Monday, April 02, 2012

Imagination lives through education of the heart

Artist Katy Betz shares the top five books she turns to for inspiration in her post "My Top 5 Go-To Book for Ideas & Inspiration ": "My desire is to inspire other people to engage their own imagination on a daily basis, and look for the peculiarities that make life enjoyable, humorous, and sublime." She includes The Education of the Heart: Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life edited by Thomas Moore. Betz writes, "It really offers food for thought on a variety of topics pertaining to the mystery of life, allowing plenty of room for interpretation (which inspires me to create!)." This Moore quote supports Berz's interests in creating space for imagination:
"To live in an enchanting world we also have to assume a receptive posture rather than an exclusively active one. We can become skilled at allowing the world in, taking its secrets to heart and finding power outside of ourselves. This is the chief teaching of the magus, that neglected visionary who has explored the secret potentialities of nature and human ingenuity in every period of history and in every culture. When, emptied of the hubris of modernism, we enjoy the role of being a conduit for the powers that lie outside us, the world floods us with its wisdom and support."
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat review this book, and offer excerpts about Openness and Enchantment for Spirituality & Practice.

The Education of the Heart:
Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life
Thomas Moore
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (January 1997)
ISBN-10: 0060174102
ISBN-13: 978-0060174101

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 4, 1997)
ISBN-10: 0060928603
ISBN-13: 978-0060928605