Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Meditative Beauty of Reading
    The Meditative Beauty of Reading
    The Meditative Beauty of Reading
    Ebook46 pages37 minutes

    The Meditative Beauty of Reading

    By Richard Hazzlewood

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Part philosophical treatise, part spiritual meditation, this short work looks at reading from the point of view of subjective experience: how it enlivens the imagination and even provides an alternate world. The author includes personal anecdote, but focuses on a general aesthetic of the reading experience. There are aesthetic ruminations, consideration of the spiritual dimension of reading, and a brief comparison to other art forms. The general sphere of literature, philosophy and religious works are included for this investigation. It is hoped the reader will be equally instructed and entertained!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRichard Hazzlewood
    Release dateMar 14, 2017
    ISBN9781370232352
    The Meditative Beauty of Reading
    Author

    Richard Hazzlewood

    Quiet academic type from North West England. BA English, MA Renaissance Literature.I studied in exile by the rivers of Babylon for 3 years, aka Cambridge. And I descended into Egypt, aka PricewaterhouseCoopers. Now I live in a spiritual hermitage where I study literature, philosophy and religion.I am a Roman Catholic convert, and particularly find spiritual fulfilment in the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Liturgy of the Hours.Beer, wine, and spirits are my three branches of government. I am currently especially interested in French and Italian red.Philosophy is really the driving force of my life, and I always seek to question and open up new vistas on being. From Classical ethics to Medieval metaphysics to existentialism, I like to run the gamut of philosophical thought.Poetry is an abiding passion of mine.Finally, a list of books I hold very close to my heart: Augustine, 'Confessions'; Bonaventure, 'Journey of the Mind to God'; Dante, 'The Divine Comedy'; Plato, 'Phaedrus'; Cervantes, 'Don Quixote'; 'The Bhagavad Gita', & of course, 'The Bible'.

    Read more from Richard Hazzlewood

    Related to The Meditative Beauty of Reading

    Related ebooks

    Religion & Spirituality For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      I Will Follow In The Direction Of Hope

      Sep 27, 2022

      I Will Follow In The Direction Of Hope
      5 min read

    • Article

      Searching for a Soul Mate Is Futile. The Ideal Partner Is the One You Create

      May 20, 2017

      “GIVEN THAT YOU HAVE 500,000,000 POTENTIAL soul mates,” writes Randall Munroe in the science book What If?, “you would find true love only in one lifetime out of 10,000.” A cousin of mine gave a toast along these lines at his brother’s wedding. He c

      3 min read

    • Article

      On Grace

      Nov 30, 2021

      On Grace
      2 min read

    • Article

      21st Century Samsara

      Jan 19, 2021

      21st Century Samsara
      5 min read

    • Article

      Is Self-love Selfish?

      Aug 8, 2020

      Christian Maurer Edinburgh University Press, 2019 240 pages Hardback, £75.00 (paperback edition forthcoming) ISBN: 9781474413374 The concept of ‘self-love’ is sometimes touted as radical today. It was much more so in 18th-century Scotland, where inna

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Language the Poet Knows

      Dec 11, 2018

      The Language the Poet Knows
      4 min read

    • Article

      Truth You Can Trust

      Apr 27, 2021

      If we’re faced with confusion or deceit, it can seem hard to know what truth is. But understanding God’s nature as infallible Truth itself empowers us to discern between what’s true and what’s false.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Yes, Your Loud Neighbors Are Driving You Bonkers

      Dec 28, 2022

      Years ago, my fiancé and I found a dream apartment in Brooklyn. With high ceilings and spacious rooms, it sat next to an urban garden so that trees and shrubs peeked into our windows. Yet we soon discovered a big problem. Our upstairs neighbors had t

      3 min read

    • Article

      An Interview With Bianca Stone

      May 1, 2023

      An Interview With Bianca Stone
      11 min read

    • Article

      Hearing Voices and Talking Back: On Bibliomancy

      Mar 29, 2018

      I. Bibliomancy is a form of divination in which one consults a book for answers and advice. The process is simple: Stand the book up on its spine. Ask your question. Let the book fall open to a random page. With your eyes closed, place your finger on

      7 min read

    • Article

      A CLOSER LOOK AT Being a Fox

      Nov 1, 2017

      A CLOSER LOOK AT Being a Fox
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Writing Wisdom of Derek Walcott

      Mar 20, 2017

      “The future happens,” says the philosopher in Derek Walcott’s stage retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, “No matter how much we scream.” Walcott died on Friday at the age of 87—and instead of screaming, I’m feeling grateful towards this great poet, playwrig

