Become soulful through a liberal arts education

On Monday 6 April 2009, at 7:00 p.m. in the Whittemore Theater at Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont, Thomas Moore talks about "A Liberating Education: Learning How to Be a Person with Soul":

"Today we are all caught unconsciously in the myth of our times: modernism. We believe in fact, information, training, data, research, and numbers. Something is wrong with an education constrained by this mythology. It has no soul," says Moore. "But there is an alternative, a new way of imagining how and what to learn. In this new, ancient form of learning, the arts and ideas come back and along with them a sense of belonging to community. We become cultured persons rather than just informed and skilled workers."

This free event is open to the public.

Explore the edges with Moore in the U.K.

Re-vision, the Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis hosts a conference Friday 11 September - Sunday 13 September, 2009 featuring Thomas Moore. "Sacred Margins: psychotherapy at the interface" explores ". . . liminality, the borders between worlds, described by anthropologist Turner as betwixt and between and by Winnicott as transitional space. Psychotherapeutic approaches that explore such border territories require the therapist to be able to dwell in this twilight zone where their rational mind has no passport. These sacred margins are the subject of this conference."

According to conference information, Moore "has deep concerns about the utilitarian direction in which psychotherapy is currently headed."

Questions explored during the conference include:
- How does psychotherapy interface between the inner and outer worlds?
- Can the language of transference adequately describe the subtle phenomena encountered at the borders of consciousness?
- Does regulation weaken psychotherapy's capacity to tune into the undercurrents of the collective?

This event is at the Node conference centre, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire. A maximum of 100 delegates will be able to attend. Because residential places are limited, book early. A booking form may be downloaded and forwarded to organizers.

COST:
Conference fee including residential £280
Conference fee for non-residential with food £200
Early-bird discount of £30 for applications received
before 1 May 2009.

On Wednesday 9 September 2009, Thomas Moore presents an evening talk, "Magritte’s Head: Our Precious Ignorance and Foolishness" at Hampstead Town Hall.

Celebrate the beatitude of quietude, solitude

Thomas Moore’s column, "My Quest for Silence" in the January-February 2009 issue of Spirituality and Health is available online after free registration. Moore writes,

"The effect of hearing a waterfall cascading in the woods is similar to catching a glimpse of a sunset at the just the right moment. It’s captivating. It captures you and takes you to a refreshing place that you rarely find in the rush of daily life.

We might think of this as a form of synesthesia: where one sensory experience evokes an entirely different one. Listen to Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite and try not to picture beautiful scenery. Eat a perfect square of dark chocolate and don’t say anything about velvet. The same is true of sound and quiet. A certain painting may be quieter than an empty room and another as noisy as Times Square.

We can use this property of aesthetics to give our world the peace and quiet our souls need. We could make the most of architectural quiet — empty corners, lofted ceilings, muted colors — this last one a good expression of synesthesia. We could avoid placing noisy transportation near living spaces. We could give more attention to the noise that machines make."

He observes, "We live by a philosophy that hasn’t seen the connection between noise and immorality, illness, and existential angst. Silence resides in our vast unconscious. We are not aware yet of its value and purpose."

Moore jokes about getting a job with an automaker (he’s a Detroit native) to perfect a quiet car. Given the auto industry today, he may be hired if such a vehicle proves to sell well. Spirituality and Health invites readers' comments at the end of the column.

Read Moore's 2005 contribution to Resurgence magazine, "The Silence of Sounds."

Moore becomes intimate about life on May 3

Thomas Moore speaks at OneTaste in San Francisco on 3 May 2009 as a featured guest in The Intimate Life program. His updated page for this event describes his presentation:

VENUS: the Forgotten Face of God
"The sphere of Venus, the Italian goddess of old, contains sensuality, sexuality, romantic love, and the beauty of nature. Our modern myth of modernism has little room for Venus, and so it is through her realm that we can recover soul for ourselves and our society. But this change would entail a radical extension of values. It would ask us to confront our sexuality and fulfill it, remove the excessive commercialism from our towns and cities, and teach our children the joy of life rather than the virtue of working hard. We would once again understand the spiritual contributions of the arts and heal our bodies by giving them the pleasures and comforts they need."

Read an earlier Barque announcement for background about The Intimate Life series.

OneTaste participants are warmly invited to join Barque: Thomas Moore Forum, an open space for sharing your views and reflections about Moore's work. All that's required is registration on the site.

Attend Moore's event in San Diego, 2 May 2009

Thomas Moore's publisher updates its description for his 2:30 p.m.workshop at the I Can Do It! event in San Diego on 2 May 2009. Moore talks about his new book, Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels, published by Hay House.

Read an earlier Barque post with the description for Moore's presentation.

Learn about ecology of the soul in May 2009

Schumacher College updates its description for the course, Nourishing the Soul: Archetypes, myth & meaning scheduled for May 5-15, 2009. Thomas Moore and his wife teach the second week of the course, Ecology of the Soul: Deepening Everyday Life through Art, Yoga and Discussion.

"Ecology usually refers to protecting the natural environment. Ecology of the soul is the process of tending deep values of connection, beauty and community. Soul is not the same as spirit. Soul is what makes a person or a thing fully what it is and connected to the world. Through meditation, daily yoga, lecture/discussion and the arts (50% lecture/discussion, 50% experiential), this course explores ways to live soulfully, focusing on the following themes:

Monday – Ways to live soulfully – image and the poetic life
Tuesday – Desire and pleasure
Wednesday – Enchantment, community and beauty
Thursday – The imperfect life – depression, anger and failure
Friday – Calling, dharma and opus

No previous experience with art, meditation or yoga is necessary.
Advance reading:
Care of the Soul or The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore."