Moore comes to Toronto for I Can Do It! event

At Hay House's I Can Do It! convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 28 May to 30 May, 2010, Thomas Moore speaks about his forthcoming book Care of the Soul in Medicine: Healing Guidance for Patients, Families, and the People Who Care for Them in a concurrent session on Sunday 30 May, 10:30 a.m. at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. According to Hay House, "the breathtaking venue [is] conveniently located in the heart of vibrant downtown Toronto, within walking distance of the waterfront." The entire program for this event is available as a .pdf download.

Video features Moore talking about sense of home

Gregor Productions' three minute video on YouTube, Home: The Last Battleground features Thomas Moore talking about the importance of home in relation to soul. In addition to Moore, the video shows Carol Gregor, A. T. Mann and Erica Boucher.

On her site, http://www.carolgregor.com, Carol Gregor writes, "The home is the last battleground. The private concerns of so many can be solved by the way designs and buildings support the health of the body and soul. It is not our knowledge but our thinking that needs to be examined. Any thought of separateness is dangerous and threatens health and wellness on many levels. The language of nature offers a rubric for redesigning thinking to move existing models towards the Laws of Connection. Architecture and the ancient sacred geometries used are a language of connection, philosophical and life changing."

Moore states our buildings not only make us sick, our buildings are sick.

Hay House Radio airs Moore talking about Jesus

To promote its I Can Do It: San Diego 2010 convention, Hay House Radio interviews authors scheduled to speak at the gathering. On Saturday 16 January, 2010 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST and on Sunday 17 January, 2010, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. PST, Hay House Radio airs Finding Total Happiness which includes conversation with Thomas Moore. The second half hour includes Moore's "non conventional views of Jesus." Barque describes this episode in the post, "Hay House hosts Moore on radio program, Jan. 9".

Moore talks about Dark Eros, Venus, and healing

Journalist, speaker, publisher, Aernout Zevenbergen interviews Thomas Moore and shares "snippets" from the 1.5 hour long conversation at wow-casting.com. Zevenbergen writes, "It is my intention with WoW Casting to gather conversations with people from very diverse backgrounds and specialisations. Authors, artists, thinkers, teachers, and scientists - people who are using their creativity to find new answers, new approaches to contemporary issues in our daily lives."

After clicking on the Well of Wisdom landing page photo, the right side of the screen lists available "snippets." Click each one for a fresh screen that allows you to download the audio file. The three Moore interview segments:
Dark Eros ....... 4 minutes
Venus ............ 5 minutes
Healer .......... 10 minutes

Zevenbergen offers a newsletter and full interview access to listeners who register with his site.

The message of a soulful Christmas: "Lighten up!"

Today Rabbi Michael Lerner offers Spiritual Wisdom of the Week – In Praise of Santa Claus! on the Tikkun Daily Blog, featuring sections from an article "The Eternal, Holy Night" by Thomas Moore, published in the November/December 2003 issue of Tikkun Magazine. Excerpts include,

"The most stirring songs of the season, "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night," and the popular verse-tale "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" explore the emotion of night, especially this night on which light once again shows itself. We honor this mythic night full of hopeful appearances – angels with their song, flying reindeer, kings bearing gifts of gold and spices, a lowly stable aflame with the brilliant arrival of the divine child.

Historically, Christmas was heavily influenced by the Roman festival of Saturnalia, a time of revelry and feasting when the burden of rules was suspended and values were turned upside down. Its arrival reminds us of certain values that we forget during the rest of the year. Why not learn from Christmas Saturnalia to be more forgiving and less moralistic, not to justify our existence by hard work alone but to find meaning in play and celebration, and to give more of ourselves to our children?"

In the 2003 article, Moore also writes,

"I like to speak of the soul of Christmas as well as its spirit. The soul of Christmas is low, embodied, tolerant, diverse, not always virtuous but humorous and earthy. The soulful side of Christmas comes forth in the preparation of family and community meals and the reenactment of traditional customs. I think we have it right when we go shopping, make cookies, sing carols, and trim trees. We might deepen these traditions by giving thoughtful, heartfelt gifts, contacting old friends, and giving more than usual attention to children. And we should all give each other--adults and children--at least one toy, as a symbol of our retreat from seriousness, ambition, and work. It honors the child in the manger, who is not an image of silly, naive childishness, but of new life, hope, fresh vision, and imagination."

Moore includes ideas that appear in his book, Writing in the Sand, published last year:

"The Jesus of religion is not a mere philosopher or teacher. He comes from another reality, and so at his birth there is no room for him at the inn, an image of accepted human society. He is comforted by animals, received by shepherds, and acknowledged by kings and wizards. By nature he is outside the box of normality.

To take him to heart requires being outside the box yourself, discovering that when you think radically about love as a basis for life and culture, there will be no room in the inn for you. You will be eccentric, ostracized perhaps, and eventually even crucified. You will be like some Gnostic visitor, someone who fell to earth to awaken those who have fallen asleep and have forgotten the wisdom that would make human life effective."

The Guru of Golf tees off in Spring, 2010

Thomas Moore’s collection of short stories, The Guru of Golf and Other Stories about the Game of Life will be available in 2010.

According to his publisher, "While to some chasing a small white ball across a vast field of grass may seem pointless, the game of golf has, for centuries, drawn everyone from the poor working class to the upper crust of society. There is something enchanting about the experience of golf that sets it apart from other sports. In this collection of 18 short stories, The Guru of Golf celebrates perhaps one of the most widely popular of athletic pursuits. Thomas Moore shows us how golf can be a perfect metaphor for life itself - endlessly mysterious, joyful, and captivating, yet at times unbearable. From the tee to the green, he intertwines modern and classical tales that illustrate the challenges players face - on and off the course. A game rife with strict rules on etiquette and both physically and mentally taxing, golf tests the body, mind, and spirit. Humorous and insightful,The Guru of Golf captures the range of emotions associated with its players' ardent determination; searches for meaning behind quiet, solitary moments; and reveals the struggles that try our patience, as well as the victories that make the game - and life - worthwhile."

The Guru of Golf
and Other Stories about the Game of Life
by Thomas Moore
Hardcover: 200 pages
Publisher: Hay House (May 15 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1401925650
ISBN-13: 978-1401925659

Give up thought patterns for heaven on earth

Heal Your Life offers an excerpt from the introduction of Thomas Moore’s Writing in the Sand, entitled "The Day Your Thoughts Stood Still". Moore writes:

"When I was ten years old, I saw the sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s about a man who comes to Earth in a space ship to tell the warring governments of Earth not to bring their conflicts out into space. Like a Gnostic messenger, he travels here to warn human beings to change their way of life.

This movie version of what was a short story consciously draws parallels to the story of Jesus. I have always been inspired by the movie, but I would rather bring its spirit of renewal to our understanding of Jesus than see Christ themes in the film. The point of Jesus’ mission is not to draw attention to himself but to transform the way human beings live.”

The passage concludes, "And when we break free of our thought patterns, we’ll be able to see Jesus’ purpose as not to form a religion but to transform the world, not to exploit this life for a heavenly reward but to establish heaven on earth."

The Heal Your Life site is maintained by Moore’s publisher, Hay House. It offers additional insights from other authors and spiritual leaders.

Blogger shares points from Moore's Soul Mates

The blog, "Orixa in Exile", offers a summary of Moore’s best seller under the heading "Notes from Soul Mates by Thomas Moore". Some points include page numbers, others are listed with bullets. The summary begins:

Preface
•Moore explains his biases, his Catholic upbringing, his Jungian predisposition, fondness for Renaissance theology
•It's my conviction that slight shifts in imagination have more impact on living than major efforts at change.
•The Renaissance theologians, my primary teachers, advocated "natural religion" ― not in the eighteenth century sense of a rational religion, but as a sensitivity to the sacred in everyday life.

Spring Journal reviews Moore's latest book

The Spring Journal for Fall 2009, volume 82, with the theme Symbolic Life, contains a review of Thomas Moore's latest book, Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels, written by Dennis Patrick Slattery. It's title is "Twisting toward the Kingdom: A Review of Thomas Moore’s Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels."

The review is unavailable online. This volumn of the journal may be purchased for $25.95 U.S. "This new issue of Spring celebrates the 70th anniversary of [Carl] Jung's 1939 lecture on "The Symbolic Life" to the Guild of Pastoral Psychology in London and considers if and how Jung’s path into living a symbolic life is still viable today."

Moore muses in latest Resurgence magazine

Resurgence magazine's theme for September-October 2009 (no. 256) is Exploring Consciousness. Thomas Moore's regular feature, Deep Spirit, is titled "The Muse," with the subtitle "Recognising the other forms of consciousness at work in the world." Unfortunately, this column isn't available online.

In his welcome message, "Quantum Leap", editor Satish Kumar writes, "Consciousness is not merely a philosophical or scientific theory: it is a living reality. At this moment in time we need this realisation more than ever. We need to make a transition from an ego-centred worldview to an eco-centred worldview; from ignorant and wasteful ways of living to an elegant, simple and respectful way of living: transition from dependence on coal, nuclear and oil to a relationship with water, sun and soil; transition from a desire to control and dominate to an intention to relate, participate and celebrate. Crises and conflicts arise when we are out of touch with the reality of consciousness. Peace and prosperity prevail when we are alive to consciousness."

Purchase Resurgence online.

Read Care of the Soul excerpt about spirituality

The May 1993 issue of Psychology Today offers a long excerpt about spirituality from Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul. In it, Moore suggests,

"Just as the mind digests ideas and produces intelligence, the soul feeds on life and digests it, creating wisdom and character out of experience. Renaissance Neoplatonists said that the outer world serves as a means of deep spirituality and that the transformation of ordinary experience into the stuff of soul is all-important. If the link between life experience and deep imagination is inadequate, then we are left with a division between life and soul, and such a division will always manifest itself in symptoms."

Section titles in excerpt:
Psychological Modernism
Everyday Sacredness
Maintenance of the Holy

Excerpt:
Three individual pages
One continuous page

The last paragraph states, "We have no idea yet of the positive contribution that could be made to us individually and socially by a more soulful religion and theology. Our culture in is need of theological reflection that does not advocate a particular tradition, but tends the soul's need for spiritual direction. In order to accomplish this goal, we must gradually bring soul back to religion."

Readers who enjoy Moore's Care of the Soul may want to read his The Soul's Religion next.

Resources for dark nights of the soul and health

Spiritual Care: A Newsletter for Spiritual Care Providers Across Manitoba" Number 10 October 2005, features the editorial "Health — A Matter Of The Soul" by Rev. Glen R. Horst in which he writes,

"To do soul work we must face the challenge illness poses to our sense of control and worth in the world. Our automatic inclination is to meet the challenge by fighting the illness with the best medical interventions available. At one level this is necessary, but in spite of all appearances it is not the road to health. The road to health requires soul work that moves beyond automatic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. Soul work involves opening to the experience of illness and allowing the experience to open our heart (our emotional centre). Soul work is done as we review our life story and deepen our consciousness of who we are, how we are living, and what our vocation or mission in life is. Soul work takes us beneath the surface of the illness experience and connects us deeply to ourselves, to others who care about us, and to the Sacred Mystery that embraces all of life.

Soul work is tough and difficult to do alone, but through it we can create a quiet space in the midst of chaos for choosing how to live through a loss of health in meaningful and loving ways. Soul work is the path to health. When soul work is engaged, healing may occur even without a cure."

On page 6 of the same issue, Laure Salo reviews Thomas Moore's Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals for the book section, "Between The Covers". Salo writes,

"Thomas says, "Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening. How you think about this rhythm of moods makes all the difference." In this book, Thomas considers many kinds of dark nights, cites many personal experiences, and relates wisdom, and insights gained from many well-known personalities including Bogart, Keats, Anne Sexton, and of course, John of the Cross. He indicates that there are many ways to deal with them: pills, psychotherapy, expert advice, spiritual guidance, books and tapes, workshops, churches, communities, government guidelines and spas. However, he seems to believe these are all suggestions to "get out of the darkness quickly" He is suggesting, alternatively, "The real task is to live in, and with, the darkness, appreciating its unredeemed value, and loving its irreversible qualities. What is needed is a view of life that includes the dark. ... that insight may not heal you or give you the sense of being whole, but it may give you some intelligence about life." I appreciated the challenge this book presents, and the wise, refreshing insights offered.

It reminded me of the book, The Spirituality of Imperfection. Storytelling and the Journey to Wholeness, by Ernest Kurtz (Author of Not-God) and Katherine Ketcham.

I thought these books worth mentioning as well:
Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness meditations in everyday life by Jon Kabat-Zinn. He has also written Full Catastrophe Living and Coming To Our Senses.

The Voice Of Knowledge, a Toltec Wisdom Book, by Don Miguel Ruiz. He has also written The Four Agreements, and A Companion To The Four Agreements. This is translated from Spanish, and seems to be in a style of speaking that is quite delightful."

Moore contributes selection about education

The paperback edition of Reimagining Education: Essays on Reviving the Soul of Learning will be released 17 October 2009 by Spring Journal. Dennis Patrick Slattery and Jennifer Leigh Selig collect essays by eighteen master teachers, including Thomas Moore's "The Dance of Learning" beginning on page 7. James Hillman writes the first entry, "City, Soul and Myth" available for online reading through amazon.com.

Product Details
Reimagining Education: Essays on Reviving the Soul of Learning
Paperback: 189 pages
Publisher: Spring Journal (October 17, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1882670639
ISBN-13: 978-1882670635

Moore talks about Jesus with Hay House Radio

Hay House Radio host, Diane Ray, interviews Thomas Moore about his new book, Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels during her "I Can Do It Hour": "Thomas presents the essence of Jesus' teachings and explains how to meaningfully integrate his principles into your life today." The original air date was yesterday. The program also airs May 1, 2009, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm PDT and May 3, 2009, 2:00 am - 3:00 am PDT, and may be downloaded on demand.

