Fast Company blog quotes Moore during crisis

While addressing "Valuable Soul Searching in Times of Economic Crisis" for Fast Company readers, Dr. Alex Pattakos refers to Thomas Moore's writings:

"Many of you may remember the words uttered by former U.S. Senator and economist, Phil Gramm, who downplayed the idea that the nation was in a financial recession; instead, he "diagnosed" the situation as a "mental recession," likening the country’s (and its citizens') ills to what we all know as mental depression. In this regard, Gramm provocatively said that "We have sort of become a nation of whiners, ... complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline." Although I don’t happen to agree with Senator Gramm’s diagnosis, I do believe that Americans, like all people, must consciously and deliberately resist the human tendency to become "prisoners of their thoughts." Only in this way may we increase our capacity to cope effectively and creatively with whatever comes our way in life — from the smallest disappointments to the most formidable of life’s challenges. And this includes our capacity, as individuals and as a nation, to deal with the current economic crisis.

In this regard, I learned years ago from Thomas Moore, psychotherapist and author of the bestselling book, Care of The Soul, that our most soulful times are when we are "out of balance," not when we are in balance! In other words, it is when we are facing formidable challenges and when we are dealing with crises, that we are most likely to do some really deep "soul-searching." And it is during these especially difficult times when our will to meaning, that is, our authentic commitment to meaningful values and goals, comes into sharp focus and we are prompted to make key choices about what really matters to us and in our lives."

Pattakos shows ways, "On both personal and collective levels, the "meaning" of the economic crisis also holds the promise of being a transformative experience."