      7 min read

    • Article

      Reading as Sanctuary

      Nov 7, 2021

      As a young child, reading took me to imagined worlds. Adventures had and literary friendships made. I still remember faking a sick day so I could stay home and read Matilda in one sitting (sorry, Mum) – one of my first (and only) displays of childhoo

      4 min read

    • Article

      On Apocalyptic Poetry

      Jun 25, 2018

      On Apocalyptic Poetry
      14 min read

    • Article

      Apply Aesthetic Pressure to the Language: An Interview with Paul Harding

      Jun 18, 2018

      This interview first appeared in Chinese at the Shanghai Review of Books on June 3, 2018. I spent my first Iowan winter day at home reading Tinkers, the 2010 Pulitzer Fiction Prize winner. Outside, snow began to fall. I poured myself a cup of hot tea

      19 min read

    • Article

      Bowl Of Oranges

      Sep 1, 2018

      I first read Jos Charles’s feeld as a Word document two years ago. I admired her first book, Safe Space, and wanted to know what she was working on next. When I started to read the poems in the new manuscript, I felt like the words were physically li

      9 min read

    • Article

      Clearly, God Loves Me: The Millions Interviews Nada Alic

      Sep 21, 2022

      "The whole point of art is to ask, 'Are you seeing what I’m seeing?'" The post Clearly, God Loves Me: The Millions Interviews Nada Alic appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      Concentrate ON YOUR CRAFT

      Jul 6, 2023

      Concentrate ON YOUR CRAFT
      3 min read

    • Article

      Then Who Am I? The Millions Interviews Kathleen Hill

      Oct 19, 2017

      It’s sometimes when we’re most at sea, even desperate, that novels speak to us most strongly, as if our lives depend on learning something from them essential to our own survival. The post Then Who Am I? The Millions Interviews Kathleen Hill appeared

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Meditative Beauty of Reading

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Meditative Beauty of Reading - Richard Hazzlewood

      The Meditative Beauty of Reading

      Richard Hazzlewood

      Distributed by Smashwords

      Copyright 2017 Richard Hazzlewood

      ‘Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,

      And many goodly states and kingdoms seen’

      - John Keats

      ‘Happiness consists in finding out precisely what the one thing necessary may be in our lives, and in gladly relinquishing all the rest.’

      - Thomas Merton

      Table of Contents

      Chapter One - Introduction

      Chapter Two - Broader Creativity & Aesthetics

      Chapter Three - Reading as Prime Experience

      Chapter Four - A Philosophical Journey

      Chapter Five - Reading as Instruction

      Chapter Six - Reading as Consolation

      Chapter Seven - Our Highest Good

      Chapter Eight - The Peace That Passeth Understanding

      Chapter One - Introduction

      ‘The greatest boon is perhaps never to have been born’ - so writes Sophocles. At times I am inclined to agree, were it not for reading. For reading fulfils every need and desire. It catapults us into our own ideal world. The world outside could be crumbling away, but reading ensures we have a viable world of our own. Indeed, I see the outside world as gravely unpleasant. I am an introvert with social anxiety, and I have never enjoyed the prospect of travel or large social engagements. For me, the ideal life is reading, perhaps in a paradisiacal garden with a gin and tonic. But I have always valued my own time, and indeed no activity is more satisfying in its peaceful and solitary nature than reading.

      Reading brings us close to the gods, a state of well being and splendour. Nothing can affect us, no dire event can befall us other than the rhythm of the pages we are following. Fiction and nonfiction both have so much to offer. It is as if, in the state of reading, we are perfectly at rest in our imaginary world, and we need pay no heed to what is going on outside us. The creative imagination is so beautiful: it is an immense gift. Film and TV do not even come close - nothing can rival the solitary beauty of reading. If I had to choose, I would rather seclude myself away and spend my days reading, with scarce any other activity. Now I know it is important to live a balanced life, but I am an introvert. To one such as me, the written page offers everything I could possibly want. Audiobooks too are pleasant.

      Plato railed against the written word at the end of the ‘Phaedrus’, but I believe he was being partly ironic. After all, his dialogues are the most wonderful philosophical literature, so much more alive than Aristotle’s dry lecture notes. Aristotle can be a joy too, but for other reasons. Plato’s literary style is beautiful. And we cannot forget the mystical splendour of Plotinus’ ‘Enneads’ either, although the style is much inferior to Plato (however, the content is wonderful and inspired St Augustine).

      In any case, I thrive from reading. Money doesn’t really interest me, honour certainly not. I am not looking to leave some spellbinding legacy.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1