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.

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 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.

"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.

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."