Find meaning in work during the 21st century

Keith Suter offers a podcast and transcript of an October 2008 interview he conducted with Thomas Moore about his book, A Life at Work for the Australian Institute of Company Directors. The transcript offers insight into Moore’s understanding of spirituality and religion and their significance in our life work during the twenty-first century.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"Moore: I don’t use the word spiritual much but I do speak about things that come from beyond us. It’s true that I do come from a religious background but I am finding that many experts in religion have a much more sophisticated notion of these things. What we do sometimes is think of religion and the spiritual in very naive and old-fashioned terms. Very conservative terms. What I am trying to do is be part of this movement where we don’t make these grand distinctions between secularism and religion, as we don’t see them anymore. We are not talking about the existence of some voice out there, something floating through the cosmos. What I am saying is that I hope we can be more intelligent and sophisticated about the way our life takes shape. To be secularistic is what I would call it and dismiss these notions of the mystic and that which transcends our world and consciousness. We have to look at our life and admit to ourselves that we are not fully in charge of this. I am not saying that there is an angel floating around or something, but I am saying that we are not fully in control.

Suter: You seem to be bordering on what some would call the new age.

Moore: Well, I am not a new age or any other type of Catholic. It is there and is a part of me and I think that my theology influences me but so do other religions ― Zen Buddhism, ancient Greek and others. I think that these religions hold tremendous wisdom for us and I think that it would be a shame if we lose this and adopt some kind of scientism or secularism that looses that wisdom. Then all we have left is cold scientific studies and some people’s facts. I don’t think that that is enough for us to get along."

The podcast is approximately 25 minutes.

Watch Thomas Moore at Antioch University

Thomas Moore’s December 2008 presentation at Antioch University New England, "Building Successful Relationships Using Spiritual Principles" is available for download as a four-part podcast or as a 70-minutes streaming video. According to a university description of the evening:

"More than three-hundred people came to hear Dr. Thomas Moore, bestselling author and practicing psychologist, speak about spirituality and relationships during a fascinating evening talk co-hosted by Antioch New England and MAPS Counseling Services. Moore has an easy, relaxed delivery style that kept the crowd listening intently to his thoughtful insights about the nature of love, the soul, spirituality in the modern world, and the joys and difficulties of relationships.

Dr. Moore uses his wide reading, deep erudition, and wry humor to explore what it means to be a spiritual being in the modern world. He joked that when people are disappointed to hear he has not read a particular author, he tells them he does not read anything written in the last five hundred years. While it’s true that he does often cite Heraclitus, Erasmus, or Buddha, he is also well-versed in the writings of Carl Jung…"

Thomas Moore has appeared on The Oprah Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Sunday Morning on CBS.

"Living without enemies" is a challenge

"Loving your enemies is not an instant achievement or a remote ideal. It is an ongoing process with varying degrees of perfection. And it's hard work, requiring patience and tenacity."
― Thomas Moore

Read "Walk with Your Enemy", a piece by Thomas Moore in Life Positive, October 2005. In this contribution, Moore writes,

"It's the business of religion to turn things upside down. Indeed, the proper language of religion is paradox. Many people think of spirituality as a higher level of the world they know, but the traditions teach that as a person matures, he has to learn about the opposite side of everything he has come to understand. Jesus suggests that the poor are the really rich ones. And according to current Biblical scholars, the story of the Good Samaritan is not just about seeing your neighbor in someone from another culture or race. It shows that the most unlikely and despised people, not we spiritual types, may be the very ones practicing spiritual ideals like compassion. In religion, the whole world is upside down."
...
"The paradoxes of religion and the spiritual traditions are not just intellectual surprises; they are a challenge for you to move in a direction that may be far different from the one you know and love. They ask you to have it in mind to consider the opposite of what may seem common sense, or the opposite to what has identified you for years. The flipping over of your vision, metanoia, may be the most difficult thing in life."

Moore’s new book Writing in the Sand, about the soul of the Gospels, will be released in May 2009.

The Church is a vision of values and actions

For Spirituality and Health's last issue of 2008, Thomas Moore writes about his decision to leave the monastic Servite order when he was twenty-five years old, in "Leaving the Church?".

"Forty years have passed since that morning of decision, and I have tried to follow the monastic ideals in my own way. I continue to enrich my layperson married writer’s life with the Servite spirit. But little by little, all that religion has become invisible in my life and personality. If you looked closely at me and my life, you wouldn’t see the things that typically identify a religious person, but in my own view I am more Catholic, more religious, and more spiritual than ever.

So, it seems that I didn’t leave the order that morning, nor did I leave the Church. On the contrary, I have been moving farther into it. Today, I lecture and give sermons in churches of every denomination. The Church is not a building, not a creed, not a membership, not an authority, not even a community, unless it is the community of all beings. It’s a vision, expressed in values and action, shared with the entire world.

Being in the Church and maintaining the monastic spirit in my life means being more engaged with life itself, more connected to the community of the world, and catholic — meaning universal, openly engaged in every moment, in every place, with every thing. I know that I have not created this path. It was laid out there for me from the beginning. I had only to accept the invitation to follow it. I know it isn’t for everyone, probably for very few. I haven’t the slightest need to convert anyone to it. I don’t even understand it."

Moore concludes, "I thank God for the gift of being invited one fateful autumn day into a bigger world and a larger sense of religion."

Practise imaginative therapies for conflicts

Today, Thomas Moore adds the post "Therapy for World Politics" to his Psychology Today blog, Care of the Soul. He advocates that doctors and psychologists voice solutions to environmental degradation and world conflicts. After observing:

"One of our problems is that we are so numb to violence that we assume it is the natural way to deal with international conflicts. A first step toward sanity might be to imagine alternative strategies. I am aware that many groups of professionals are already working hard at such strategies, but if a fresh imagination were to come from the realm of psychology, it might have special effect."

Moore offers seven questions to groups considering alternatives. He concludes:

"Unless psychology engages these difficult questions of the real world, it is left with what Sandor Fereczi might label "masturbatory activities." We take pleasure in playing idly with our own toys and our own body of interests. It's time to break through the shell and take on the world with the insights of our profession."

Read Moore's post and contribute answers to his thoughtful questions.

Moore talks about stories, dreams and soul

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network offers Thomas Moore's talk, "How Can We Find the Meaning and Shape of Our Lives" as a free on-demand program in three audio formats. Moore speaks about "looking at our dreams and considering the stories we tell of our lives, our family, and the places we have been," and answers two questions about politics and spirituality from the audience. The Life Story Center at the University of Southern Maine celebrated its 20th anniversary on Wednesday 15 October 2008 with Moore as the featured speaker. His presentation was broadcast on 20 November 2008 and is archived on the network's site.

Hay House pitches book in 2009 catalogue

Hay House Inc., publisher of Thomas Moore’s next book, Writing in the Sand: Jesus & the Soul of the Gospels, offers this catalogue description (p. 9) to potential buyers for the book's launch in May 2009:

"In Writing in the Sand, Thomas Moore finds striking new meaning in the rich stories and imagery of the Gospels, recasting Jesus not as a teacher of morals and beliefs but as a spiritual visionary with a radical vision for humanity. This highly original take on the Gospels offers a fresh, new way of imagining human life and society. It presents Jesus not as the founder of a religion but as a world reformer offering a spiritual path to everyone, from every background. It offers a personal spirituality fit for the 21st century, where the individual bears responsibility for meaning and for a creative, convivial way of life."

"In his examination of the original Greek texts, Thomas Moore dismisses the cautionary voice of tradition and explores the deeper significance of language, stressing the origins of words and the many levels of meaning in stories and imagery. Through his study, he shows that the teachings of Jesusare challenging in a far different way than the moralism often associated with them. Based on being open to life, deepening your understanding, and giving up all defensiveness around your convictions, the Gospels can be the source of a new kind of certainty and stability that cannot be codified and enshrined in a list of rules. Writing in the Sand presents the essence of Jesus’s teachings and offers a way of understanding them intelligently and devotedly in the 21st century."

Listen to Moore's interview about work

ABC Radio National airs the New Dimensions Media interview with Thomas Moore about work on Wednesday 21 January 2009 at 12 noon and the following day at 1:00 a.m. You may download the 54 minute program, recorded earlier this year with Michael Toms, by scrolling to the middle of the linked page and clicking on:

Working for Your Soul: with Thomas Moore
"Explores how we care for our souls through the work we do. He points to unexpected signs that show it might be time to re-examine your career choice."

Browse books published by HarperCollins

HarperCollins Publishers allows readers to browse books written by Thomas Moore with its imprint.

The publisher features Soul Mates on this page with links to other Moore titles, including The Soul’s Religion and Original Self.

Build out if there's little room for soul

For Spirituality and Health, in a column called, "Changing Directions", Thomas Moore dismisses the metaphor of "growth" in favour of "discovery" for a soulful life.

"People often refer to the process of becoming a better person as "growth." They go to conferences so they can grow, and they see challenges as opportunities for growth. Years ago I read an essay by James Hillman in which he expressed his distaste for this metaphor. I was convinced and ever since have avoided the word. It tends to be sentimental and doesn't accurately describe what we go through. For one thing, not growing is just as relevant - being stuck, failing, and making mistakes all help a great deal in your becoming a rich and complex person.

I prefer to see personal development as the discovery of a new room in the soul, some area of life that has great potential but has just been found. When I see a person on the threshold of such a turn, I imagine him facing a doorway that he has to enter with some courage and abandon. It might be a new self that is being offered as an expansion or complexifying of who he is. This is not growth, not a steady evolution; rather, it's a turn, an angular move in a new direction."

Moore includes the role of dreams and the need to explore unexamined spaces, before sharing a personal turn with readers.

"What is required more than anything in choosing life over death is self-confrontation - facing your fears and resistances, sorting out all the emotions and possibilities and relationships, which then allows you to make a move and complete the turn. You may have to face the fact that you have a long and abiding anger or that you are inwardly roiling with envy or jealousy. These emotions may hinder your move into new life, and so you have to acknowledge them, feel them, and let them work on you. There is usually a big price to pay for entry into a new room of the soul.
. . .
For a long time in my own life, I tried to avoid the room of the soul that had a sign on it that read "Parenthood." I argued convincingly with friends that it was not in my imagination to have children. Then my stepson appeared, and then my daughter. It has been a very good room in which to dwell. I didn't grow into being a father; I took a sharp turn in my life and built an addition.

Dreams don't say much about growing, but they show all kinds of ways to keep adding to your home. The expansion requires imagination, risk, cost, and creativity, but its reward is a deeply satisfying way of life. You will have the structure and emotional environment in which to thrive."

In the last issue of Spirituality and Health this year, Moore responds to his column title, "Leaving the Church?"

Foreword focus is leaving fundamentalism

Earlier this year, Wilfrid Laurier University Press published a book called, Leaving Fundamentalism: Personal Stories, with a foreword by Thomas Moore.

Editor: G. Elijah Dann
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press (May 26, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1554580269
ISBN-13: 978-1554580262
Foreword by Thomas Moore

A Barque post in 2006 quotes Moore’s definition of fundamentalism as:

"Fundamentalism in religion is a defensive move that comes from fear of the other. Those who believe that God is on their side, that whatever they say is divinely sanctioned and it’s their right to force it on the world, become violent and aggressive in defending their anxious beliefs. But rather than vilify fundamentalists, I think it would be more effective to admit we are all fundamentalists on some level. We all adhere to certain beliefs and language. Such fundamentalisms get in the way of an open and adventurous spiritual life..."

For this year’s book with Moore’s foreword, a description includes, "The stories in Leaving Fundamentalism provide a personal and intimate look behind sermons, religious services, and church life, and promote an understanding of those who have been deeply involved in the conservative Christian church. These autobiographies come from within the congregations and homes of religious fundamentalists, where their highly idealized faith, in all its complexities and problems, meets the reality of everyday life. Told from the perspective of distance gained by leaving fundamentalism, each story gives the reader a snapshot of what it is like to go through the experiences, thoughts, feelings, passions, and pains that, for many of the writers, are still raw."

Moore blogs with Psychology Today today

Thomas Moore starts blogging with Psychology Today in his new Spirituality blog called Care of the Soul: Creating a richer life and a more beautiful world. In his first entry, "Lighten up with Gravitas" Moore talks about next Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election and the need for candidates to show intellectual heft and humour. Moore writes,

"I've heard some commentators say that [Sarah Palin] lacks gravitas. Yes, I thought, a degree of intellectual and emotional weight is necessary in a leader, and leadership is what these elections are about. Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that fact. I see gravitas in Barack Obama, and I've watched George W. Bush struggle with it for eight years. He reaches for it, but it slips away in his folksiness and in the lightness of his thought.

But our leaders are mirrors of ourselves, and so I wonder about the gravitas of the American people. I often spend time in Ireland and find the people there quite different from Americans. Their heart is more tender and present in public life. They respond as a country in a felt way to people in need, and yet they also have gravitas. You only have to read the national newspapers there and see the intelligence and weight of ideas and respect for thought and language. Our newspapers are becoming lighter and lighter. Soon they will only be a collection of headlines and an assortment of opinionated, inflamed positions and attacks."
. . .
"But gravitas is only one side of a whole picture. The other side is lightness and humor. I haven't seen much humor among the candidates for election and I wonder if that is not due to the lack of gravitas. Good gravitas and good humor go together."

Read Moore’s entire post and comment if you have want to share thoughts with Care of the Soul readers.

Soul recipes include insights to chew on

Following the "Feasting and Fasting" theme for the November-December issue (no.251) of Resurgence magazine, Thomas Moore writes, "Food for the Soul".

In his article about increasing food’s imaginal power, Moore includes, "Perhaps the greatest challenge in this time of rapid technological advance and the shrinking of the globe is to create a world community. But that important task can’t be done in the abstract. Food can play a role. Food as community, not as a commodity. Whatever power allows lunch to foster friendship, wedding cake a marriage, and bread and wine a religion could make a community of the world’s population. But we need first to restore soul to food."

