Blogger responds to Moore's tweet about shadow

"You don’t just integrate your 'shadow.' It’s not an aspect of personality but a mysterious element in the human condition." 

@thomasmooreSoul 21 January 2013 

Pamela Morse blogs about Thomas Moore's tweet in her post "Where is My Shadow?". She compares Moore's twitter account to the Pope's and suggests:

"Thomas Moore tweets a dab of darshan daily to his small following. Nobody tweets crass insulting things to him, like they do to the Pope. It is a quiet, one way stream, like the Tao itself ... bringing us closer to the truth every day. The truth is always downhill, and flow always involves removal of obstructions. Today he is tweeting about the much misunderstood Jungian theory of the shadow."

Morse recommends, "With Groundhog Day fast approaching, consider celebration this year by leaving your thought bunker to risk seeing your shadow. ...Walking a labyrinth is a wonderful way to begin."

Soul refers to depth, value, relatedness, heart

Freelance travel writer Colleen Friesen declares that soul is her goal for 2013 in her post "Care of the Soul", while acknowledging "But this, of course, is exactly what Moore is saying NOT to do," in his book with the same title. She continues, "Caring for my soul is not a goal-oriented exercise, but rather, a way of living deeply in our world however it presents itself. It is not something I can work at so much as be with."

She suggests, "Bringing awareness and curious consideration to all that we do, risking connection by being open and vulnerable, daring to voice our thoughts, paying attention to ourselves, our surroundings and others is a recipe for a more soul-filled life."

Friesen shares, "I haven’t quite finished this book, though it’s apparent (based on the exclamation marks and underlined passages) that I’ve read it before. But I often need to read books over and over; absorbing, reflecting and relearning. Sometimes what was interesting and necessary to know at one time is not what I’m looking for during the next reading."

Moore praised as greatest living spirituality writer

Thomas Moore is soul whisperer according to Tom Rapsas' blog entry today, "The Soul Whisperer: Thomas Moore and the care and understanding of our souls" on the Patheos site. Rapsas asserts:

"Moore is a writer’s writer in that every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence is packed with meaning. There’s no skimming a Thomas Moore book. Page after page, he digs deeper than any writer I know to come up with the rich truths and compelling mysteries that are buried within each of us, then expounds upon them beautifully.

As you can probably tell I’m a huge Moore fan, his writings literally do whisper to and stir my soul. I believe he is our greatest living spirituality writer, and in a world where The Secret tops the self-help book charts, his great body of work gets nowhere near the attention it deserves."

Before including brief passages from the following books by Moore, Rapsas writes, "... I’ve pulled out passages from several of my favorite texts below — but consider this merely a few drops from a vast sea of compelling work. I highly recommend you pick up one of his books, on whichever topic interests you most, and dig in. It will be time very well spent."

The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, (1996)  
The Soul of Sex, (1998)  
Original Self, (2000)  
The Soul’s Religion, (2002)  
Dark Nights of The Soul, (2004)  
Writing in the Sand, (2009)

Re-enchantment book may help the literal-minded

In a letter to the editor of The Weekly Calistogan (The Napa Valley Register) today, Donald Williams praises Thomas Moore's book, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life: "Recommending Moore’s Re-Enchantment". Williams states, "... I have read Re-Enchantment at least three times, starting four years ago. It is a convincing tonic for someone like me who can be too linear, logical, mathematical, or businesslike in my thinking."

In his letter, Williams includes, "Moore offers a wonderful perspective that’s magical and practical at the same time. He escorts the reader beyond excessive rationality to the real enchanting place where beauty, dreams, and emotion are validated, even in daily life at work, in the garden, in the home."

Dark nights may generate powerful spiritual faith

Today writer Peter Neary-Chaplin shares, "I have just finished reading this most beautiful book by Thomas Moore, former monk and now a career psychotherapist in private practice, and am still digesting its deep and human wisdom. He writes lucidly and profoundly about how to find meaning from within the challenges that life presents to us," in his blog entry, "Thomas Moore on Dark Nights of the Soul". His quote from Moore's book includes:

"Nothing could be more precious, then, than a dark night of the soul, the very darkness of which allows your lunar light to shine. It may be painful, discouraging, and challenging, but it is nevertheless an important revelation of what your life is about. In that darkness you see things you couldn't see in the daylight. Skills and powers of soul emerge from your frustration and ignorance. The seeds of spiritual faith, perhaps your only recourse but certainly a valuable power, are found in your darkness. The other half of who you are comes into view, and through the dark night you are completed."

Neary-Chaplin summarizes, "We cannot avoid suffering but we can try to transform it into something healing and humane."

Spirituality includes ordinary daily nurtured ritual

"Modern life dangerously lacks felt and meaningful ritual and mysterious methods of intuitive guidance." 
— Thomas Moore @thomasmooreSoul 30 December 2012

Leigh Hopkins uses Thomas Moore’s book Care of the Soul as a resource for her blog post, "Creating a Sacred Space: The Importance of Ritual and Retreat in Spiritual Practice" in which she recommends ways to practice daily spirituality. The entry includes quotes from Moore's book and links to examples of sacred space.


"Spirituality is seeded, germinates, sprouts, and blossoms in the mundane. It is to be found and nurtured in the smallest of daily activities … the spirituality that feeds the soul may be found in those sacred objects that dress themselves in the accoutrements of the ordinary."
— Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul