Rating: 
Summary: To boldly go where no soul has gone before . . .
Review: Thomas Moore writes with more depth and wisdom than many of the current "writers on spirituality." He gives you no formula, no simple truths. Instead, he takes you to a thought that appears self-evident, and then challenges you to go further, to probe more deeply, to "leave the door ajar" so that soul may slip in. Each essay takes you on a journey that could last an hour, a day, a week, a month. I find that I revisit some of the essays again and again as I dip under the surface a bit more deeply each time. The essays are short and easy to read; the comprehension develops in an ever-deepening spiral of understanding and application. Each essay carries multiple levels of inspiration and evocation. The quote, the woodcut, the title, and then the text - each conveys a meaning that is both unique and integral to the whole. One is drawn from the image to the poetry, the summative thought, the expanded concept, and then back to the image. At the end of an essay, I often pause and breathe, simply taking it in. I return to the quotes over and over again. I am curious about the change in wording of the subtitle on the book cover - Living with Paradox and Originality - as compared to the title page - Living with Paradox and Authenticity. One could create an essay on the difference between the two words, and so I wonder about Thomas Moore's "original" intent. I have already purchased the audiocassette, to play in my car while commuting, as a way to enter and exit the work day with a contemplative focus. I am certain this book will become one that I share with others, offer as gifts, and refer to repeatedly in conversation. Highly recommended, for those who like to dive in more deeply.
Rating:
Summary: Original Self
Review: Upon leaving Australia to move to the U.S.A., I weapt when I packed away my extensive library into heavy wooden crates,in an attempt to protect their wisdom, until I could return one day. I only had room to stash a few precious books into my suitcases which were to transport me safely until I arrived at a place where I was ready to rebuild a new library in the new homeland. Thomas Moore's books 'Care of the Soul' and 'Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life' were two of the six I packed. I couldn't imagine life without the nurturing I found within the pages of Thomas Moore's words. They are a pathway back to the safety of the soul when everything seems threatening, changing yet enticing. I have gifted several copies of his work to friends at appropriate times in their lives when they too needed a constant companion. I lived his words and painted my house in rennaissance colours, played wildly romantic Italian operas, purchased a few antiques to gaze upon their craftsmanship and history and immersed my soul with renewed values around family love and passion for everyday simplicities and sanctuaries. I've lived Thomas Moore's work for several years now and it has made my life rich and rewarding. I believe it was more than a synchronicity occurence when his recent book "Original Self" came into my life, again, coinciding with a trip to a far off place where I was considering another internal shift. It arrived right at a time when I was entertaining the idea (unfortunately, once again) to sell my soul to do a somewhat souless task. His message was simple but profound, return to my own authenticity and "Original Self" or chance loosing my soul. Since that fortunate time, I have been pouring over his words from this recent masterpiece like a child at play with a deep curiosity of how his writings have affected my life, again, in such a deeply mysterious way. Thomas Moore's books are part of my life and now, thanks to his urgings, my soul. Be assured, whatever he writes about is speaking directly to your soul. I can't imagine how anyone living, after reading his work, not knowing that they have just been touched by a master. But I know it happens to an unfortunate few. Only read this book should you want to be roused by the intervention of divinely tender words or stirred by deep meditations about life. I suggest you buy his book and see it as part of the magical immersion into soul that Thomas Moore wants for you. You may in fact be able to reignite your passion to overcome the sufferings of your neglected soul and start to recognize the bitter ailments of a soul-less society so desperaely in need of nurturing. Or perhaps not, you may just return home to your "Original self".
Rating:
Summary: Original Self
Review: Upon leaving Australia to move to the U.S.A., I weapt when I packed away my extensive library into heavy wooden crates,in an attempt to protect their wisdom, until I could return one day. I only had room to stash a few precious books into my suitcases which were to transport me safely until I arrived at a place where I was ready to rebuild a new library in the new homeland. Thomas Moore's books 'Care of the Soul' and 'Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life' were two of the six I packed. I couldn't imagine life without the nurturing I found within the pages of Thomas Moore's words. They are a pathway back to the safety of the soul when everything seems threatening, changing yet enticing. I have gifted several copies of his work to friends at appropriate times in their lives when they too needed a constant companion. I lived his words and painted my house in rennaissance colours, played wildly romantic Italian operas, purchased a few antiques to gaze upon their craftsmanship and history and immersed my soul with renewed values around family love and passion for everyday simplicities and sanctuaries. I've lived Thomas Moore's work for several years now and it has made my life rich and rewarding. I believe it was more than a synchronicity occurence when his recent book "Original Self" came into my life, again, coinciding with a trip to a far off place where I was considering another internal shift. It arrived right at a time when I was entertaining the idea (unfortunately, once again) to sell my soul to do a somewhat souless task. His message was simple but profound, return to my own authenticity and "Original Self" or chance loosing my soul. Since that fortunate time, I have been pouring over his words from this recent masterpiece like a child at play with a deep curiosity of how his writings have affected my life, again, in such a deeply mysterious way. Thomas Moore's books are part of my life and now, thanks to his urgings, my soul. Be assured, whatever he writes about is speaking directly to your soul. I can't imagine how anyone living, after reading his work, not knowing that they have just been touched by a master. But I know it happens to an unfortunate few. Only read this book should you want to be roused by the intervention of divinely tender words or stirred by deep meditations about life. I suggest you buy his book and see it as part of the magical immersion into soul that Thomas Moore wants for you. You may in fact be able to reignite your passion to overcome the sufferings of your neglected soul and start to recognize the bitter ailments of a soul-less society so desperaely in need of nurturing. Or perhaps not, you may just return home to your "Original self".
Rating: 
Summary: MYSTERIOUS ME
Review: We shall never know finally why we are; why anything is, or needs to be. All our science, all our art, the whole vast edifice of matter, has its foundations in this meaninglessness; and the only assumptions we can make about it are that it is both necessary and sympathetic to the continuing existence of matter. Moore correctly introduces the word paradox in the existential context, because we do not know why we are here to exists. We want to be mastered, but we are masterless. We think always in a causative and hierarchical manner. The process and 'God' are co-infinite. Our finity cannot comprehend them, or their causelessness. 'God' is caused by what it causes; is made necessary by what it necessitates; we cannot comprehend. This is the paradox.
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