"If growers, packagers and sellers would treat food as having great potential for meaning, we might think more about eating moderately and healthfully. We might discover the power of food to cultivate friendships and family. We might appreciate its capacity to foster the all-important virtue of conviviality. Possessed of that virtue, the joy in being cohabitants of the planet, we might understand our role in making sure that the children of the world never go hungry.

ANOTHER WAY FOOD contributes to conviviality is in its extraordinary power to make the pleasures of ethnic diversity concrete and sensual. Is it the physical organism or the soul that craves an Italian dinner one night and Indian the next? The taste and colour and texture of food evoke a people and a style of life, and everyone, at any place on the globe, can be enriched as a person by tasting foreign food.”
. . .
But unfortunately imagination is not high among our priorities. When we turn food into a mere object, we tend to abuse it and abuse ourselves with it. We substitute quantity for quality. We don’t have a sensual experience of food, and therefore we eat too much. Our imagination is ‘out to lunch’, and so we stuff our bodies. We don’t value the role of food in our friendships and families, and therefore we tolerate the fast, unconscious, ungraceful ingestion of solids and liquids that today passes for dining."

Throughout the piece, Moore draws on his practice of psychotherapy to show food’s role in cultivating soul.

What do we need in corporate leadership now?

Last year, Thomas Moore contributed a chapter to a book described as "a primer for twenty-first century leadership," called Einstein's Business: Engaging Soul, Imagination, and Excellence in the Workplace, edited by Dawson Church. Moore’s chapter, "Joyful Ethics," starts on page 101, in "Part Two: Heart-Centered Leadership." Einstein’s Business won the Indie Excellence 2007 Book Award in the Business category. Other contributors are Peter Senge, Margaret Wheatley, Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Covey. Visit the Einstein’s Business site for more information about this book.

Einstein's Business
Hardcover: 483 pages
Publisher: Elite Books (January 31, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1600700152
ISBN-13: 978-1600700156

A traumatic event is an invitation to change

Thomas Moore has written a short piece "The Art of Intelligent Surrender" for the September issue of New Thought Network Connections. Moore says when the wound is deep, the questions must be deep, before concluding,

"A traumatic event invites us to cultivate our relationship to the sacred. It requires our imagination to take a quantum leap. It demands that we move toward a new sense of what it means to be human. We have to surrender to something at some level. But not naively. I think what modernism has done is to separate spirituality from science, our hearts from our minds. It’s time to get over that and be very intelligent about the way we surrender. The truth is so much bigger than either science or religion alone."

Neale Donald Walsch's quote, about letting things fall apart, follows Moore's reflection.

[Dear Admin: Please fix the typos.]

Who's speaking, you or one of your complexes?

Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul column,"Is That Your Complex Speaking?" in the July-August 2008 issue of Spirituality and Health is available online after free registration. Moore discusses psychologist Carl Jung’s use of the term "complex":

"... a bundle of ideas, memories, attitudes, emotions, passions, and habits focused on a theme — for example, the "inferiority complex." This theme can take over a person and affect how he feels and understands his situation. Talk to a person with an inferiority complex, and no matter how much you praise his talents and accomplishments, he will still feel inadequate. A complex is not reasonable and is not susceptible to reasonable argument. One aspect of a complex is that a person makes reasonable-sounding statements that actually are the complex speaking.
...
A complex is mostly unconscious, so the person talking has no idea that he or she is being controlled like a puppet by a deep-seated emotional obsession. Friends and lovers of such a person may know too well that something is wrong, but they have no idea what to do about it.

Psychologists often advise to "go with the symptom." Don’t try to get rid of it or urge its opposite. It’s better to take the symptom as given, and try to deepen it. Therefore, to a friend with an inferiority complex, you could say, "It’s extraordinary how much I don’t know about my field, and yet I get along pretty well." A person caught in an inferiority complex may need to discover that we all are ignorant of many things, all incapable and prone to error. Inferior means lower, and the inferiority complex may signal that a person has to join the human race.

It’s interesting how often the complex hides its polar opposite. The inferior person doesn’t let on how superior he feels deep down.
...
We could all deal with the highly neurotic human condition by thinking more subtly about what is being said in all of our interactions."

In the September-October issue, Moore writes about the shock of changing life directions and for November-December, "Leaving the Church?"

Moore considers forgiveness in monthly column

EDITOR'S NOTE: "Finding Freedom in Forgiveness" is available online.

At the beginning of July, Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul column in the May - June 2008 issue of Spirituality and Health, "Finding Freedom in Forgiveness" will be available online after free registration on the S&H site. Moore’s column for July - August 2008, suggests how to respond with understanding when your friend’s "complex" is speaking. It will be available for viewing at the beginning of September.

Moore's own work is topic of monthly column

Thomas Moore’s column in the March-April 2008 issue of Spirituality and Health is available online. Moore writes about "Finding Life at Work", the topic of his recent book. He begins,

"Life’s practical jokes: About three years ago I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business, when I received an invitation to speak to career counselors in San Francisco. It takes a lot to get me away from home, but I was beguiled by the man who invited me, and a few months later, there I was, speaking about work and career in the language of myth and alchemy to a very large audience of professionals. From their response, I quickly knew that going deeper into the roots of work would be a live issue.

What I didn’t know was that my own work life was about to go into crisis: I discovered that much of the money I had made on widely read books had vanished into some economic black hole. Then an editor asked me to recreate myself as a communicator, something I’ve never aspired to. Then the publication date of my next book was pushed off and off, and with no money coming in, I sought help and advice, and none was forthcoming. So in the midst of a work crisis, I wrote my new book, A Life at Work, exploring the confusion and anxiety I was experiencing.

The alchemical idea of work — work on your soul and your life — and the idea of work as a job are linked. All work has an aspect of calling, and sometimes the career or job you’ve had all your life isn’t the activity that defines you. You may find more meaning being a parent, traveling, volunteering, gardening, or playing a sport. Your life work may not be one thing but rather a mix. Work may change several times during your life, and many “jobs” may occupy you at one time. Whatever form work takes, you need the sense that what you’re doing makes life worth living."

Join the free Barque: Thomas Moore Forum to participate in the current online course based on Moore’s A Life at Work.

Beliefnet features Moore in video about religion

In its Preachers and Teachers series, Beliefnet offers a 2:39 minute video of Thomas Moore talking about nurturing your spirit and soul . According to the video description, Moore says "... it's possible to bring our soul - the deepest part of ourselves - in touch with our spirituality without moving away from everyday life and experience."

Panel's talk about forgiveness to air on Book TV

As announced on Barque, last week Thomas Moore joined author Kenneth Briggs and filmmaker Martin Doblmeier in a panel discussion about the power of forgiveness. Book TV on C-SPAN2 plans to broadcast this event. Check local listings for air times.

Thank you, Barque member Ken Blackham, for sharing this program item.

Spiritual with material manifests the incarnate

In his Deep Spirit column for Resurgence (issue 247 March-April 2008), Thomas Moore urges readers, "Pray to Gaia". After describing divinities associated with Nature in ancient Greece, he continues,

"Renaissance philosophers said that you don’t have to be pagan to appreciate the spirituality of Nature. These various gods and goddesses are facets, they said, of the God many honour as the monotheistic source of life and meaning. In other words, you see God when you stop to wonder at a copper sunset or a misty moon. Nature is the avenue towards nurturing your spirit. It is the way in which the divine most powerfully shows itself.

There is a tendency, even among environmentalists, to adopt the 20th-century way of seeing Nature, as a source of material commodities needed for the heroic building of culture. But that isn’t sufficient motivation for preserving Nature, because it doesn’t address our essence: what we need to survive as humans. We are people of body, soul and spirit. We need constant feeding of our vision, moral sensibility and piety, and if Nature is at all diminished, our spirituality goes into eclipse."

Moore suggests reconciliation between monotheists and pagans: "As long as we keep spirituality and the material world separated, the Earth will be threatened," while offering short prayers and rituals to shake the unconsciousness of our times.

Thank you, Barque member Ken Blackham, for bringing this to our attention.

New book about forgiveness includes Moore

MARCH 12 UPDATE: Today, as guest columnist for the Washington Post, Kenneth Briggs writes "The Struggle of Forgiveness."
***********
The documentary, The Power of Forgiveness, that includes the views of Thomas Moore, has been released on DVD for public viewing.

"In The Power of Forgiveness, a new book based on the film by Martin Doblmeier..., author Kenneth Briggs presents a conversation of a better way of dealing with anger, resentment and violence through reconciliation and the complex, yet healing, patterns that emerge from the subject of forgiveness."

Briggs will talk about these issues on Wednesday, March 12 at 9 a.m. at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington D.C. where he’ll be joined by Moderator, Sally Quinn of the Washington Post, Thomas Moore, and Martin Doblmeier. In addition to his film appearance, Moore is interviewed in the new book.

Media and the public are invited to this event.

The DVD and book may be purchased from the Power of Forgiveness site. This press release describes the new book and the National Press Club panel discussion on Wednesday.

Moore responds to relationship questions

Beliefnet has updated its list of Thomas Moore’s "The Soul in Love" columns. For January, a woman asks about tensions about prayers. Her traditions include saying grace and she feels her boyfriend's resistance. Moore responds,

"There has to be a solution that takes both of your sensitivities into account. You could alternate forms of saying grace. Maybe a moment of silent blessing or thanksgiving would feel all right to him [the boyfriend]. Or, maybe you could say your grace occasionally, and have no grace at other times.

These solutions may seem mechanical. They are part of the experiment of finding out how to share a life with someone who has different values and views. Eventually, you may discover a deeper spiritual commonality, where you don't have to work at being mutually respectful. It will just happen.

Creating a good relationship entails some challenging learning on both sides. You may have to reconsider some of your childhood ideas about religion and religious practices. In that regard, your boyfriend's annoyance may have something to teach you. For his part, your boyfriend may have to learn religious tolerance and a deeper appreciation for spiritual traditions. In other words, this conflict has something important to give to each of you. It all depends how maturely you work it out."

Moore’s February column addresses timing - when should a relationship become exclusive? After meeting online and being together with her boyfriend for six weeks, a woman wants to know if their dating profiles should be removed from the online service. Moore says,

"The mere fact that you are asking if it’s time to get serious makes me think that you’re not quite ready yet. In matters of the heart, you many never be completely certain...

I say give it a little more time until you feel clearer and don’t have to ask your question. You will know from your feelings that it’s time to take your name off the dating list."

He concludes, "I can’t give you a magic number of weeks or months for when you'll be ready to have this inner conversation, not to mention talking about it with your boyfriend. You'll just have to follow the calendar of your heart."

Our twenty-first century response to art images

Thomas Moore’s column in the January-February 2008 issue of Spirituality and Health, "Allowing Ourselves to be Seen by Art" may be read online, after free registration, in the Articles area of the S&H site.

Moore writes,

"I define religion at its best as a positive and effective means of relating to the mysteries that define our lives: love, death, birth, illness, marriage, and work, to name a few. A twenty-first century mentality sees these not simply as areas of normal living or as problems with which one must deal but also as mysteries. A twenty-first century religion sanctifies them with sacraments, rituals, sacred stories, and sometimes guardian spirits. The arts serve this kind of religion by giving us strong images for contemplation, for reflecting on the life-defining mysteries, and for educating ourselves so we can live them out more creatively."

He mentions the book Dars´an: Seeing the Divine Image in India by Harvard scholar Diana L. Eck and quotes Meister Eckhart: "The eye with which you see God is the same eye with which God sees you."

Moore also shares,"When I’m in Dublin, I visit [Johannes] Yverni’s Annunciation in the National Gallery of Ireland. I started making pilgrimage to this painting when I was 19. I can’t explain the painting, but I can tell you that it sets aglow a mystery that has shaped me all these years. This painting is not famous, but my experience of this holy, precious, sacramental object makes it worth any effort for dars'an."

Moore writes about our response to art in this column by saying,"I consider all art spiritual to a degree. The key is how we respond. It may not be as important to understand it as to welcome it, treat it with a degree of reverence, and contemplate it." He spoke publically about this topic last month at the Kundalini Art Gallery and Yoga Studio.

Moore writes the preface for A Difference of One

A Difference of One
by Andrew Machon
Preface by Thomas Moore
Hardcover 240x210mm
96 pages
30 full colour images
ISBN 978-0-9558185-0-9

February 23, 2008 is the launch date for Dr. Andrew Machon’s publication, A Difference of One: rediscovering a loving and creative originality, at the Washington Gallery in Penarth, South Wales, UK.

According to the gallery's description, Andrew Machon is "a PhD scientist and psychotherapist specialising as a life and work coach. For over twenty years he has worked as an infrared photo artist. The medium of infrared sits outside the visible light spectrum so Andrew has to sense his images rather than see them. This allows him, he believes, to include in his images glimpses beneath the superficial and material mantle of everyday living and nature."

Thomas Moore contributes the preface, available on Andrew Machon’s site, for this new book of words and images.

Moore writes,

"Andrew Machon has a strong imaginal eye that looks at the world in a fresh and probing way. It is his images, so magnetic and stirring, so simple and yet so fresh, that draw me to his work. They show us what the world is and at the same time change it, giving it a new imaginal texture. We need this fresh imagination so that we don’t live in a stale universe of meaning. Life moves along, and our imagination has to keep pace.

There are inspiring images of nature in this book, but also chairs and manikins and ruins. Both nature and culture have a secret depth that can only be revealed by art and contemplation. Both natural objects and manufactured things have a soul, a mysterious depth that contains a secret vitality that we all need in order to be persons and personalities, subjects rather than objects."

Moore’s preface includes,

"A long tradition holds that art has powers of healing. If that is true, then this book should contribute to the healing of our troubled society. But how would this work, specifically and concretely? Readers could take time to contemplate the images and let the originality of the photographs make a slight change in vision. The artifice in the images, the fact that they have been “doctored” and processed, gives them the power to propose a new world. They may take you further into experience than you have ventured before, and that inward advance may be healing."

