Reader hears personal message: A Life at Work

Editor's Note:
Part 2 of Milteer's coverage of A Life at Work appears Nov. 1.
Part 3, which explores  "the calling," appears Nov. 3.
Part 4, Soul and Spirit appears Nov. 7.
Part 5 on Nov. 9 considers working in the tower.
Part 6 on Nov. 13 looks at loving your work in A Life at Work.
Part 7 The Conclusion on Nov. 15 summarizes Milteer's reflections about the book.

Andre Milteer found a gem tucked behind some cook books at an outlet store according to his post this Friday. After Milteer discovered a copy of Thomas Moore's book A Life at Work (2008) he writes, "For the last several years, I had embarked upon a personal quest to discover meaning in both my personal as well as professional life. It is said, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear! I can attest to that axiom. Thomas Moore’s A Life at Work was written especially for me." He shares:

Moore entreats the reader (finger pointing to me), to engage in introspection via spiritual insight as well as in-depth grounded research. This in-depth, grounding is that of finding one’s roots. Getting in Touch with the Soul. Then, and only then, can one hear the Calling--Voice--Urgings to go along a particular path ... Yet again, A Life at Work has spoken to me in a most sensual manner. I hear the call to fully explore its meaning; the need to share my thoughts is too great."

Milteer plans to publish a more extensive response to Moore's book.

William Blake: No body is distinct from the soul

Today the site Reuniting: Healing with Sexual Relationships mentions Thomas Moore’s book, The Soul of Sex with a link to his essay, "The Temple of The Body: Sex in an Anti-Erotic Age". The post includes, "Gotta love a book that has pages and pages about Aphrodite. Tho I must admit I'm finding Artimis quite attractive these days. There is soooo much forgiveness in this man's writing." Accompanying Moore quotes, the page includes:

"Man has no Body distinct from the Soul
For that called Body is a portion of the Soul
Discerned by the five Senses,
The chief inlets of the Soul in this age."
― William Blake

Live the depth and value of daily soulfulness

Beginning last Thursday’s blog post with "Life is difficult. This is not a news flash, and yet we are confronted with a daily barrage of how wonderful your life "should" be," Sherry Gaba writes about Thomas Moore’s unique response in "Living in Discontent: Masochism or the True Key to Happiness?" by stating, "But Thomas Moore, therapist and author, posits that we are looking to all the wrong things and people for the joie de vivre that slips through our fingers." Gaba shares a quote by Moore in his book, Care of the Soul with readers:

"Care of the soul is a continuous process that concerns itself not so much with 'fixing' a central flaw as with attending to the small details of everyday life, as well as to major decisions and changes ... the first point to make about care of the soul is that it is not primarily a method of problem solving. Its goal is not to make life problem-free, but to give ordinary life the depth and value that come with soulfulness."

How to measure progress in the 21st century?

A quote from Thomas Moore’s book, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, leads Nate Bettger to contemplate, "The marks of a progressing civilization". He includes Moore’s view, "An enchanted ecology comes into being when our concern for the environment goes beyond materialistic elements in nature and culture: to children rather than machines, trees rather than excessive paper products, and home rather than shelter."

Bettger asks, "What does our society claim as proof of our progression? Happiness is something more than self-satisfied, self-interested, and self-serving. It something greater than an innocent or unaware naivety." He is working to build "relationships in Bend, Central Oregon, and across the United States to connect people to what is happening in an emerging and evolving paradigm and with those who are seeking to follow God and live more authentically in the transforming presence of the divine."

Consider earthly concerns and spiritual vision

David Elliott leads an adult seminar outside Tampa, Florida. Yesterday in a post called, "Evolving our most Intimate Relationships", he wrote, "I will be recommending Thomas Moore’s book Writing in the Sand for a lenten series for us to study. He studies the Gospels by reviewing the original Greek at some depth and pulls it together with the statement: "Two streams of life define you: earthly concerns and a spiritual vision. This change leads to a life based on love, a love rooted in radical and profound respect for the other. Eventually you realize that your chief role in life is to heal. That is how Jesus lived and that is what the Gospels teach." This vision can be related specifically to our church and its vision. It should be a fun extension of our journey."

Blogger enjoys messages in The Soul of Sex

Today Jenni blogs about Thomas Moore’s The Soul of Sex at Musings of Mommy Bee. She describes it "as an interesting book, and with such an interesting thesis. I stumbled across it at the library and read the inside flap and had to bring it home."

She writes that Moore is a conservative Catholic and, "He is very pro-marriage and pro-fidelity, and also pro-spirituality. As he says "If there is any substance in the common sentiment that sex is sacred, it would seem appropriate to explore that sacredness in religious terms." This book also isn't erotica, or a 'how to' in any sense. Like I said, it's philosophy."

Jenni includes favourite quotes from the book in her blog post and concludes with one she particularly likes, found on page 248:

"It seems clear to me that the plague of sexual images that fill the internet and line our city streets, and the so-called gratuitous sex that spices most grown-up movies are exaggerated, autonomous, and noisome because we don't understand the importance of a sexy road or an appealing building or a sensuous workplace. The principle at play is simple: whatever we don't have the imagination to weave into our human lives beautifully and intimately will haunt us in the form of autonomous temptation and shadow values. There seems to be no middle ground. Either we build a beautiful road or the ugly version will soon begin to destroy the culture we are striving so hard to make. As always, our choices are basic: either Eros or Thanatos, sex or death."

Taming the Tangle features discovery of Moore

Kathy Frey, sculpture wire jewellery creator, blogs about her discovery of Thomas Moore’s writings in two posts on 4 October 2010, "More on Thomas Moore + having a thick skin" and "So *that's* why I'm not in shape...".

Frey writes, "[Moore] looks at life as a learning experience, as a maturing process... and how that just deepens life as you get older because you are building a foundation for yourself. I've always liked this vision of a strong solid base, and it's one that I've used for myself over the past few years when life felt rocky yet I realized I was learning and adding to my foundation, which felt much more comforting."

Frey recommends Moore's blog with The Huffington Post.