Enter a draw to win Thomas Moore's new book

Comment about an excerpt from Thomas Moore's book, Care of the Soul in Medicine and enter a draw to win a copy. The winner of this give-away, sponsored by Care2.com, will be announced 25 January 2011. The excerpt is from Moore's introduction (page xxiv) and includes:

"This book is about medicine treating the whole person and not just an organ or a body part. It considers what a whole person is: body, soul, spirit, and that person’s world. It re-visions medicine as a means of dealing with sickness by attending to the spiritual, emotional, relational, and physical needs of a patient. It imagines what a hospital might look like if it envisioned a whole person and understood the meaning of the phrase healing environment. It explores the calling of healers and tries to help patients navigate the medical world so as to be healed in their whole being."

A copy of Chapter 9 "Service to Huminity" is available online.

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.