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Rating: 
Summary: Finally--an anthem for beauty and meaning in the arts!
Review: Finally...an anthem for beauty and meaning in the arts! I sent a copy of this book, in an early manuscript edition, to Sir Kenneth Clark, the late doyen of British art historians. Lord Clark thanked me, remarking that he'd "found myself much in agreement with it." And, no wonder; where Clark ferreted meaning from the clutter of Western art in his celebrated television series, "Civilisation," Walters's subject is even wider: the arts as a force for personal change. And he's found a marvelously clarifying key in the concept of Self-realization. Pick up a puppet by the head, and everything becomes order; lift it by an arm and it's a jumble. Similarly, Walters shows that if we grasp the arts from the focusing perspective of human fulfillment, we'll have free sailing. At least, if we understand where human fulfillment actually lies. And Walters is sublimely qualified to talk about human potentials. In an alternate persona, he's known Swami Kriyananda--one of the most prolific and lucid interpreters of oriental philosophy and spirituality for the West. When I was at Stanford in the '60s, I wish I'd had "Art as a Hidden Message," because it would have saved me a great deal of time. This book is quite amazing for the way it finds the essences in philosophy, the arts, and spiritual practice; and Walters makes it all immensely enjoyable. With such a vast subject before him, you'd think he'd run out of breath, but he never does. This is Michael Jordan of the mind. "Art as a Hidden Message" is a great Groovy Book. I suspect Walters will eventually be honored as brilliant synthesizing minds. That's okay, but don't wait--this is a stunningly universal, immensely satisfying book.
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Summary: Walters liberates the arts from meaninglessness
Review: Nearly 20 years ago, I sent an early edition of this book (titled "Meaning in the Arts") to the late Lord Kenneth Clark, doyen of British art historians. The renowned author of the "Civilisation" book and TV series courteously responded, saying that he found himself "much in agreement" with Walters's views. Despite its somewhat "new-agey" title (the book is, after all, addressed primarily to working artists, and not to academe), it's the most inspiring and profoundly insightful book I've ever read about the arts. Definitely, it has the power to help return the arts, and society, to a sense of meaning. After Lord Clark's "Civilisation" was published, numerous readers wrote to thank him for restoring their sense of meaning, to the extent that he'd dissuaded them from committing suicide. "Art as a Hidden Message" has that kind of power. I'm confident that Lord Clark, were he alive today, would find himself still in agreement with the views expressed in this much-expanded editions.
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Summary: Thank you Mr. Walters
Review: What an inspiration for creative people everywhere, and certainly a guide, not only to self-realization, but also a practical foundation for anyone searching for what art, or indeed, any expression of life, means.
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