The Spirit of Silence: Making Space for Creativity

by John Lane, Clifford Harper (Illustrator)

The importance of emptying the mind has been recognised for millennia across a variety of cultures. Meditation is a way of life for millions; at the end of a Hindus life, he renounces all and becomes a wandering ascetic, seeking union with God; and the Japanese tea ceremony provides an interlude of spiritual relaxation within lives rooted in activity. Others find their creative inspiration in everyday activities such as gardening, walking, watching the sea, or listening to music.

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2006

About the author

John Lane (1930-2012) was an English painter, writer, and art editor of Resurgence magazine.

Reviews

[Leilani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this nearly as good as John Lane's preceding book 'Timeless Simplicity: Creative Living in a Consumer Society' which I recommend. Basically this is a book that is exploring silence, silence as a spiritual space, and a place from whence creativity can spring but it tried to be too much in one book I think the themes suddenly also became about happiness, about mindfulness and existing in the present moment, about living a good and wholesome life all mish-mashed together that I lost the thread of each. Interesting but a little messy it felt and also very dominated by Christian thought (reflective of Lane's interests). I feel it would have been more interesting had other religious and spiritual traditions been further explored than they were which was found just in just the opening chapter. I also think it wasn't quite as good as Lane's first book because a lot of it was driven a lot it seemed by Lane's research of individuals throughout history, mostly artists, painters, composers, significant historical figures - Walt Whitman, Virgil, Constable for example - and how they found space for silence and but these were the only few I was familiar with - I do feel that his choices of figures were quite unusual and relied perhaps to heavily on your prior understanding or knowledge of very specific figure's works. What I think it was missing that I had been looking forward to was Lane's very personal voice in taking ideas and suggesting they might apply to your daily life or how he found them appear in his own life which I usually think is wonderful, this book seemed more distant and less of his voice coming out more reporting of the creative and spiritual lives of others rather than his own. It's worth reading but definitely start with 'Timeless Simplicity' and move onto this almost as if it were a supplement to 'Timeless Simplicity' is my biggest takeaway to give someone who is yet to read this book.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring book. More scathing about modern life than is my taste really, so I wasn't sure at first I'd get on with it. But actually the lives described and poetry quoted were moving and inspiring so I'm glad I stuck with it, even if I don't entirely agree with the premise.

[NoBeatenPath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Lane's 'Timeless Simplicity' and it is a book I regularly re-read. So I was looking forward to reading this book. However, I don't think it is quite as good. While the premise is an interesting and important one - how in the modern world we have lost an interest in the importance of silence and what it can do for us - the book doesn't really do a great job of explaining why it is important. Rather, it seem to be a conceit to gather together the potted biographies of people Lane admires. While some do have a relation to silence, others don't seem to have much to do with silence at all and you are left wondering why they are in this book. I am also disappointed that Lane used many examples of people who retreated from the world who could achieve this only because they lived in positions of privilege - Dickinson, Virgil etc. - and didn't discuss the fact that you don't need to have parents who provide you a house or an independent income to be able to 'take a break' from the outside world sometimes.

[Islam Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book! One star goes missing for having extravagant amount of quotations and stories, it's nice, but it's better to have the writer tell a new story of their own and bringing his own experience/theory or hypothesis you may see, however that wasn't the style of the book, it's just my preference I would say. Also the book will be way more interesting if the writer could have been able to relate the experiences of the monks and the great poets and artists with scientific more elaborate data on it's effect on the human body and mind.

Overall: You Should read this and take it slow at a time and Enjoy it!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected from the book, but it seemed to repeat a lot of what I've read before, either about silence or about creativity. I mostly floated through the book, fairly tranquil, but by the end I was asking, "Is this all there is?" It's not a bad book, just... unsatisfying, I guess.

[Nan Sutida · Rating 3 out of 5]

นำเสนอมุมมองให้เราหยุดพัก ฟัง อยู่กับปัจจุบัน ไม่ไปตามกระแสการขายของ
ยิ่งอ่านยิ่งไม่อยากกลับไปทำงานออฟฟิศ อาจจะทำให้เพ้อเจ้อมากขึ้น อยากอยู่คนเดียวอยากไปนั่งสมาธิ อยากว่ายน้ำไปเรื่อยๆ
ความสุขไม่ได้มีจากการมีอะไรๆมากขึ้น มันอยู่กับเรา
ได้ quote ดีๆมามากมาย ต้องคอยเตือนตัวเอง อย่าไปไว้ใจมัน ไอ้ marketing

read on a kindle while at sea in Similan Islands

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book I need to own. There is so much wisdom contained in these pages that it is far too difficult to pick one quote!