Illustrated Care of the Soul: Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

This book left an instant impression on me. I read it as a meditation and for inquiry before bed. I never want it to end.

It is the nature of people to try and pigeonhole this writing in some category or another. Several times though the book there is a warning against this. I my self see him as a hybrid of Jung and Catechism. However I find this a revolutionary work that allows one to see the world in a new or ancient light. We have an opportunity to require or gain a perspective, a reality, a dimension that Thomas Moore calls soul. If nothing else reading the introduction will make this clear. I do not want to paraphrase Moore's works. The book is well written and the layout is perfect to take you from ground zero of the process of Care of The Soul to a whole new life. However for me I felt a little like reading Dave Berry where he takes the normal and mundane and expands it beyond logic. You wonder how you got there. He gets into interpreting dreams but not the standard stuff in other dream books. And shows how to relate tem to the topic of Care of The Soul. Somehow he bypasses a subject that I would be interested in. I use dreams to be more creative in work. Usually I can come up with unique solutions or insights in the middle of the night. By the time you reach chapter eleven "Wedding Spirituality and Soul" you can see he is more into Jung than S. Freud. Also items that start to look like hypnosis byproducts ate creeping into the conversation. Towards the end of the book he gets more concrete and wraps up lose ends. Bottom line is you can not just read the book; you must live it to, to know it. And then again there is no guarantee.

Care of the Soul contains exactly what is missing in psychology/counseling/psychotherapy; soul. Most of the counseling books I have had to read have been about as rich and as captivating as a Chilton's car repair manual. Sometimes I feel that as counselors, we are out own worst enemy. Like a previous reviewer noted, this book is all about mystery, paradox, wonder, and living authentically and mindfully. This is the type of book that you have to let speak to you, as opposed to reading it and trying to figure out what the author is talking about, which is how most people, undoubtedly, have read this book. To do so destroys the magic of the soul.Early on in the book Moore establishes that in order to cultivate depth, sacredness, truth,simplicity, profundity, and reality in our inner lives, we must become curators of our own soul; he traces the etymology of the word "care," in a way that sets the tone for the rest of the book. Get this right away, and the book will be a life transforming experience. Read it intellectually like most people read psychology/counseling/and psychotherapy books, and Care of the Soul will just seem like a lot of "new age" ..., which it is definately not.

In a time when the communications in writing and on the radio and television waves all appear to be proclaiming Armageddon, when crime is mounting not only in the terrorist activities throughout the globe but also on our hometown sidewalks, streets, neighborhoods and schools, and when lasting relationships and friendships seem to be taking on the semblance of extinction - in these perilous and sad times Thomas Moore's CARE OF THE SOUL glows with particular meaning. In this wondrously simple book Moore reacquaints us with the self and the sacredness of our individual being (or soul). He encourages us to be introspective, find the core of our being, honor the beauty of our uniqueness, love our human frailty, and in doing so we can grow to be a whole person, capable of loving our self and extending that love to all of mankind. Does that sound banal in the year 2002? Well, perhaps that is our universal failing. Would that we could broadcast this book's message in place of all the media blitz of war and death and terror and gloom! And perhaps if we individually read and absorb Moore's thoughtful teachings then the sharing of this new self respect could alter the course of current events. A beautifully written, incredibly valuable book, and a worthy gift to ones you love!

I agree wholeheartedly with Thomas Moore's assertion that "loss of soul" is a major problem facing us today. People who are cut off from soulful family and friendship may find themselves in a cultural void, a barren world where problems are solved with pills and the media replaces real community. We have lost ourselves in the chaotic din and senseless rush. We are more sophisticated than ever, yet we remain unsatisfied. Do we know what will really satisfy us? Can we be still and take an honest look at ourselves? Are we making the best use of the one short life that has been given us?If you recognise these questions, then 'Care of the Soul' might help you begin to answer them. Moore has a sense of the sanctity of human life, he urges us to see each life as precious and has respect for what each individual presents, however unpleasant it may seem. Every story and pathology is meaningful and can reveal truths about not just the individual but also about their family and society. When I first read the book I was most impressed by the chapter on narcissism, which remains the most authoratative account of self-love I have read. We are used to hearing that we must love ourselves before we can truly love another, but do we really know how? Moore correctly interprets the story of Narcissus not simply as an example of the symptom of narcissism, which is how it is often misinterpreted, but as the myth of true self-love, and he tells it with the insight you might expect from a therapist. This alone was a revelation and changed my life. I wonder if when Narcissus recognises himself he is experiencing the well~known 'Thou Art That' of Indian philosophy.Other key themes such as jealousy, power and depression are explored also.A previous reviewer wrote that Moore thinks we should not change. I think this is a misrepresentation. Change is an inevitable part of life and cannot be avoided. But the feeling that we need to be someone different is a rejection of ourselves. I think we have to accept our past before we can be free of it, then change occurs naturally, out of stillness and reflection. Other reviewers have discussed what age range this is suitable for, Moore himself says that it is never too early or too late to begin caring for the soul. I read it in my early twenties and wish I had read it sooner, I know people who are much older and would still benefit from it`s message.This book is the best introduction to spiritual life I have read and I feel grateful for it almost every day. Thankyou Mr. Moore!

As a person who has read scores of books about spirituality and metaphysics, this is the most influential and refreshing I've read in 20 years. "Care of the Soul" is a beautifully written book about simple living and high thinking. The quality thoughts expressed in this book are worthy of being re-read throughout one's life. Thomas Moore has made a stark departure from the metaphysical and New Age movement with a book that is, quite simply, a guide for soulful living. Moore doesn't talk about karma, reincarnation, salvation, gurus or higher plains of consciousness. He doesn't become entangle with his own ego nor does he reiterate the conventional wisdom so many books of this genre parrot. On the contrary, this book challenges convention at every turn. "Care of the Soul" is about the here and now, the importance of mythology, ritual, imagination and beauty. It's about finding ritual and sacredness in our everyday routines. It deals with subjects ranging from family relationships, jealousy and earning a living to depression, aging and dying. Yet, Moore doesn't offer trite or handy answers or techniques for solving problems or smoothing the human experience. The human experience, with all its agonies, is not something to be circumvented, in Moore's view. And it's not something subject to overnight transformation. Rather, the human experience is a process to be embraced and made whole. I thoroughly disagree with an earlier review that called this a "simple" book best read by people 18 to 28 years old. Very few people of that age bracket would have the frame of reference or wisdom necessary to fully mine and understand the concepts and imagery Moore deals with. Buy this book and read it. You will cherish it and pass it along to the people you care about.