Read a review of Care of the Soul in Medicine

Spirituality&Practice.com's Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat review Care of the Soul in Medicine: Healing Guidance for Parents, Families, and the People Who Care for Them by Thomas Moore, published by Hay House.

The review includes, "Moore suggests that hospital environments be transformed from modern, sterile, and functional spaces into ones that employ fountains, plants, a wall of water, paintings, sculpture, Zen gardens, photographs of the natural world, soundscapes, and even aromatherapy. In order to make the most of the hospital experience, much more thought and creativity must be put into the soothing and nurturing qualities of the environment."

The Brussats also write, "In his advice to doctors, Moore warns against the kind of arrogance that comes with seeing their work as an impersonal, science-dominated health care that will not expand to include alternative approaches: "Integrative medicine is a natural doorway for letting soul and spirit into the medical world. Massage, diet, hypnosis, meditation, yoga, and acupuncture presuppose a whole person. They ask that we consider pleasure, relaxation, and spiritual practice as implicated in illness and health."

They conclude, "Care of the Soul in Medicine is a very timely book given the amount of coverage in the news and the media about America's health care system. In our profile of Moore in the Living Spiritual Teachers Project, we refer to his emphasis on the importance of the spiritual practice of imagination. This book is a wonderful example of that. He puts on an impressive display of creative ideas about adding beauty, meaning, reverence, hospitality, mystery, and silence to enhance and deepen the healing arts."

Spirtuality&Practice includes an excerpt about the need for silence in hospitals.