A Difference of One: rediscovering a loving and creative originality mirrors Machon's desire to provide "insight into the emergent and organic nature of individual and organisational change to foster how we work with change and discover its meaning."

Parenting is a spiritual and soulful calling

Thomas Moore’s column for the November - December 2007 issues of Spirituality and Health is available (with free registration) in the Articles section of the magazine's site. "Sacred Time with Children" describes parenting as a spiritual and soulful activity. Moore writes,

"Many people seem to think of spirituality as ethereal, remote, and abstract. They think it has to do with meditating, depriving yourself, and becoming as virtuous as possible. But traditional teachings around the world suggest that spirituality is directly connected to the most ordinary human activities. When you’re a parent, you don’t have to go in search of ways of depriving yourself, and if by chance you should ever feel virtuous about your self-deprivations, your children will take that feeling away from you, too.

You have to be a guide for your child in the things that matter most: safety, health, learning, growing up, having a life vision, and living ethically. Who else has such a profound and far-reaching job? Parenthood is a calling — a way to find meaning in your own life. Spirituality is about transcending any limits on your vision. Raising a child, you are contributing to society and to the future. You are going beyond yourself, not just in your thoughts and ideals but in a real and tangible way. You may not be certain that you’re doing the right thing always, and you may never see the full fruits of your effort. So you live by faith, and isn’t that the essence of the spiritual life?

All the details of being a parent — cleaning, teaching, picking up, driving, paying for school and lessons, guiding, counseling, feeding, clothing, and entertaining — take on a spiritual dimension. You are doing them to transform a child into a thoughtful and engaged adult. You are ministering. You are a priest and priestess. You are unfolding the work you began when in the holy act of sex you made a person with a soul and spirit."

He further suggests, "Spiritual vision gives valuable emotional distance, disentangles your own past experiences and your complex emotions, so that you don’t pile them up on your child. In this way, spirit and soul work together to make good parenting."

Moore’s column for January - February 2008 is "Allowing Ourselves to be Seen by Art," and his March - April 2008 column, "Finding Life at Work," is the topic of his newest book, A Life at Work, to be distributed at the end of next month.

Events will celebrate mentor, James Hillman

The Imaginal Institute is hosting an online facilitated conversation, February 1 to March 27, 2008 to honour the work of Thomas Moore's colleague and mentor, psychologist James Hillman. A celebration is also planned for James Hillman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from the evening of June 19, 2008, until noon on June 22.

Promotional material for the June event includes,

"There will be dialogues and discussions on Hillmanean topics (no formal papers or lectures), a sharing of ideas, images and conversations in the midst of genial collegiality and friendship. James Hillman will be present along with his family, friends, colleagues, a group of archetypal authors, analysts, artists, poets and philosophers, including Hillman’s official biographer. There will also be a group of entertainers helping to make this event a very special gathering.

The event will correspond with the release of a book tentatively entitled Archetypal Psychologies: Reflections in honor of James Hillman, edited by Stanton Marlan, which celebrates Hillman's work and the influence it has had in informing numerous psychological perspectives. It is anticipated that many of the authors will be present at this gathering, which include David Miller, Ed Casey, Ginette Paris, Mary Watkins, Michael Adams, Wolfgang Giegerich, Stanton Marlan, Michael Sipiora, Noel Cobb, Glen Slater, Ron Schenk, Pat Berry, Lyn Cowan, Greg Mogenson, Nor Hall, Tom Kapacinskas, Thomas Moore, Robert Romanyshyn, Sanford Drob, Sylvester Wojtkowski, Paul Kugler, Kazuhiko Higuchi, Toshio Kawai, Dick Russell and Robbie Bosnak."

An online registration form for the June event is available at the bottom of the linked page.

Bookclubs.ca describes Moore's A Life's Work

Bookclubs.ca offers an expanded description of Thomas Moore’s new book, A Life’s Work: The Joy of Discovering What You were Born to Do, available February 26, 2008:

"A job is never just a job. It is always connected to a deep and invisible process of finding meaning in life through work.

In Thomas Moore’s groundbreaking book Care of the Soul, he wrote of "the great malady of the twentieth century…the loss of soul." That best selling work taught readers ways to cultivate depth, genuineness, and soulfulness in their everyday lives, and became a beloved classic. Now, in A Life’s Work, Moore turns to an aspect of our lives that looms large in our self-regard, an aspect by which we may even define ourselves—our work. The workplace, Moore knows, is a laboratory where matters of soul are worked out. A Life’s Work is about finding the right job, yes, and it is also about uncovering and becoming the person you were meant to be.

Moore reveals the quest to find a life’s work in all its depth and mystery. All jobs, large and small, long-term and temporary, he writes, contribute to your life’s work. A particular job may be important because of the emotional rewards it offers or for the money. But beneath the surface, your labors are shaping your destiny for better or worse. If you ignore the deeper issues, you may not know the nature of your calling, and if you don’t do work that connects with your deep soul, you may always be dissatisfied, not only in your choice of work but in all other areas of life. Moore explores the often difficult process—the obstacles, blocks, and hardships of our own making—that we go through on our way to discovering our purpose, and reveals the joy that is our reward. He teaches us patience, models the necessary powers of reflection, and gives us the courage to keep going."

We haven't heard from Random House, yet, if an author tour is planned for this release.

Reconciling feelings of pride and worthlessness

The table of contents for the November-December 2007 issue of Spirituality and Health magazine shows Thomas Moore’s most recent column, "Sacred Time with Children."

Available now in the S&H Articles area is his May-June 2007 column, "Living with Opposites" that may be read online after free registration with the S&H site. In this column, Moore talks about reconciling feelings of pride and worthlessness:

"Uncomfortable, symptomatic emotions are usually not character flaws, but raw material in need of refinement. If you worry about pride, yet feel worthless, you need to refine both feelings. Raw pride can’t handle defeat and runs away from it; raw worthlessness implodes. Going with the symptom of pride can help you locate a more expansive self-love; following worthlessness may lead to healthy questioning. Going with the symptom, you become a "big" person.

Most people I know are too small. They believe they have a limited destiny and little to give to the world. They don’t see how their small ideas can make a real contribution. Transferring their personal authority to someone else — a leader, a writer, or an organization — they give away too much. Identifying themselves as followers, they look to someone "above" them for permission to be who they are or do what they want, and they may draw their confidence from their associations rather than from themselves."

Moore then talks about a related desire for recognition:

"Closely related to the minor neurosis of pride and worthlessness is the desire for fame and recognition. Some people crave the fame and finances of the privileged few, and their painful awareness of being a "nobody" keeps them from accomplishing much.

Again, go with the symptom — the desire for attention. You may have to study, train, and get experience so you can accomplish something and enjoy the appropriate recognition. Sometimes a desire for fame is simply the heart speaking. Most of us need recognition. Recognition and fame are worthy goals for your dedication and hard work.

Parents, teachers, and leaders of all kinds might take this lesson to heart. It’s important to offer words of praise and recognition. It does no good to keep your feelings of gratitude and appreciation to yourself. We all need and even crave recognition. It helps us move on to the next job, and it makes us just a little bigger."

He concludes, "Pride and craving attention can be problems; nevertheless, they are an invitation to be big even in the small contours of our lives. The solution to having a big ego is to have a big heart."

Thomas Moore's Spirituality and Health columns are linked in the Barque: Thomas Moore's Work sidebar.

Meeting face to face after an online encounter

In his The Soul in Love column for Beliefnet, Thomas Moore helps a reader with her concerns about meeting a man she became acquainted with through an online dating service. Moore talks about her physical and emotional safety, suggesting,

"... you meet him first in a public place, perhaps bringing a friend of yours with you. At the very least, tell a good friend when and where you are meeting."

Moore urges her to share her ideas about sex with her new friend,

"You're clear that you don't want casual sex. If you continue to exchange emails, you can let him know how you feel about it. You can be clear and brief and then go on to other things. If you're worried about the sexual part and don't say anything, it will be the elephant on the screen and may interfere. A man worth knowing shouldn't be put off by a brief, clearly stated expression of how you feel about sex."

In general, Moore recommends that her responses "be strong, assertive, and clear" and that she present herself as a confident, equal participant in the getting-to-know-you dance.

Beliefnet readers are encouraged to post their own reactions beside Moore's column, and they're invited to register at the free Barque: Thomas Moore Forum to discuss Moore's response.

Thomas Moore's contributions in Parabola

Barque: Thomas Moore reader and supporter, Ken Blackham recently compiled a chronological list of Thomas Moore’s articles in Parabola magazine. Back issues may be ordered from the magazine site, or take this list while visiting your local library branch to peruse back copies. Many thanks, Ken.

Thomas Moore in Parabola Magazine
VOL. 08:2 Summer 1983: Animals
"Let the Creatures Be"
Psychologist James Hillman interviewed by Thomas Moore

VOL. 17:4 Winter 1992: Power and Energy
"The Planetary Powers" by Thomas Moore
Marsilio Ficino's views of astrological forces

VOL. 21:2 Summer 1996: The Soul
"The Soul's Religion" by Thomas Moore
Religion as--not versus--spirituality

VOL. 22:1 Spring 1997: Ways of Knowing
"Schooling Our Intelligence" by Thomas Moore
To meet the lesson of immediacy

VOL. 23:1 Spring 1998: Millennium
"On Memory and Numbers" by Thomas Moore
To keep count is to remember

VOL. 25:1 Spring 2000: Threshold
"Neither Here nor There" by Thomas Moore
Allies of transitional places

VOL. 27:3 Fall 2002: Grace
"The Marriage of Grace and Sweat" by Thomas Moore
An essential effort of transcendence

VOL. 28:3 Fall 2003: Chaos and Order
"A Hymn" by Thomas Moore
Honoring the positive attributes of disorder

VOL. 28:4 Winter 2003: Truth and Illusion
"Songs of Unforgetting" by Thomas Moore
Journeying beyond the river Lethe

VOL. 30:1 Spring 2005: Awakening
"What Do You See When You're Awake?"
Views from Martha Heyneman, Stephen Batchelor, Robert Aitken, Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Kate Wheeler, Marion Woodman, Thomas Moore, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Film featuring Moore to be shown in Sun Valley

On Friday, September 14, 2007 at 7:00 p.m., the Sun Valley Opera House in Sun Valley, Idaho will show the film, The Power of Forgiveness as part of the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival, according to an announcement in SunValleyonline.com. The film, "scheduled for broadcast on public television in early 2008, features Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh, best selling authors Thomas Moore and Marianne Williamson, as well as features on the Amish, Ground Zero and Northern Ireland. It also shows what physical, mental and spiritual benefits can come with forgiveness."

Prior to screening, attendees are invited to participate in the Shabbat Shuval, (the Sabbath of Forgiveness), at St Thomas Episcopal Church, at 5:30. On Saturday, September 15, an associated discussion on Forgiveness and Reconciliation will feature panel speakers.

Barque: Thomas Moore described the film in a December, 2006 post.

What to do when a partner isn't ready to marry

For Beliefnet, Thomas Moore talks about disengaging when a partner isn’t ready for marriage. He tells the reader,

Many people in difficult marriages or going through divorce will tell you that they married before they were both ready. Timing is an important part of life.

Many studies have suggested that the maturity of the individuals in a marriage is a key factor in its success. You have to be ready as a person to enter the deep change that is marriage. Marriage is not just a living arrangement; it is a major turning point in life and a deeply mysterious third thing that arises when two people decide to enter into it. I suspect that many marriages fail because people don't understand how profound and mysterious it actually is.

His short anwer? Yes, move on and find someone else. Be the first to post a comment beside Moore's column or post a comment at Barque: Thomas Moore Forum.

Heartfelt heartache after the heartbreak

Thomas Moore talks about the complexity of love while answering a question for Beliefnet, Finding Hope After Heartbreak. In his response to a woman who still thinks about her former partner, Moore says a lesson learned may be,

"When your love is substantial and solid, you have to be both attached and willing to let the other person freely make life decisions that go against your will and desire. Most of us would like to possess and even rule over our partners and lovers, but that isn't real love.

Love is always complex and paradoxical: a mixture of deep attachment and a willingness to let life flow, in oneself and in the other. This is a maturity of love you arrive at through painful initiations of the kind you are experiencing now."

Moore asks, "Do you think you could find it in yourself to acknowledge the strength and importance of your emotions and the role of this man in your life, and at the same time understand that he is living his own life and has made a choice in a direction away from you?"

He then suggests finding a concrete way to express this: directly through a letter or a final gift, or indirectly, by talking about the situation with a friend or writing a private diary entry.

Moore says, "... don't expect your disappointment and loss to completely vanish. These emotions, painful though they are, can give you maturity and complexity for the next relationship that comes along - and there almost certainly will be another."

Scientific efficacy of the "Burne-Jones Effect"

Soul and Science in the March-April 2007 issue of Spirituality & Health is available online after free registration with the site.

In this column, Thomas Moore talks about his recent visits to medical institutions:

"During the past year, I have visited many medical schools and hospitals, lecturing on the soul and spirit in medicine. I know from years of acquaintance with the medical world that the soul-withering aspects of science contaminate the work of doctors and other medical personnel. So when I lectured at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota recently, I urged the staff to return to their sense of calling and to the images and longings they felt when they first entered medical school.

A surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, picking up on my message, told me how he feels alienated from his patients by an intrusive piece of equipment. His solution is to put a powerful painting on the wall to offset the mechanical hardware. I call this creative response to the intrusiveness of science the "Burne-Jones Effect." Edward Burne-Jones was the pre-Raphaelite painter of dolorous scenes of redheaded women and chivalrous men who seem a bit more soulful than is seemly. My wife, a serious painter and professor of art history, doesn’t see much value in Burne-Jones and his friends, but when I attended an exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, I thought I might faint — in pre-Raphaelite style — from the sheer intensity of color and form. Burne-Jones once said, "The more discoveries science makes, the more angels I will paint." This is the principle I adopt and recommend to anyone whose soul is being sucked out by the enthronement of fact."

