John had been scheduled to give a talk in Canada on March 30, 2008. We recently received from the organizer a copy of the short description John wrote about the topic he planned to address that night. She thought we might want to share it with all of you; and we do.
Here it is - just as he wrote it:

THE ART OF DEVELOPING A BEAUTIFUL MIND.
The world is not simply there. Everything and everyone we see, we view through the lenses of our thoughts. Your mind is where your thoughts arise and form. It is not simply with your eyes but with your mind that you see the world. So much depends on your mind: How you see yourself, who you think you are, how you see others, what you think the meaning of life is, how you see death, belief, God, darkness and beauty is all determined by the style of mind you have.
Your mind is your greatest treasure. We become so taken up with the world, with having and doing more and more that we come to ignore who we are and forget what we see the world with. The most powerful way to change your life is to change your mind. In this evening’s talk, we will explore ways of awakening, enriching and refining your mind. We will use lecture, conversation, story, poetry and meditation.
When you beautify your mind, you beautify your world. You learn to see differently. In what seemed like dead situations, secret possibilities and invitations begin to open before you. In old suffering that held you long paralysed, you find new keys. When your mind awakens, your life comes alive and the creative adventure of your soul takes off. Passion and compassion become your new companions. As St. Iraneus said in the 2nd Century: The glory of God is the human person fully alive.

Friday, May 8, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
This is so simple and yet so profundly beautiful.
Thank you for this. I only wish that I had met this great sage in person. Fortunately, his spirit carries on, and I find myself crossing his path again today. I woke up this morning, and followed my urge to write down a mantra for myself. Happily, it is along the lines of what you shared here. I have a ways to go, but I have a better idea of how to get there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for keeping John O'Donohue's loving, and beautiful mind available for us to return to.
.....it's all around if we could but perceive....Harvey Milkman,clinical psychologist, Boston Uni, talks (beautifully) about "The
Ecstacy of Consciousness", wherein the mind, connecting with the all,awakens the passion of at-one-ment ...."the passionate melt of the stars"
Post a Comment