Publisher says take The Guru of Golf on vacation

In its August newsletter, Hay House recommends Thomas Moore's The Guru of Golf and Other Stories about the Game of Life as one of its top ten books to take on vacation. It's No. 6 in the newsletter section "Get Your Vacation Groove On!":

"This one is mostly for the guys. You may be stuck attending a family reunion or vacationing at a cutesy bed and breakfast cottage that wasn’t your first choice for accommodations — but you know you’d rather be golfing! If you can’t make it to the tee, these amusing golf- related tales will keep your heart in the game — at least for now!"

These stories appeal to all genders. Moore even writes about women who golf. Check out the The Guru of Golf product information if you haven't already read this collection of short teaching stories, subtly crafted to make you smile. Caution: You may burst out laughing.

New book unites soul and spirit in everyday life

Thomas Moore writes the foreword to Hari Kirin Kaur Khalsa's Art and Yoga: Kundalini Awakening in Everyday Life, published by Kundalini Research Institute, to be available Summer, 2011. His foreword includes:

"Artists are genuine creators, giving us bodies and landscapes and objects. They populate our imaginations with figures that live as presences in our lives that affect us and instruct us. The soul is hungry for images and, in fact, lives on them the way we live on food. We can never have enough images...

I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time. It represents a shift that I hope will become more evident as our new century progresses: a shift from separating matters of soul and spirit — images and practice, the poetic and the well defined, the intuitive and the carefully reasoned — to uniting them... When soul and spirit come together, there is a great healing. These two dimensions, like yin and yang, are the building blocks, the essential dynamics, in everything that is tangible and alive."

Scroll down this linked page to read a brief excerpt from the introduction. Moore and his wife, Hari Kirin, offer From Religion to Spirituality as a weekend program at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, 25-27 March 2011.

Moore describes a better future in contribution

100 Words: Two Hundred Visionaries Share Their Hope for the Future is a compilation of insights to make our world better. William Murtha asks contributors, "In 100 words, please share empowering stories and thoughts that best encapsulate your insight, wisdom and feelings on how we can move towards a more just, fulfilling, and peaceful world." He follows with, "What five books, poems or songs have most inspired both your life and your vocation?" Thomas Moore responds in this collection. This book is on Facebook and Google Books. According to Amazon's preview, kindly provided by Barque member, Swingdancer Ken, Moore's entry reads:

"Thomas Moore: We are slowly heading toward a future when war will seem unthinkable, illness will be understood as an affliction of the soul and spirit as well as the body, and education will be based in joy rather than punishment.

Our most important challenge now is to embrace our full sexuality and dedicate ourselves to art, dream, beauty, and sensual delights. As people, we are not made up of brain cells and genes; we are bodies ensouled, created for the entertainment of ideas and sensations.

Five Books that have Most Shaped Moore's Vision:
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki
Re-Visioning Psychology, James Hillman
The Book of Life, Marsilio Ficino
Memories, Dreams, Reflections, C. G. Jung
Letters of Emily Dickinson

Who Is Thomas Moore?
Thomas Moore has been a monk, a musician, a professor of religion, a psychotherapist, and a full-time writer and lecturer. His most well-known book is Care of the Soul. Today he fits no categories of belief or affiliation, religious or professional, but his work breathes with the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Blake, and William Morris.

100 Words: Two Hundred Visionaries Share Their Hope for the Future
Compiled by William Murtha 
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Conari Press
Date: May 1, 2010
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1573244732
ISBN-13: 978-1573244732

Moore writes about mentoring for parents

If I Were Your Daddy, This Is What You'd Learn, by Julia Espey, is a new collection of real-life stories and parenting suggestions from 35 men in various fields. A February 2011 press release for this book, published by Courtland Publishing, includes:

"Participants represent a cross-section of accomplished men from varying occupations, backgrounds, faiths and beliefs, ranging from a Nobel Peace Prize-winner to a West African child educator to the CEO of Habitat for Humanity. The book is endorsed by Stephen M. R. Covey, Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield (who offers the foreword) and the National Fatherhood Initiative, in addition to leading educators and therapists. Men Are from Mars expert Dr. John Gray, Care of the Soul theologian and writer Thomas Moore and The Secret's John Assaraf are among the notable participants who contribute to the book's rich content."

Thomas Moore contributes Chapter 17, "A World of Mentors" in a section called "Utilizing Support". Learn more about this book at If I Were Your Daddy site.

Title: If I Were Your Daddy, This is What You'd Learn
By Julia Espey
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Courtland Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936623005
ISBN-13: 978-1936623006

Thomas Moore contributes to Food & Faith

The second edition of Michael Schut's Food & Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread, published by Morehouse Publishing this year, contains a contribution by Thomas Moore. According to the book's release, "Readings focus on the enjoyment and spirituality of good food, ways in which eating connects us to the land and to each other, and on the economic, environmental and cultural impacts of daily food choices."

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat offer a review of Food & Faith for Spirituality and Practice readers. They write, "Among the topics covered are the sacramental character of food, its links to health, the family farm in peril, the human and ecological spin-offs of industrial agribusinesses, genetically modified food, and world hunger." The book includes a study guide for groups or individuals.

Food & Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread
Editor: Michael Schut
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Morehouse Publishing; 2 edition (May 2010)
ISBN-10: 0819224111
ISBN-13: 978-0819224118

Food & Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread
Editor: Michael Schut
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Living the Good News (October 2002)
ISBN-10: 1889108901
ISBN-13: 978-1889108902

Listen to free online audio clips of Moore

LearnOutLoud.com offers eleven free audio samples of Thomas Moore's work, as well as opportunities to buy downloadable files, cassettes and CDs recorded by him. Program titles generally refer to Moore's book titles, however content may not be taken directly from the printed product. For example, one of the programs called The Soul's Religion links to a free 58-minute Real Audio recording from 21 April 2002 offered by Grace Cathedral. Free sample audio clips of programs available for purchase may run approximately six minutes.

Phallus is life’s capacity for creativity and pleasure

Becky Knight, who has a Master of Public Health in Human Sexuality, offers an excerpt from Thomas Moore's The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love, under her title A Religious Appreciation for the Penis on her blog, Living Sexuality. This excerpt includes Moore's views:

"The penis we see in pornography is not the true phallus; it is rather a poor attempt to restore the phallic dimension to the penis. Pornographic penises are symptomatic of our need to rediscover the phallus and with it a religious appreciation for life’s mysterious potency. Like the ancients carrying huge penises in their processions, we fantasize penises of unusual dimension and photograph them in ways that make them seem huge and detached from individual personality. But we don’t yet have a religious appreciation for the penis as the presentation of life’s almighty power. Religious institutions remain close to pornography, sometimes in their art and sometimes in their ingenious means of repression, because ultimately both are concerned with life’s deepest meaning and mystery."

Moore writes about cleansing the soul for Lent

U.S. Catholic reposts Thomas Moore's Lenten message about "Cleansing the soul". Moore writes, "Thinning out and simplifying a busy life helps create a focus on things that really matter at this time of year: reflection on suffering, deep Easter optimism, personal renewal, and hope. Today, in a time of world conflict and economic pressure, everyone knows how precious and elusive a genuine sense of hope can be." He suggests, "Lent should bring you to a point of spiritual intensity so that the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter touches the mystery of your own existence."

This message is part of the series, "40 Days to a new you". Access is limited for some of the entries. This passage first appears in 2004.

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.

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