Surely some jazz and blues is very well structured, as Dubay even refers to some of it as being beautiful. Although much of the lyrical content of classic rock is bankrupt, much of the music is anything but unstructured, demonstrating a certain element of the classical. Again, some of it can simply be described as noise. However, the same is true of some classical music, which Dubay praises again and again in this book. Just because music has violins and pianos doesn't make it beautiful. It requires structure, something which some rock music definitely possesses. The fact of the matter, I think, is that Dubay isn't qualified to comment on rock music as a whole (and possibly not music as a whole, in general); thus, the majority of that section (pages 86-88, if I remember correctly) is quotes from others (the aforementioned Bloom and Sinatra).
   
   Apart from these two errors, I did really enjoy the book, and find myself uplifted by it. I was also blessed to be in the barrenly beautiful desert while reading it! What a wonderfully beautiful backdrop to read a book on beauty!
   
   So, if Dubay writes anymore books, I emphatically recommend that he either learn how to use a comma, or hire an editor who does; and, if ever again he dabbles in commenting on rock music, he needs to specify what he means by "rock music", and only comment on things which he is qualified to comment on.



4. Great book--doesn't completely overcome my doubts about God, but comes close. Everyone should read the chapters on the maxi, midi, and mini marvels we come in contact with every day.



5. I can't say enough about this book to do it real justice. Evidential Power of Beauty has not only opened my eyes, mind, and senses to creation on a deeper level, but it has intensified my hunger and wonder that is often stifled and desensitized in American pop culture. Though one reviewer commented on Dubay's "attack" on rock and roll, I don't believe it was an attack at all. Quite the opposite. Dubay simply made a point about why certain types of music produced harsh, often filthy, shallow repetitive melodies, while others, such as Mozart, produced a more complicated, pleasing piece that required the best of the mathematical beauty and design he discusses throughout the book. It was just another comparison of the beauty of complicated design versus simplistic noise. However,I can give Dubay grace in that area, as I must allow for his lack of knowledge for a band such as YES (very complicated, very beautiful pieces of music)often categorized as "rock." (Though quite a different caliber than,say,Ozzy Osbourne.)I give Dubay a break on that facet of the book.

   I am not a scientist,a theologian, or a Catholic. You don't have to be to enjoy this book immensely and even learn a thing or two about something you probably never thought twice about--for example,water. Dubay takes time to explore the "givens" in our world that are so casually seen as "miraculous accidents." His marvelous prose and fire for God lights every page. The underlying push for even beginning to ponder God's mystery,awe, and love is, as Dubay quoted, the "ability to have the humility to sit at the foot of a dandelion."

   The book is simply a masterful work of art, a lovely tour of how theology and science merge together at the point of Beauty. Though both disciplines have opposite starting points, they lead to many of the same conclusions about our Universe.

   Buy or borrow this book, find a comfortable chair, and take your time absorbing the "evidential beauty" in this book.