Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Thomas Moore
Publisher:	Harper Paperbacks
Release date:	26 January, 1994
List price:	~~$14.00~~
Our price:	$11.20 that is 20% off!

Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

Average rating: Stars

Finally, a "spiritual" book even men can enjoy

Who would think that a psychiatrist could possibly have anything sensible to say about the real world? In his eviscerating series of articles in the NY Review of Books, Frederick Crews has amply shown that most psychiatrists are nothing more than emotionally crippled left-wingers who live parasitically on their narcissist hosts. And then to tackle a subject--personal spirituality--that has been gummed up by every maudlin bathos-peddler since Pollyanna's dying father, why the chances of any thing sensible being said by that combination-much less fascinating-seems one in a million.

Well, psychiatrist Thomas Moore has succeeded beyond all expectations. His book is truly one in a million. Since he is the expert, here are a few excerpts of what he has to say:

" The great malady of the twentieth century, implicated in all of our troubles and affecting us individually and socially, is "loss of soul." When soul is neglected, it doesn't just go away; it appears symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, vio¬lence, and loss of meaning. Our temptation is to isolate these symp¬toms or to try to eradicate them one by one; but the root problem is that we have lost our wisdom about the soul, even our interest in it.
Modern psychologies and therapies often contain an unspoken but clear salvational tone. If you could only learn to be assertive, loving, angry, expressive, contemplative, or thin, they imply, your troubles would be over. [On the other hand] The self-help books of the Middle Ages and Renaissance... gave recipes for good living and offered suggestions for a practical, down-to-earth philosophy of life. I'm interested in this humbler approach, one that is more accepting of human foibles, and indeed sees dignity and peace as emerging more from that ac¬ceptance than from any method of transcending the human con¬dition. Therefore, this book, my own imagination of what a self-help manual could be, is a guide offering a philosophy of soulful liv¬ing and techniques for dealing with everyday problems without striving for perfection or salvation.
"Fulfilling work, rewarding relationships, personal power, and relief from symptoms are all gifts of the soul. They are particularly elusive in our time because we don't believe in the soul and there-fore give it no place in our hierarchy of values. We have come to know soul only in its complaints: when it stirs, disturbed by neglect and abuse, and causes us to feel its pain. It is commonplace for writers to point out that we live in a time of deep division, in which mind is separated from body and spirituality is at odds with ma¬terialism. But how do we get out of this split? We can't just "think" ourselves through it, because thinking itself is part of the problem. What we need is a way out of dualistic attitudes. We need a third possibility, and that third is soul.
"What I am going to present in this book, then, is a program for bringing soul back into life.
This book will focus not just on the idea of soul, but on concrete ways we can foster soulfulness in our ordinary everyday lives."

And foster it he does. This is a work of astonishing common sense, with reverence for the common man in all of us, and filled with genuine inspiration. Truly a one in a million text.

Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life - Thomas Moore

Search for Soul

I have to admit, I was hoping to find a simple and concise definition of the soul in the first few pages. Sigh, it's not there.

What I did find is a vague and complex description which lasts the entire book. I'm come to appreciate this approach though. I believe it is consistent with the nature of the soul. At least, what I've come to understand the soul to be. A machine might produce a simple guide to the soul but a machine has no soul. It is very human, and soulful, for the author to struggle and explore. This book is both a guide to the soul and an example of the author's well developed soul.

I've read very few books in my life. So when I started this book I was cautious. I don't want to be misled or waste my time. This book required a lot of concentration but it was worth it. I used this book to help me deal with a new job in a large corporation.

Even before I had this book I complained that my new work environment was a soul robbing hell hole. I used the term "soul robbing" but I really didn't understand what that meant. This book helped me see how robot-like attention to procedures, treating people like cogs in a machine and being devoted to one "right" way all violate the nature of the soul. I have the same job now but I compensate. I may not change the company but I can at least hold on to my soul.

This book also confirmed some of my own thoughts about what's important. I used to tell yoga teachers that I come to class mostly just to learn how to be a kid again. I was partly serious and partly joking. Now, after reading this book, I'm more convinced than ever that being a kid is the right direction. A lot of what the author values in soul work (wonder, curiosity, patience, honesty, simplicity, vulnerability, appreciation, action, vision and love) seem natural for the type of kid I want to be. I'm relieved that I don't have to create a soul from scratch. Hopefully it's just a matter of reclaiming the soul I started out with.

This book is full of interpretations. Of dreams, myths and poetry. So I think the author would be sorely disappointed in me if I didn't look deeper for what's behind this book. Here goes... This book is about the soul but it was written for love. I believe Thomas Moore wrote this book as an expression of his love for a woman. Her name is Joan Hanley. And I would give anything to know how this book affected their relationship. I know, many who have read this book will think I'm crazy but, I swear, I found this in the pages.

Read this book and you'll be able to tell all your spiritual friends that you've got soul. Study this book, pour over it and read it like you're going to teach it and you'll understand we all have soul. But don't stop there. Read it and be open to the possibilities why one man would pour so much energy into such a tenuous subject. Read it and wonder.

Thomas Moore - Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

A few gems in the trash

This is my second book by Moore that I've read. I have found him to be an alternative thinker. He writes some great things criticizing the course of modern society however some of his positions on morals are just unthinkable for a former monk. I agree with the reviewer who questions Moore's advice to the women whose husband was cheating on her. I've found some good insights while digging through this earthy volume.

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