Moore says, "Children and adults need recess, art, spirituality, and a magical, soulful life. At the moment, science is too anxious about verification and absolute certitude to be able to offer such things."

In the February 2007 issue, The Smithsonian magazine offers Doug Stewart's "Incurably Romantic" that shows Britain's Pre-Raphaelites back in favour.

Earlier excerpt about choosing meaningful work

In anticipation of the release of Thomas Moore’s new book, The Worth of Our Work, here’s a page with a link, offered by Beliefnet on 1 May 2007, to an earlier excerpt about "work" from Moore’s tape series, Soul Life: Choosing Your Meaningful Work.

The recording plays approximately 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Column about growth through grief now online

Thomas Moore's column in Spiritualty and Health's January - February 2007 issue, Growing Through Grief, may be read online after free registration with the site. Moore talks about differences between soulful and spiritual approaches to the loss of loved ones, with examples of loss through death. His comments are also applicable to accepting, through imagining, other kinds of loss, such as those of friendship, intimacy, or love:

"Maybe the soul enlarges and deepens from the sheer room it takes to be sad and to nurse precious memories. Maybe it even makes sense for us to talk to our departed friends and somehow to keep up the relationships, without any bother from the intellect about how such a thing may or may not work or whether it's sentimental or self-deceptive."

Moore emphasizes a theme found in Dark Nights of the Soul: "You let life flow through you, making you more and more human."

Dogs shouldn't be pegged with infidelity tag

For Beliefnet, Thomas Moore answers a question about betrayal and suggests the reader take "a more complex emotional position" when responding to her boyfriend’s actions. In his answer, Moore says,

"Don’t split the betrayer/betrayed pattern into you on one side, your partner on the other. Realize that you, too, could betray someone one day because of your passion or plans or because you can’t see any other way. Having a more complex emotional position like this can really help.

If, after all this, you discover that the particular person you’re with seems to have no interest in loyalty and faithfulness, be strong and find someone who is more mature and more prepared to settle into a lasting union. Wait for the kind of person you want. But while you wait, work on your life. Make it more interesting so that people will need some security from you and will be motivated to share the emotional power with you."

Dogs are known for their loyalty so it may be a misnomer for people who stray.

The family's love as a backdrop for relationships

A parent asks Thomas Moore about our understanding of love, to help a daughter navigate her close relationships. Moore responds with "The Illusion of 'Unconditional' Love" for Beliefnet and suggests,

"You could imagine love as made up of unconditional and conditional components, but the truth is, I don't like to use these words. "Unconditional" suggests perfection--not the human condition. Let's try "open" and "undefensive" love. You can find such love with people today, but it will always be mixed up with some hesitation, holding back, and illusion.

Love is dynamic. It can keep getting better as people get to know each other. But that implies that it's not perfect in its beginnings. It needs room to grow.

This kind of realistic, imperfect, growing love is much better than the extreme romanticism of pulp novels. Realism adds to the pleasure, because when you acknowledge the holes and dents, your love isn't threatened by illusions of perfection."

Read Moore's full answer and add your comments to the discussion area.

Feeling at home wherever we are in the world

A cached copy of Moore's article in Resurgence magazine,"We need to bring the spirit of home into public places" is available on the shopping site Natural Collection. In this piece, Moore touches on home, homesickness, and homelessness. He says,
"'Home' is archetypal. That means it is not only about the childhood household or the house in which you live as an adult. It’s the more subtle sense that you are in a place where you can sleep easy and where the need for movement finds a little respite. There your soul finds rest and the feeling that it is where it belongs. The heart always needs to be at home, no matter where the rest of the body is. Even when you’re travelling or at work you may crave a taste of home."

Moore admits, "I also find that hotels often give me the buzz of home I need. People are surprised when I tell them that. How could a commercial hotel be satisfying to a man who writes about the soul? Maybe it’s because I love solitude, which for me is part of home. I may feel more at home in a big hotel than in the cosy house of someone who puts me up."

He also acknowledges that workplaces may exude sterility and an unwelcoming atmosphere, "The abstract lines and shapes of modern office buildings seem to portray a departure from home, maybe even a rejection. In glassy, angular, cool and marble buildings you may not be inclined to think of a worker’s family, or the role of friendship on the job, or a soulful place for a bite to eat. There, you may eat in a miserable lunch-room, windowless and decorated with a wall of dispensing machines and messy, uncivil piles of cheap napkins and plastic cutlery."

While suggesting that a sensitive approach "applies to hospitals, office buildings, clinics and schools. They don’t have to look like homes – no sentimentalising and romanticising of this idea – but concretely they can have some home spirit in them," Moore appreciates the shadow associations some may have with home.

What are the characteristics of true leadership?

"The Spirituality in Leadership" in Spirituality & Health's November-December 2006 issue is available in the magazine's archives. In this Care of the Soul column, Thomas Moore answers,"How can we turn around today's self-destructive pattern of leadership?" by concluding,

We can shed the narcissistic secularity of the times and step outside the circle of self-regard that contains us. Parents can take on the joys and the weight of their spiritual calling and help their children sort out their values and find their active place in a needy society. Teachers can understand that theirs is a spiritual calling: They are not just imparting information but initiating children into a world where they will be leaders in their own ways. Businesspeople can see that in a materialistic approach to society, their efforts are merely for money, self-advancement, and personal success. If they can appreciate the spirituality in their daily work, they might enjoy a position of leadership where they can contribute directly to a society of peace, equality, and security.
We followers, members of the community, can go all out in honoring those who demonstrate spiritual vision and a big soul. We can also voice our concern when leaders fail in that vision and immaturely confuse personal gain with the joy of community. In other words, you — whoever you are — have a spiritual calling. You have a role in your family and community to lead with a big vision and deep values, not with ideological moralism. It does little good to wait for a leader like Gandhi or Martin Luther King. You can begin today to lead with wide open and transcendent vision, deep ethics, and tender compassion. You can also encourage your leaders to do the same, transforming self-interest into radical care for every person, every being, and the planet itself. Anything less is not worthy of being called leadership in a time of urgent need and threat to life.”

Thomas Moore's column for January-February 2007, which will be available at the end of February, is titled, "Growing through Grief."

Moore contributes to stories of transformation

Jeffrey Kottler, Ph.D. and Jon Carlson, Ed.D., Psy.D. have written Moved by the Spirit: Discovery and Transformation in the Lives of Leaders, published by Impact Publishers, to be available next month. The book is promoted as describing "the single most transformative experience in the lives of some of the most prominent spiritual leaders, writers, and healers on the planet," including Thomas Moore, Riane Eisler, John Gray, and Jose Cervantes. According to the publisher, some of these events happened "in chapels and temples; on a walk in Ireland; on an icy New Hampshire road; or in the African jungle..." The book's promotional description says, "Asked to discuss their most cherished beliefs about being 'moved by the spirit,' the interviewees offered great insight into how each of us can make spirituality more a part of our individual needs, interests, and lifestyles."

Moved by the Spirit:
Discovery and Transformation in the Lives of Leaders
Paperback
ISBN 978-1-886230-68-2
Available 28 January 2007

Learning lessons of the battlefield with Arjuna

Moore's column for September-October 2006, "Spiritual Wars", is available in the archive area of Spirituality & Health. Moore focuses on America's current war involvements while mentioning a story from Hinduism:

"It seems easier to kill thousands of people, the innocent as well as the violent, than to face our own gross biases and ignorance. In the Bhagavad Gita, that powerful book of instruction on how to be a person, Krishna tells Arjuna that if he wins on the actual battlefield, he will gain the earth. If he loses, he will gain heaven. Arjuna has to come a long way to understand that paradox.

America has accomplished a great deal for the human soul and spirit in its brief existence, but in many ways it is like Arjuna at the beginning of his lessons. He's confused about where the real battle takes place and what it means to win and lose. America has fought too many wars and still believes that the killing of children and their mothers and brothers is justified and even virtuous when there is an enemy to annihilate. There is no Krishna on the horizon to instruct us in the subtleties of the spiritual life, no one to convince us that victory is always defeat.

We think that it is weakness to avoid the actuality of bloodshed, that patriotism means having a human enemy other than ourselves. Currently, America seems to be picking fights, wanting blood, finding glory in having an enemy with a foreign face. But all of this literalism, this acting-out of what should be spiritual struggle over narcissistic passions, shows how far we have to go before we truly discover the meaning of spirituality."

His offering in the current issue, "The Spirituality in Leadership," will be available near the end of the year to readers who register (free) on the Spirituality & Health site.

Jung said soul isn't in you, you are in the soul

Thomas Moore's "An Enchanted Life" is available in the archives of Spirituality & Health for July-August. In this article he says,

"Practicality and the exploitation of resources make it difficult to find enchantment in the modern world. Few things are as densely infused with spirit as a river, yet in town after town our rivers are hidden behind industry and commerce. A river could be the main source of soul in a village or town, but it has to be honored as something special, even magical, or it succumbs to pragmatism and efficiency. If I had the power to restore soul to America, I would start with its rivers, cleaning them up and making them beautifully accessible.

But enchantment is not to be discovered only in the natural world. Ficino considered architecture the most powerful of the arts. A building can put you under a spell by its materials and forms. Or, it may be built to be merely practical. In that difference lies its soulfulness or lack of soul, its ability to waken the soul and spirit or its power to put them to sleep. To know the difference and to construct enchanting buildings, you need depth of feeling and imagination.

The life of soul and spirit is not an abstract enterprise, a matter of knowledge and intention. It is a life of intense sensual engagement with the local, physical world around you. For a soulful world is a kind of incarnation of spirit and a spiritualizing of material. As Jung said, the soul isn't in you; you are in the soul."

To access Spirituality & Health's archival articles, please complete that site's free registration form.

Moore recommends, "Go with the symptom"

While answering a question for Beliefnet about getting along with future in-laws, Thomas Moore stresses the importance of being clear about who you are.

"... learn how to be loyal to yourself — and especially to whatever qualities are being challenged. Find the strength to be firm in who you are no matter what someone else might say. Criticism is always a two-way street: one person complains, and then the other person caves in under the attack. Your job is not to cave in but to be proud of who you are."

Moore makes the simple and significant observation,

"In every marriage, a lot of people come together and get entangled in each other's lives — the two people exchanging vows, family members both close and distant, friends, animals, and even the inner figures that play a part in the lives of us all (your inner mother,weakling, hero, or adventurer, for example). So your starting point should be to be realistic about the future: If you get married, you'll be connected to your fiancé's family, including his sister, for the rest of your life."

In addition to urging the writer to voice her concerns and seek support from her fiancé, Moore shares his approach,

"I work by the principle, 'Go with the symptom.' If you feel too emotional, the solution is not to try to be cool and contained. Instead, you should respect your feelings: speak for them, make them known, use them as guides to let you know what you need. In other words, it's time to flex your psychological muscles."

Be the first to respond with your own views in the sidebar.

Sharing news that will affect your relationship

How would you respond if the person you’ve been dating seriously, for five months, tells you something that you wish had been shared sooner in your relationship? For Beliefnet.com, Thomas Moore answers the question posed by a 40-something divorcee.

Moore suggests,

"Solid, engaged, mature, and thoughtful love can surmount many challenging obstacles. You need a philosophy, some good ideas deeply developed with your partner, to get you through years of complicated situations. You can do it, but now is the time to establish the foundation . . .

Remember to take life as it presents itself, not as you might idealize it. Open your heart, but don't close off your intelligence and your ability to be critical. Trust wisely with loving acceptance and forceful attention. . ."

Readers respond to the situation and to Moore’s answer in the sidebar.

Soul connects the physical with the spiritual

Thomas Moore often speaks at institutions responsible for heath care, and he writes about deficiencies he sees in modern approaches to healing. In his column The Soul of Medicine for the May-June issue of Spirituality and Health, Moore touches on some of his concerns while offering an understanding of relationships involving body, soul and spirit.

"Let me paraphrase the first words I ever read by Marsilio Ficino, spokesperson for soul in fifteenth-century Italy. He begins his book on natural magic saying, "There are three things in the world: body, soul, and mind [later he refers to mind and spirit interchangeably]. If the spirit is left to itself, it will have no connection with the body. If the body is left to itself, it will have no tie to the spirit. What is needed is soul, between them and adjusted to each."

We have a good picture of the deep soul from the works of C. G. Jung, James Hillman, and others. It is the very depth of a person: the emotions and ties, the failures and fears, a sense of home and body, all intimate connections, dreams, loves, and reveries. Tradition says that this deep soul makes us human and unique. The soul is embedded in our everyday, ordinary, imperfect concrete world.

The spirit, in contrast, gives us cosmic vision, inspiration, principles for good living, a way to deal with our mortality, and the sense of unbounded transcendence. Both soul and spirit are essential and animate the body."

Religious differences have a role in marriage

Twenty-three year old Ashley tells Thomas Moore that her 29 year old boyfriend won’t budge or compromise much about religious matters. Each partner comes from a different religious background and she is concerned about her family’s reactions if their relationship deepens. Moore’s response to this Beliefnet question includes,

"For myself, I can’t imagine being in a budge-less marriage. Marriage is all about budging and allowing room for two thoughtful and complicated adults to work out their lives in love and real companionship."

Add your views to the side panel on the Beliefnet site.

Setting boundaries for sharing in a relationship

For Beliefnet, Thomas Moore answers a question about Unsure's boyfriend snooping on her computer. His answer touches on the boundaries of intimacy and the meaning of relationship.

Moore says,

"People intrude on us either because they think they can get away with it or because they assume more intimacy than is warranted."

