Care of the Soul, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Ed: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

Thomas Moore has been my favorite author for nearly twenty years. My studies concerning the care of the soul began one year ago. I first read Dark Nights of the Soul which introduced me to going deeper in the subject. This book has given me insight into the daily feeding of my spirit which allows a deep reverance for the subject of how we take care of the soul. When Thomas Moore states that this is a Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness - it is much like digging in the garden of your life. This means maintenance of weeding, fertilizing and watering. This book is excellent for anyone who is working on finding more meaning out of life. The book had some minor markings made in pencil which I did not mind at all.

This book was a wonderful surprise. I thought it would be a book of psychology, but it is full of examples of the gods of mythology and what they stood for, for example, the god Saturn ruling over depression. It talks about all sorts of feelings, and tells you what is good about all of them. Again for example, who would think depression is good? But it gives a person time to slow down, and see things in life they might not have known. I'm not explaining as well as the book, but I'm surprised of how interesting the book is, regarding all emotions, and what we can learn from the and do with them. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about themselves, other people, and just life in general.

Being a student of classical literature, I have very rarely found nonfiction that can speak in the same language to which I am accustomed. This book is deeply profound and challenging--perhaps the most evocative approach to psychology I have ever encountered. It is especially helpful to those who enjoy literature. It is artistic and aesthetic, yet still very, very helpful for practical use and everyday living. I have found myself challenged deeply towards personal and spiritual fulfillment, and have been recommending the book to everyone that I know. My husband and I read it together and are continuing to sift through its richness. No other book has been able to so completely shift my spiritual and psychological paradigm effectively. This is a must read.

I can race through some books, enjoying them so much that I can’t wait to see how they end. Was it Colonel Mustard with the revolver in theblibrary? Some books are different – very different, and I take my time not because I’m slogging through misery, but because every paragraph requires reading and rereading, followed by time to savor the ideas presented there, sometimes taking days or even weeks to work through a chapter. Care of the Soul was such a book. This book is dense – dense in thought, dense in ideas. My first question is what is soul? I have used the words soul and spirit interchangeably, but Moore distinguishes between them. His differences are not subtle – rather, like two halves of the essence of human experience. The basis of Moore’s most famous book is that we must take time to nurture our soul – our heart – our depth. To nurture in his sense means to explore with curiosity – both in the light and the shadows. We should look for beauty in both places. We should let our hearts feel the beauty of joy and sadness. A tough read for me – not because the wording was hard to grasp, but the concepts themselves deserved their time. Dense in ideas. Mostly well-organized until towards the end, when it felt like Moore was just making points that didn’t fit well into earlier chapters, making it more scattered. If you want to know yourself better, or to better understand humility, fabulous book.

I really love this book. It makes you look at so many things with a different perspective from what society / family has taught all of us to differing degrees. By helping us expand our minds, Thomas Moore is showing us ways to care for our souls. With every book I read, I realize how utterly ignorant I am and this one is no exception. But isn’t that the beauty of knowing you don’t know it all ? Every time I came out of this book I truly felt closer to my soul. It is beautifully written, almost dream-like, and I was wistful when it was all over. Am looking forward to pursuing his other work. What a gift !

This book I give five stars because of the depth it takes the reader to go within their soul. It is definitely a hard read for people that cannot deal with living one day at a time. This book takes you on a journey into the inner soul of your life. If you are a person that wants to find or has found the inner soul of your life then this book is for you. For others your will find it so difficult to read and understand because you need to be on a spiritul journey in your life to understand where the author is taking you. I recommend this book to anyone that is opened to the spirit or willing to take a chance on life. Well worth reading.

I have been soul searching for a long time. Okay maybe my whole life. I have read countless books on soul, intuition, love, spiritual info, etc.I think Thomas Moore is interesting and has valuable information but this book was difficult for me to get excited about. The information is good but for some reason it did not resonate with me. I wanted it to. I actually had to force myself to finish this book. I'm glad I did because it was an accomplishment. I'm sorry Thomas Moore, I don't mean to be negative toward your writing. But not an easy read for me.

I needed to pace myself on this one. The first few chapters are a bit heavy for me with reference to Greek mythology which might be Greek to some of us (pun intended). Author makes a case for those reference as a way of understanding basic issues of man with himself - work, family, career, love, etc. This is a classic and should be read and digested slowly.

This book is like glue for the soul. Defiently worth reading.

Amazingly insightful

This is my current reading for one of my art therapy classes, I have read it in the past and it’s always a good read. Highly recommend to anyone who interested

This book offers a different take on daily life that goes beyond therapy, yet complements it so well. A deep and thought-provoking read that stays with you - you'll want to take note of many pages, to return later to wonderful insights.

Anyone who is looking for depth in everyday life and wanting to live meaningfully, have to embark on this journey and reading this book is the best start.