The Soul Aflame: A Modern Book of Hours (Paperback)

~ (Editor), Eric Lawton (Editor, Photographer) "My soul is a furnace happy with the fire..." (more)
Key Phrases: soul aflame

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The burning passion of the creative soul is explored in an inspirational blend of brilliant color photographs with the wisdom of the ages in this 'pocket cathedral' of meditative writings from around the world.

Phil Cousineau and Eric Lawton have once again paired up to bring readers a book of hours, divided into eight periods of guided meditation that trace the natural rhythms of the day, with photographs from around the world, and from passages by diverse thinkers, including William Wordsworth, Hildegard von Bingen, Marcus Aurelius, Mevlana Rumi, James Hillman, Gautama Siddhartha Buddha, Aretha Franklin, and many more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Conari Press (November 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573241865
• ISBN-13: 978-1573241861
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #547,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book created with great care, August 29, 2000

By A Customer

A high quality book, the kind of book that feels good just to hold. Inside are dozens of inspirational poems, quotes and passages and an equal number of beautiful color photos from around the world. The author begins with the wisdom of Buddha, Sarah Vaughan and Emerson, and expands from there. Books of inspirational quotes are not new, and books of inspirational photos are not new. This book matches the best of both. Opening the book at random: "It's not the earthquake/That controls the advent of a different life/But storms of generosity/And visions of incandescent souls" -- Boris Pasternak

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a little book of peaceful inspiration, March 18, 2003

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Soul Aflame: A Modern Book of Hours (Paperback)

This is a beautiful lightweight little book, divided into seven days, Sunday through Saturday. Each day has a two-page spread for the traditional hours of prayer/meditation: midnight/matins, sunrise/lauds, 6 am/prime, 9 am/terce, noon/sext, 3 pm/none, sunset/vespers and 9 pm/compline. Each spread features, on the left page, one or two quotations or poems about the soul, our relationship to nature, etc. These inspirational thoughts come from philosophers, poets, novelists and many others, and the name, nationality and dates of birth and death are given. The right page contains a small picture with the location identified.

This book is very similar to The Soul of the World by the same collaborators and published in 1993. This volume is a little bigger, being about 7 inches square. Though the setup is the same, the quotes are different and the pictures here tend to feature people rather than natural settings.

This book is lovely for yourself or as a gift to someone who is troubled or in need of solace or inspiration. It's a way to reconnect with those ideas and thoughts that you used to have but so often get pushed aside when one begins to worry about career, mortgage, totalitarian governments and all the rest.

Find some peace. Find this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful collection across cultures, November 28, 2003

By	merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an amazing collection of thoughts, poems that really touch the soul, spirit and look deeply at questions like What are we, why are we here? Sources for the poems/prose include Wordsworth, Einstein, Yeats, Ellie Wiesel, Buddah, Longfellow, Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr. and more from across the world. From the poems and narration tucked away in the introduction to the individual passages running through the hours Sunday through Saturday, there are wonderful words to ponder and amazing photographs that accompany each moment.

At the very end of the book is an afterward of sorts entitle Becoming the Circle where the author concludes the book with : "What is life? What do we leave behind, that can't be worn down by wind, or time, or fire? It is the trace we leave on memory."

What an amazing book.