Then he suggests ways for two people to see themselves together,

"A relationship is made up of two parts: each individual and their life together. If either of these components gets lost, you no longer have a relationship. Some people say a couple is two halves making a whole, but I think it’s two wholes making a loving two. Couples getting married sometimes quote Kahlil Gibran, "And stand together, yet not too near together. For the pillars of the temple stand apart." Or Rainer Maria Rilke, "love is not merging; it is the opportunity for the individual to become something himself." I’d recommend reading Rilke’s letter on love in Letters to a Young Poet. There, he offers many insights into this issue of love and privacy.

I believe that love between two people is having a passionate interest in each other, and yet respecting each other’s mystery. We will never know our partners completely, and that’s the way it should be."

Readers respond with their own experiences and advice to the young woman.

Shyness can be an attractive feature for a man

As one shy person to another, Thomas Moore tells a young man how to relate to his shyness without having it define who he is. A Beliefnet reader describes himself as a 22-year-old virgin with a busy schedule, who would like to expand his social circle. Thomas Moore's response includes,

"Being shy with women can be a big problem, especially when the shyness is extreme. But as you allude in your letter, shyness can also be a strength. There are many ways of being a strong and interesting person, and being shy rather than outgoing is one of them. We shy people — I include myself in this category — can be great companions. We can love and be attentive and enjoy life. In fact, shyness is often just a way of keeping the lid on a powerful love of life and deep desire for sex and companionship. As always, things are often the opposite of what they appear to be."

Readers are invited to contribute their views.

Look at the bathroom as a chamber of dreams

Thomas Moore writes about the bathroom in his books and in Resurgence’s May-June issue (236) he summarizes the significance of those Bathroom Rituals, primarily associated with bathing. Space doesn’t permit exploration of shaving or the toilet in this particular Deep Spirit column. Moore’s father is a plumber, contributing to his watery interests, and his alchemical studies direct him to bathe his soul as well as his body. Moore mentions Greek associations with theological bathing and describes one of his favourite goddesses: Aphrodite whom he says is "the spirit of beauty, body, sensuality and sexuality, love, pleasure, and adornment." For Moore, the bathroom holds the "genuine rituals in the spirituality of Aphrodite/Venus:"

"It's important to spend time enjoying taking care of your body, not just for health but also for comfort and pampering. We live in a world that has adopted anti-Venusian values to live by and fails to see the virtue in simple bodily pleasures. Some identify spirituality with disregard for the simple pleasure of Venus. Maybe that is because Venus is a goddess or spirit of the deep soul rather than the sublime spirit. I might go so far as to say that good bathing might tame our tendencies toward violence. There is an ancient tradition that Venus calms the excited and warlike urges of Mars.

Just as a church might have a holy tabernacle and a Jewish temple sacred scrolls, so Aphrodite has her own spiritual implements: soaps, cosmetics, oils, fragrances, sponges, and towels. The tub is like a baptismal font, a good moisturiser, a kind of blessed oil. In Aphrodite's realm a luxurious towel may be as precious as a holy book."

Moore asks readers to reconsider what we feel while we become naked,

"The simple act of disrobing is a Venusian gesture. It is probably difficult for most modern people to appreciate this shift in focus from shame to appreciation and from purity to sensuality. But to remain only in the religion of reserve and bodilessness is to deprive spirituality of its physicality, leaving it abstract and severe. Take away any degree of moralistic concern that has been forced on you, and see how the simple act of disrobing stirs your feelings."

This historical split between pleasure and "an unnecessarily spartan spirituality" is a theme echoed elsewhere in Moore’s writings and he says why it bothers him: "It falsely separated body from spirit, thereby allowing no place for the soul."


Edgar Degas, Le Tub (1886)

Childish notions of God keep religion childish

"God and Tragedy," Thomas Moore’s column for Spirituality and Health’s March-April 2006 issue is available in the Archives area of that site. Moore talks about our images of God,

"To deal effectively with our personal tragedies and society's violence, we need a more sophisticated image of God. Stop using "he" or even "she," and immediately you have a more mysterious notion of divinity. Imagine God as the creating spark of this world or as the source of life, and you let go of the anthropomorphisms, the too-human images that reduce the idea of God to a mere projection of our reality and our wishes..."

"Religion does a disservice when it gives us childish notions of a God in the sky who will save us from human insanity. We have to be fully part of this world and take on our responsibility, doing everything possible to prevent wars and make people safe. Maybe we won't ever solve our problems completely, but we can make progress toward that goal..."

"Naïve notions of God are dangerous today, as well. God is the source of life, which is fragile. If we give up the notion of a grandfather in the sky and replace it with a deep sense of the mystery at the heart of things, we might understand the importance of our efforts to make this world safe for us all. A childish notion of God keeps our religion childish."

As a response to this notion, he suggests,

"We need images for the infinite, at the edge of which we live every moment of our lives. We need help maintaining a personal relationship with our mysterious God.

...we have to empty out our images at the very moment we employ them. We can't take them as fact. We have to see through them even as we find God through them. Maybe it would help to remember that God is there beneath all images and names we have for "him." But paradoxically, we can only come close to that God when we give up any names or images we have and to which we have become attached — which is any image at all."

Moore concludes,

"As my heart grows bigger, the language I use for God becomes that much more accurate, and therefore, that much more undefined."

The need to transform catharsis into character

In his non-review of United 93 for Beliefnet, Thomas Moore tells readers that he will not go to see the movie, filmed as a re-enactment of events on the aircraft on September 11, 2001.

Before sharing his decision with readers, Moore writes,

"You don’t hear much about masochism in the popular press, but it is a human tendency of great importance. The workable blend of strength and vulnerability, courage and fear, trust and suspicion that allows us to deal with life’s challenges can often fall apart. A split develops, and strength is no longer tempered by vulnerability. We divide into doers and the done-to, agents and victims, the powerful and the fearful, instead of keeping these strong emotions in tension within ourselves.

A good film could tell the story of 9/11 in a way that would help us think through the issues without becoming further divided in ourselves. It could offer some insight and the beginning, at least, of a narrative that would help us restore our world, find our optimism, and constructively deal with any problems that may have led to the tragedy. It could help us transform the anxiety created by 9/11 into character, our only hope for a better world.

A bad film will keep us split internally, sustain our fear and belligerence, and prevent us from dealing effectively with the complicated world situation that led to 9/11 and its aftermath. It may open up fear and anger and paranoia in a way that takes us back into raw emotion rather than forward into thoughtful reflection. Catharsis often requires revisiting a memory, but not literally. We need to feel the emotions in a context of open wonder rather than victimization and vengeance."

Readers are encouraged to write their reaction to Moore's observations.

Spirituality really means transcending the self

Thomas Moore’s contribution, "The Quest" is the first in Seeking the Sacred: Leading a Spiritual Life in a Secular World, a collection of essays based on talks delivered as the Seekers’ Dialogue series in Toronto during late 2004 and early 2005. Mary Joseph, founder and executive director of Seekers' Dialogue explains in her Introduction, the motivation and desired outcomes of "conversations" with different experts. While interweaving observations from his own spiritual quest, Moore says:

"Fundamentalism in religion is a defensive move that comes from fear of the other. Those who believe that God is on their side, that whatever they say is divinely sanctioned and it’s their right to force it on the world, become violent and aggressive in defending their anxious beliefs. But rather than vilify fundamentalists, I think it would be more effective to admit we are all fundamentalists on some level. We all adhere to certain beliefs and language. Such fundamentalisms get in the way of an open and adventurous spiritual life...

The conflict between science and fundamentalism is rooted in faulty literalism and a refusal to recognize nuances in meaning. There is no essential contradiction between science and religion, only a misunderstanding of the difference between religious mystery and scientific fact.

When you talk about mystery, which is what religion largely is all about, you need art and poetry and language that doesn’t quite say everything you wish you could say, but attempts to express individual insights while remaining open to interpretation. All psalms, all prayers, all religious art and architecture are symbolic, poetic, imagistic. Because religion is concerned with the most subtle and complex of mysteries, it is the very essence of religious expression to be poetic...

Spirituality really means transcending the self so we can be open to people around us who have a vision of the world and of community that is beyond the individual. This is a state some people have called God, but it is the unnameable, the unknown, and the mysterious...

If spirituality isn’t concrete and a part of every aspect of daily life, it isn’t worth more than a good idea. If it doesn’t get you beyond your preoccupation with self, it isn’t really spirituality, it is an illusion."

Moore recommends:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Letters and Papers from Prison (Touchstone, 1997)

James Hillman
Re-Visioning Psychology (HarperCollins, 1992)

Peter Lamborn Wilson and Nasrollah Pourjavady
The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry
(Omega Publications, 1999)

Thomas Moore
Care of the Soul (Harper Paperbacks, 1994)
The Soul’s Religion (Harper Perennial, 2003)

Lynda Sexson
Ordinarily Sacred (University Press of Virginia, 1992)

Shunryu Suzuki
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (Weatherhill, 1973)

Love yourself and attend current relationships

For Belieftnet, Thomas Moore answers a question from a lesbian in an unfilling relationship, who has fallen in love with a married woman. Kim writes, "I really just don't know what to do with these feelings and how to be happy again. There's an emptiness that I can't seem to fill."

In his response which may be helpful to others too, regardless of sexual orientation, Thomas Moore says,

"At one time in our lives, most of us feel the pain of loving someone who is not available or who doesn't have the feelings for us we wish they had. You probably understand that it is self-centered and usually futile to force you attentions on such a person. The most difficult lesson in love is to protect the freedom of the one you love."

Moore then recommends approaches for Kim to generate love in her life, albeit in ways that may expand the initial response to her sense of emptiness.:
1. Attend to your friends, especially those whom you have neglected.
2. Reflect on your work: Is it fulfilling? Are there outlets for creativity?
3. Care for your body and your home.
4. Offer volunteer services to your community.
5. Look at thoughts with a little distance: Consider your current relationship before embarking on a new one.
6. Focus on yourself as your own person, not necessarily as a partner in a twosome.
Beliefnet readers are encouraged to post their own reflections.

Moore invited to write for photography exhibit

"Heroines' exhibit honors breast cancer survivors," featuring the work of Jila Nikpay, appears in today’s Twin Cities' Pioneer Press.

In her review, Rhoda Fukushima writes, "Nikpay uses photography and poetry to profile 21 Minnesota women who have had breast cancer. Her goal was to illustrate women transformed... She also invited Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, to write an essay aimed at the newly diagnosed."

According to Nikpay, "Breast cancer challenges women to think of their sexuality and body image... In a conventional way, it would be very depressing. I was interested in finding women who had the courage to bypass this definition and create their own sense of identity."

Nikpay “has exhibited her work regionally, in Philadelphia and in her native Tehran, Iran.”

What: Portraits from "Heroines: Transformation in the Face of Breast Cancer"
Where: Open Book Gallery, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis.
When: March 28-April 15. Reception 7 p.m. April 8.

Why physical pollution matters to the soul

Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul column for Spirtuality & Health's January-February 2006 issue is available in the magazine site's archival area. Theology and Ecology addresses the spiritual lessons we can learn from nature.

"A forest, a mountain, the sea — they are still the haunts of healing, humanizing spirits. Why else do people flock to Cape Cod and the Rockies and the red mesas of New Mexico? These spirits are not supernatural, science fiction, or superstitious beings of belief. They are felt presences emanating sensually and spiritually from specific forms of nature itself. To an imagination steeped in sacredness, there is no separation of spirituality and physicality.

We need access to clean rivers to remember that our lives continually flow on. We need a virgin forest to remember that in a deep place our souls are untouched and untutored. We need a beautiful lake to remember that the spirit thrives in nature's beauty. If we continue to interfere with nature's job to teach us how to be spiritual, all of our labyrinths and zendos and yoga studios and Bible classes will become hollow and ungrounded."

Fine tuning the reception? First, clear the static

Before asking his girlfriend to marry him, John asks Thomas Moore, "Must I Be 'In Love' to Propose?" In his answer for Beliefnet, Moore suggests that John approach his concerns from different angles while cautioning,

“Remember, there is a difference between inhibition and anxiety. Your doubts could be serving you well, slowing you down, and maybe even directing you out of this relationship. Anxieties about getting married are very different. They are like static. They don't guide you, they confuse you.”

Don’t be remote. Keep the channels open.
Much to ponder before the wedding reception.

Celebrate St. Valentine's Day this February 14th

From Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore:

"A general principle we can take from Freud is that love sparks imagination into extraordinary states. Being "in love" is like being "in imagination." The literal concerns of everyday life, yesterday such a preoccupation, now practically disappear in the rush of love's daydreams. Concrete reality recedes as the imaginal world settles in. Thus, the "divine madness" of love is akin to the mania of paranoia and other dissociations.

Does this mean that we need to be cured of this madness? Robert Burton in The Anatomy of Melancholy says that there is only one cure for the melancholic sickness of love: enter into it with abandon. Some authors today argue that romantic love is such an illusion that we need to distrust it and keep our wits about us so that we are not led astray. But warnings like this betray distrust of the soul. We may need to be cured by love of our attachment to life without fantasy. Maybe one function of love is to cure us of an anemic imagination, a life emptied of romantic attachment and abandoned to reason.

Love releases us into the realm of divine imagination, where the soul is expanded and reminded of its unearthly cravings and needs. We think that when a lover inflates his loved one he is failing to acknowledge her flaws - "love is blind." But it may be the other way around. Love allows a person to see the true angelic nature of another person, the halo, the aureole of divinity. Certainly from the perspective of ordinary life this is madness and illusion. But if we let loose our hold on philosophies and psychologies of enlightenment and reason, we might learn to appreciate the perspective of eternity that enters life as madness, Plato's divine frenzy.

