Join Thomas Merton in spellbinding lectures on two essential philosophical topics. In this audio program, you will learn about the meaning of life and the essence of beauty with Thomas Merton, one of the twentieth century's great thinkers. Delivered with unrivaled brilliance and insight, these remastered recordings of Merton himself will transport you into the abbey where he taught and imparted his spiritual wisdom. In the first part, you will explore man's search for meaning. Merton draws from such diverse wisdom as the psychoanalysis of Viktor Frankl, the mysticism of Sufism, Hasidic lore, and the poetry of William Wordsworth to demonstrate how the search for meaning is essential to our existence. Meaning, he says, dwells deep within all of us, and we only need to root ourselves in spirituality to discover this. Next, you will look at the philosophical concept of beauty. As humans, we are naturally drawn to the beautiful, whether in art or in nature. True beauty is transcendent, extending beyond the merely aesthetic, and it is essential to the spiritual life. Art and contemplation bring us to the highest form of pleasure, that is, the beauty of God. By understanding beauty, then, we thus move towards spiritual perfection and fulfillment. These moving conferences delivered by Merton challenge the intellect and move the spirit. Listen to his timeless words today. (Photograph of Thomas Merton by Sibylle Akers. Used with Permission of the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.)