Love brings consciousness closer to the dream state. In that sense, it may reveal more than it distorts, as a dream reveals - poeticaly,suggestively, and, admittedly, obscurely. If we were to appreciate truly the Platonic theory of love, we might also learn to see other forms of madness, such as paranoia and addiction, as evidence of the soul's reaching toward its proper yearnings. Platoninc love is not love without sex. It is love that finds in the body and in the human relationship a route toward eternity. In his book on love, Convivium - his answer to Plato's Symposium - Ficino, who is credited with coining the phrase "Platonic love," says concisely, "The soul is partly in eternity and partly in time." Love straddles these two dimensions, opening a way to live in both simultaneously. But incursions of eternity into life are usually unsettling, for they disturb our plans and shake the tranquility we have achieved with earthly reason.

In order to appreciate the mystery of love, we have to give up the idea that love is a psychological problem and that with enough reading and guidance we can finally do it right, without illusion and folly. We do not care for the soul by shrinking it down to reasonable size. Our era's preoccupation with mental hygiene encourages us to think of all forms of mania as disease. But Plato's divine madness is not pathological in our hygienic sense, but more an opening into eternity. It is a relief from the stringent limits of pragmatic, sanitized life. It is a door that opens out from human reason into divine mystery."

Challenges of long-distance love and intimacy

For Beliefnet, Thomas Moore responds to How to keep intimacy alive when work calls for two different countries? The letter writer and her husband have been married for two years and see each other every six months for about one or two months. In his response, Moore includes,

"You might also consider that when people who are intimately involved with each other have to communicate at a distance, fantasy has a lot of room to cause mischief. People begin to imagine all kinds of things about each other."

He says,

"Clear, stark, honest, plain language, even if it is about your confusion, may clear up some of the tangled feelings and provide the emotional basis for making some practical decisions."

Moore concludes,

"You can have complicated feelings and still speak clearly. You can be loving and also firm."

Readers are invited to post their reactions to the question and Moore's response. Be the first.

Articles posted on Caregiver's Home Companion

The Caregiver’s Home Companion which provides "tips, advice, information and resources to the family caregiver of the elderly" has posted articles by Thomas Moore, initially written for Spirituality & Health. If you haven’t registered with Spirituality & Health, you may want to read Moore’s musings on this alternative site. Moore’s article about his mother, with the new title Spiritual Warrior, Ordinary Housewife -- and My Mother was posted Dec. 30, 2005. The Radish of Immortality appeared Oct. 21, 2005. Both of these articles are in the section Spiritual Caregiving. Articles about different topics relating to the elder are available from various sources on The Caregiver's Home Companion site.

Moore advises stop temporizing, start initiating

Thomas Moore tells a reader,

"A relationship starts with two individuals. Rather than wait for the other to wake up and make a move, it might be useful to use your intelligence in all aspects of your life and take yourself more seriously. Anyone who waits four years for a romance to take root isn't giving her own life the attention it needs. In a stalled relationship, it may help more to focus on your own life than to try to engineer the relationship to the place you want. I'd say, be involved in your world. Have a more adult view of religion. Get stronger, more solid, and develop an edge."

He advises a Beliefnet reader to stop temporizing about her four-year attraction to a man at her church.

Narnia: Imaginery landscape without the magic

For Beliefnet fans, Thomas Moore reviews the new film based on C. S. Lewis’s "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Moore writes,

I’ll accept that Narnia is the world of imagination that resides like a Jungian unconscious beneath ordinary life. But it is not a pleasant place! This is a terrifying movie. I wouldn’t bring little children to it. Not only because of its violence and war mania, but also because it offers no real resolution. It ends, as all wars do, with victors and the vanquished, waiting to see who will fight the next one. The lion is made to sound wise and evolved, but he does little more than strut, make grand entrances and exits, and encourage military mayhem. A Christ-figure, some have said. Hardly."

Beliefnet readers eagerly respond with their own interpretations.

Create an erotic life -- full of energy and passion

In his Relationships column for Beliefnet, Thomas Moore answers a question from a woman who fantasizes about sex with men other than her husband, even though she loves him and is happily married. Moore suggests she explore her feelings of guilt about these images and 'live erotically' within marriage. He says,

"Guilt is a kind of protection. Sometimes people feel guilty when they don't allow themselves to be guilty. I'm not suggesting that you go ahead and have an affair. I mean guilt about being yourself and paying attention to your own needs and desires. Sexual fantasy is often more about deep and broad desire than about having sex with another person ... Eroticism doesn't have to be sexual. You can be erotic -- energetic, full of passion, and seeking pleasure -- in everything you do."

Beliefnet encourages readers to post their own reactions beside Moore's response.

Lost Sutras of Jesus as trade paper edition

In January 2006 Ulysses Press is offering the first trade paper edition of The Lost Sutras of Jesus edited by Ray Riegert and Thomas Moore. The book has 152 pages with black and white photographs and maps.

From to the publisher: "The Lost Sutras of Jesus is a fascinating historical journey and spiritual quest into the heart of Jesus's teachings and the essence of Eastern religion. Around A.D. 640, Christian missionaries entered China from the west and had their message translated with a Taoist and Buddhist overlay. These sutras were eventually sealed in a cave, where they remained hidden for 900 years. The Lost Sutras of Jesus combines the amazing story of the writing, disappearance, and rediscovery of the sutras with an exploration of their message."

Read reactions to the initial publication in 2003.

Responding to love relationships at work

Thomas Moore answers a recent question about love and labour in his Relationships column for Beliefnet : Falling for a co-worker when corporate policies say "No". Moore considers characteristics of dilemmas and suggests the worker look at values guiding her life.

"This sense of being in a dilemma means two things: It may be only the beginning of a process, and it may require more probing and talking... The sense of being in a dilemma can blind you to alternatives, so I'd suggest that you break out of the dilemma altogether. Open yourself to alternatives. Honor your heart and honor your career hopes. Go for both with passion. I would bet that if you turn up the heat on the situation, a solution will appear."

Moore asks his own questions, suggesting that the staffer's answers will help her to decide what to do.

Bond between mother and son ever present

Virgo Maria, Ora Pro Nobis, Thomas Moore's column for Spirituality and Health (September - October 2005) is available now in the site's Archive section. In this column, Moore talks about his relationship with his mother who died two years ago:

"I believe that my mother had an intelligence about spiritual matters that was grounded in her experience. In my shift toward old age, I intend to look carefully at the lessons she taught me and appreciate her kind of sophistication."

Moore says that his connection with his mother has intensified since her death and that, perhaps, by honouring the dead, we may expand our compassion for the living.

Unhappy in an exploited union with a lazy slob

For his Relationship column with Beliefnet, Thomas Moore considers a situation where the husband, described as unsupportive and inconsiderate at home, is a failure at business and pressures his successful wife to satisfy the family’s financial needs. Moore answers her question: "Am I wrong for resenting our marriage?" while suggesting a reorientation of her self-identity as “a traditional woman.”

Moore writes:

"I think it’s quite wonderful to choose to be a traditional woman, provided you update the idea of what "traditional" means and clear it out of any ingredients that make you feel used and exploited. By traditional, maybe you mean making a good home, caring for your spouse, and letting him make choices, about vacations, for instance. But I don’t think any traditional woman wants to feel like a maid and get no help from her spouse.

Besides, in some ways you are not traditional. You’re making more money than your husband and you are competent at your job, whereas he is not. Maybe it’s time to take a less simplistic view of marriage. Maybe it isn’t enough to be traditional, but to also be a new kind of woman, one who won’t tolerate bearing the entire financial weight of a marriage and the sole responsibility for making the home livable and gracious. As much as the desire to be traditional can enrich your life, and perhaps tie it back to your memories of family, it may need to be made more sophisticated with new ideas and arrangements."

Silence fleeting during daily, noisy agitation

Resurgence's November-December 2005 issue has Thomas Moore's Deep Spirit column: The Silence of Sounds. Moore talks about the role of sound in daily life and the fullness of its absence. Accompanying poetry by Pablo Neruda sensitively expresses a shared understanding of quiet.

[snip]
For once on the face of the Earth
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
[snip]

For a supportive view, read Joseph Dispenza's article "What the World may Need Most is... Silence".

Vulnerabilty and strength are like yin and yang

Recent world events contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression in the United States these days according to Thomas Moore in his recent Spirituality column for Beliefnet In the Belly of the Whale. Moore talks about the complementary roles of vlunerability and strength and how this togetherness is supported in religious writings from different traditions.

Spiritual sex + Erotic spirit = Living with soul

In the Fall 2005 issue of Tango Magazine, Thomas Moore talks about Spiritual Sex. He describes his ten Erotic Commandments in a sidebar:
1. Ethics: Be honest, respectful and kind to your partner.
2. Partnership: Share your intelligence, culture, ideas, values and talents.
3. Vision: Show interest in life, meaning and the world.
4. Contemplation: Step outside ordinary reality.
5. Ritual: Be mindful of nonpractical aspects.
6. Generosity: Offer abundant feeling, intelligence and equality to your partner.
7. Beauty: See the beauty of the body in small gestures.
8. Prayer: Appreciate the power of sex to express love and to form unions.
9. Devotion: Evoke the spirit or goddess of sex.
10. Community: Be joyful with others in society.
Moore says, "I think of a human being as always, in every instance, made up of body, soul, and spirit. There is no such thing as purely physical love, because we are more than physical. So be prepared for a broader notion of what sex is all about."

The pulse of life during grief

Thomas Moore answers a Beliefnet reader who asks, "How long should I wait?" Her boyfriend grieves the death of his former girlfriend while she grieves losses after her divorce.


Woodcut by Joan Hanley
Boxed Set Information

Sex, celibacy, suppression, society

"Conversation is the sex act of the soul. . ."
Thomas Moore in Soul Mates

Thomas Moore thinks about being a virgin at forty for beliefnet.com. Not exactly a review, he considers the popular presentation of virginity in the recent movie starring Steve Carell. Moore talks about social anxiety and why some viewers may laugh during the movie.

Barque: Thomas Moore

For Thomas Moore's news, interviews, seminars, and links, go to Barque: Thomas Moore. This is a comprehensive guide to what is available about Thomas Moore on the web, at barque.blogspot.com.
These posts at Barque: Thomas Moore's Work show his columns, books, projects, and contributions, and writings available on the web.
For reviews of Thomas Moore's books and his influences on others, visit Barque: Thomas Moore as Catalyst.

Thomas Moore on the Web

Thomas Moore's writings available on the Web.

The Virgin in All of Us
Beliefnet, 2005 August

Thomas Moore on Office Hours
Joan Hanley (Hari Kirin Kaur) site: Art and Yoga
2005 July

Where's the Dark Knight of the Soul?
Review Batman Begins
Beliefnet, 2005 June

Foreword (pdf)
Companions for the Passage:
Stories of the Intimate Privilege of Accompanying the Dying
by Marjorie Ryerson, 2005 March

Where Demons Lurk
Beliefnet, 2005 January 12

God is Love: the Tsunami
careofthesoul.net, 2005 January

Dark times show us the light
Austin American-Statesman Reprint, 2004 April 17

Lent: Cleansing the Soul
US Catholic [Scroll to no.4], 2004 February

Foreword
Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
translated by Mirabai Starr, 2002 February

Foreword
The Inspired Heart by Jerry Wennstrom, 2002 Fall

In the Eye of the Tyger
The Irish Times Weekend Review, 2001 July 28

Nourishing Our Souls
Unity, 2001

Foreword (pdf)
Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto, 2001

Sex American Style
Mother Jones, 1997 September

Does America have a soul?
Mother Jones, 1996 September

Thomas Moore Excerpts on the Web

Dark Nights of the Soul 2004
Introduction
Beauty
Night Sea Journey
Anger
Masochism
The Soul’s Religion 2002
Introduction
Seneca Creation Story
Imagination
Reading: Audio 5 min.
IMAGINE: What America Could Be in the 21st Century 2000
Religion
Best Spiritual Writing 2000
Introduction
Original Self 2000
Odyssey
Patriarchy
Play
Soul of Sex 1998
Brief passages selected by Thomas Moore
Nymph of Sex
Yearning
Best Spiritual Writing 1998
Unnatural and Natural Spirituality
The Education of the Heart 1996
Openness
Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life 1996
Silence
Nature Spirits
Soul Mates 1994
Attachment and Flight
Tending the Soul of a Marriage
Care of the Soul 1992
Introduction
Chapter One
Psychological Modernism & Everyday Sacredness

Thomas Moore Books

Dark Nights of the Soul
by Thomas Moore
A Guide to Finding Your Way through Life’s Ordeals
© 2004, Gotham [Penguin Group USA], New York, NY
ISBN: 1-59240-067-1

The Lost Sutras of Jesus
Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of the Xian Monks
Edited by Thomas Moore and Ray Riegert
© 2003, Seastone Publishers [Ulysses Press USA]
ISBN 1-56975-360-1

The Soul's Religion
by Thomas Moore
Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life
© 2002, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-019286-0

Original Self
Living With Paradox and Originality
by Thomas Moore
© 2000, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-095372-1

The Soul of Sex
Cultivating Life as an Act of Love
by Thomas Moore
© 1998, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-018697-6

Care Of The Soul - The Illustrated Edition
by Thomas Moore
© 1998, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-757511-0

The Book of Job
Commentary by Thomas Moore
© 1998, Riverhead Books, The Berkley Publishing Group,
New York, NY
ISBN 1-57322-674-2

The Education of The Heart
Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates,
and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life
Edited by Thomas Moore
© 1996, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-017410-2

The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life
by Thomas Moore
© 1996, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-017209-6

Soul Mates
Honoring the Mysteries of Love and Relationship
by Thomas Moore
© 1994, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-016928-1

Meditations
On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life
by Thomas Moore
© 1994, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-017223-1

Care Of The Soul
A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life
by Thomas Moore
© 1992, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-016597-9

Dark Eros
The Imagination of Sadism
by Thomas Moore
© 1990, Spring Publications, Woodstock, CT
ISBN 0-88214-365-4

A Blue Fire
Selected Writings by James Hillman.
Introduced and edited by Thomas Moore
© 1989, Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., New York, NY
ISBN 0-06-016132-9

Rituals of The Imagination
by Thomas Moore
© 1983, The Dallas Institute Publications, Dallas, TX
ISBN 0-911005-03-X

The Planets Within
The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino
by Thomas Moore
© 1982, Linisfarne Press, Huson, NY
ISBN 0-940262-28-2

Thomas Moore Audio & Video Projects

AUDIO CASSETTES
The Art of Simplicity
© 1997, Nightingale Conant, Niles, IL
ISBN 0-81751-14080-1

The Art of Soulwork
Living the Life of the Soul
© 1995, New Dimensions Tapes, San Francisco, CA
ISBN 0-7813-0004-5

Thomas Moore on Creativity
1994, Sounds True, Boulder, CO
ISBN 1-56455-241-1

A Magical Life
© 1996, Sound Horizons Audio-Video, Inc., New York, NY
ISBN 1-879323-48-6

Thomas Moore on Meaningful Work
© 1997, Sounds True, Boulder, CO
ISBN 1-56455-486-4

Soul and Everyday Life
© 1993, Sound Horizons Audio-Video, Inc., New York, NY
ISBN 1-879323-16-8

Thomas Moore on Writing
© 1997, Sounds True, Boulder, CO.
ISBN 1-56455-495-3

MUSIC CDs / COMPACT DISCS
Music & The Soul
© 2000, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Records,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Music For The Soul
© 1997, Angel Records, EMI Records Ltd,
New York, NY
ISBN 0-9639155-3-4

The Soul of Christmas
© 1997, Upaya Records, Tommy Boy Music,
New York, NY
ISBN 0-9657324-3-6

VIDEO CASSETTES
A Conversation With Thomas Moore
© 1995, HB Pictures, New York, NY
ISBN 7-90658-94903

Discovering Everyday Spirituality
© Trinity Television, Parish of Trinity Church, New York, NY

The Soul of Christmas - Celtic Music Celebration
© 1997 Globalvision
ISBN 0-9657324-8-7

Who Am I? Why Am I Here?
©, 1996 Wellspring Media, Inc. and the Hartley Film Foundation
New York, NY
ISBN 1-885538-22-7

Thomas Moore Articles in Tikkun Magazine

These articles by Thomas Moore are available through paid subscription to Tikkun Magazine or for US$5.95 each as an HTML download from Amazon.

1 May 2004
Jesus the Jew: Radical Conviviality and the Gospel Jesus
by Thomas Moore
9 pages HTML
Publisher: Tikkun Magazine; ISBN: B00082IOJE

1 November 2003
Happy Holidays: The Eternal, Holy Night
by Thomas Moore
7 pages HTML
Publisher: Tikkun Magazine; ISBN: B0008G99F8

1 September 2002
A Nation In Need Of Renewal
by Thomas Moore
Publisher: Tikkun Magazine

1 January 2000
Securing the Future
by Thomas Moore
3 pages HTML
Publisher: Tikkun Magazine; ISBN: B0008GU8VM

1 November 1998
Spiritualities of Depth
by Thomas Moore
4 pages HTML
Publisher: Tikkun Magazine; ISBN: B00098CPAQ

Thomas Moore Contributions

The Way of the Small: Why Less Is More
by Michael Gellert
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Nicolas-Hays (November 2007)
ISBN-10: 0892541296
ISBN-13: 978-0892541294
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Buddha and the Terrorist
by Satish Kumar,
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books (September 1, 2006)
ISBN: 1565125207
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Marriage of Sex And Spirit: Relationships at the Heart of Conscious Evolution
Edited by Geralyn Gendreau et al
Hardcover: 408 pages
Publisher: Elite Books (June 30, 2006)
ISBN: 0971088861
Thomas Moore (Chapter: Shadow of the Soul)

God on Your Own:
Finding A Spiritual Path Outside Religion
by Joseph Dispenza
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Jossey-Bass (June 5, 2006)
ISBN: 0787983128
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The World Is a Waiting Lover:
Desire and the Quest for the Beloved
by Trebbe Johnson
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: New World Library (November 9, 2005)
ISBN: 1577314794
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts)
by Ezra Bayda, Josh Bartok
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Wisdom Publications (September 9, 2005)
ISBN: 0861712749
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Companions for the Passage:
Stories of the Intimate Privilege of Accompanying the Dying
by Marjorie Ryerson
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: University of Michigan Press (March 16, 2005)
ISBN: 0472030787
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education
Breaking New Ground
John P. Miller (Editor) et al
Hardcover: 250 pages
Publisher: State University of New York Press (February 3, 2005)
ISBN: 0-7914-6351-6
Paperback - 250 pages
ISBN: 0-7914-6352-4
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

Out of solitude: Three meditations on the Christian life
by Henri J. M Nouwen
Paperback: 63 pages
Publisher: Ave Maria Press; Revised edition (July 1, 2004)
ISBN: 0877934959
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Havens: Stories of True Community Healing
by Leonard Jason, Martin Perdoux
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Praeger Publishers (June 30, 2004)
ISBN: 027598320X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Grace in the Desert: Awakening to the Gifts of Monastic Life
by Dennis Patrick Slattery
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Jossey-Bass (March 19, 2004)
ISBN: 0787971049
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Wisdom Way of Knowing
Reclaiming the Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart
by Cynthia Bourgeault
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1st. Ed edition (October 3, 2003)
ISBN: 078796896X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Art and Soul
by Howard McConeghey,
Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group (April 1, 2003)
ISBN: 0882143832
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Pilgrim Heart: The Inner Journey Home
by Sarah York
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Jossey Bass (18 April 2001)
ISBN-10: 0787956953
ISBN-13: 978-0787956950
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for Embracing the End of Life
by Megory Anderson
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (April 5, 2001)
ISBN: 0761534539
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Marlowe & Company; Revised and Expanded (January 1, 2004)
ISBN: 1569244340
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Old Age: Journey into Simplicity
by Helen M. Luke, Barbara A. Mowat (Introduction)
Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Parabola Books (November 1, 1987)
ISBN: 0930407040
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Harmony/Bell Tower; 1st edition (February 20, 2001)
ISBN: 0609805908
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Intimate Kisses: The Poetry of Sexual Pleasure
by Wendy Maltz (Editor)
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: New World Library (January 30, 2001)
ISBN: 1577311337
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: New World Library; Reprint (December 1, 2003)
ISBN: 157731445X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Words of Common Sense for Mind, Body, and Soul
by David Steindl-Rast
Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press (October 1, 2002)
ISBN: 189015198X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Inspired Heart: An Artist's Journey of Transformation
by Jerry Wennstrom
Paperback: 212 pages
Publisher: Sentient Publications (September 25, 2002)
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Dark Night of the Soul: St. John of the Cross
Mirabai Starr (Translator)
Hardcover: 184 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Books (February 1, 2002)
ISBN: 1573222054
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Books (February 1, 2003)
ISBN: 1573229741
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Dumbing Us Down
The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
by John Taylor Gatto
Paperback: 103 pages .
Publisher: New Society Publishers (Revised April 2002)
ISBN: 0865714487
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Embrace of the Daimon:
Sensuality and the Integration of Forbidden Imagery in Depth Psychology
by Sandra Lee Dennis
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Nicolas-Hays (July 1, 2001)
ISBN: 0892540567
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Voice of the Eagle
The Heart of Celtic Christianity
by John Scotus Eriugena
Christopher Bamford (Translator, Commentary)
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (November 2000)
ISBN: 0970109709
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Imagine: What America Could be in the 21st Century
by Marianne Williamson (Editor)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Rodale Press (November 1, 2000)
ISBN: 1579543022
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

Holy Personal
Looking for Small Private Places of Worship
by Laura Chester Photographs by Donna DeMari
Hardcover: 199 pages
Publisher: Indiana University Press (October 1, 2000)
ISBN: 0253338042
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

God's Breath: Sacred Scriptures of the World
by John Miller (Editor), Aaron Kenedi (Editor)
Paperback: 560 pages
Publisher: Marlowe & Company (October 30, 2000)
ISBN: 1569246181
Thomas Moore (Introduction)

Rumi the Path of Love
by Kabir Helminski (Translator), Camille Helminski (Translator)
Hardcover 96 pages
Element Books (October 2000)
ISBN: 1862045542
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum
by John P. Miller
Hardcover: 168 pages
Publisher: State University of New York Press (November 1, 1999)
ISBN: 0791443418
Paperback: 168 pages
Publisher: State University of New York Press (November 1, 1999)
ISBN: 0791443426
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Soul in Grief
Love, Death and Transformation
by Robert Romanyshyn
Paperback: 169 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books (September 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1556433158
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Meeting God
Elements of Hindu Devotion
by Stephen P. Huyler
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press (August 11, 1999)
ISBN: 0300079834
Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press (March 1, 2002)
ISBN: 0300089058
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Work and the Life of the Spirit
Edited by Douglas Thorpe
Paperback: 305 pages
Publisher: Mercury House; 1st ed edition (January 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1562790994
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Quest Love Trilogy volume 3: Ecstasy
by John Gray et al
Audio Cassette
Publisher: Sound Ideas; Abridged edition (January 1, 1999)
ISBN: 067158247X
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

The Quest Love Trilogy volume 2: Soul Mates
by John Gray et al
Audio Cassette
Publisher: Sound Ideas; Abridged edition (July 1, 1998)
ISBN: 0671582267
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

The Quest Love Trilogy volume 1: Love, Passion & Soul
by John Gray et al
Audio Cassette
Publisher: Sound Ideas (February 1, 1998)
ISBN: 0671578952
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran, Robin A. Waterfield (Introduction)
Penguin Books (January, 1999)
ISBN: 014771317X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Tao of Eating: Feeding Your Soul Through Everyday Experiences With Food
by Linda R. Harper
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Innisfree Press (October 1, 1998)
ISBN: 188091333X
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The New Bottom Line: Bringing Heart & Soul to Business
by John Renesch (Editor), Bill DeFoore (Editor)
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: National Book Network (September 1, 1998)
ISBN: 188671004X
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

Eyes Remade For Wonder
A Lawrence Kushner Reader
by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
Hardcover: 223 pages
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (September 1, 1998)
ISBN: 1-58023-014-8
Paperback: 223 pages
ISBN: 1580230423
Thomas Moore (Introduction)

The Rule of Saint Benedict
by St. Benedict
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Vintage Spiritual Classics Reprint edition (March 24, 1998)
ISBN: 037570017X
Thomas Moore (Preface)

Quest: Energy, Power, and Spirit
Sarah Ban Breathnach, Lili Fournier, Caroline Myss, Stephan Rechstchaffen,
Bernie Siegel, David Whyte, Marianne Williamson
Audio Cassette
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (December 1, 1997)
ISBN: 0671577689
Thomas Moore (Editor)

Mother Teresa: No Greater Love
Becky Benenate (Editor)
Hardcover: 206 pages
Publisher: New World Library (January 1997)
ISBN: 1577310063
Becky Benenate (Editor), Joseph Durepos (Editor)
Hardcover, 206 pages
Publisher: Fine Communications (September 2000)
ISBN: 1567314015
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: New World Library (March 1, 2002)
ISBN: 1577312015
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Eastern Systems for Western Astrologers: An Anthology
by Ray Grasse (Editor)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Weiser Books (April 1, 1997)
ISBN: 1578630061
Thomas Moore (Introduction)

The Lost Gospel Q: The Original Sayings of Jesus
by Marcus J. Borg (Editor)
Hardcover: 119 pages
Publisher: Trinity Press International (November 1, 1996)
ISBN: 1569751005
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Ulysses Press (March 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1569751897
Thomas Moore (Introduction)

Rediscovering the Soul of Business: A Renaissance of Values
by Bill DeFoore (Editor), John Renesch (Editor)
Hardcover: 379 pages
Publisher: New Leaders Press (September 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0-9630390-6-7
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

Second Sight
by Judith Orloff
Hardcover: 366 pages
Publisher: Warner Books Inc (June, 1996)
ISBN: 0446518425
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Warner Books; Reprint edition (May 1, 1997)
ISBN: 0446673358
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Gregorian Chant: Songs of the Spirit
by Huston Smith (Editor) et al
Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Diane Pub Co (February 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0756754976
Paperback: 151 pages
Publisher: Bay Books;
Book & CD ROM edition (March 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0912333138
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Healing Ruins (Box Set)
by Ralph Blum
Hardcover: 139 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 15, 1995)
ISBN-10: 0312135076
ISBN-13: 978-0312135072
Thomas Moore (Preface)

Earth Angels: Engaging the Sacred in Everyday Things
by Shaun McNiff
Hardcover: 281 pages
Publisher: Shambhala (September 11, 1995)
ISBN: 1570620482
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Shambhala (May 1, 2001)
ISBN: 1570626405
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Angels
by Robert Sardello (Editor)
Paperback
Publisher: Dallas Institute of Humanities & Culture
(December 1, 1994)
ISBN: 0911005277
Thomas Moore (Contributor)

The Soul of Nature: Visions of a Living Earth
by Michael Tobias and Georgianne Cowan (Editors)
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group (October 1994)
ISBN: 0826406904
Thomas Moore (Essay)

Shadow in America: Reclaiming the Soul of a Nation
Jeremiah Abrams (Compiler)
Paperback: 260pages
Publisher: New World Library (October 1994)
ISBN: 1882591178
Thomas Moore (Foreword)

The Healing Runes:
Tools for the Recovery of Body, Mind, Heart & Soul
by Ralph Blum, Susan Loughan
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Book & Acces edition (October 1, 1995)
ISBN: 0312135076
Thomas Moore (Preface)

Archetypal Imagination
Glimpses of the Gods in Life and Art
by Noel Cobb
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (September 1, 1992)
ISBN: 0940262479
Thomas Moore (Introduction)

The Essential James Hillman
by James Hillman
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Routledge,
imprint of Taylor & Francis Books Lt (July 5, 1990)
ISBN: 041505303X
Thomas Moore (Introduction)