For people who appreciate thoughtfulness & care

Thomas Moore describes two of his books under the headline "Two New Books for Christmas" on his LinkedIn profile. Wrap them in red and give them as gifts during this holiday season.

WSJ picks Ageless Soul as a best book about aging

The Wall Street Journal picks Thomas Moore's Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey toward Meaning and Joy as one of the six best books of 2017 about healthy aging. Diane Cole includes:

"Throughout, he calls on readers to discover, realize and act on their untapped resources for creativity, expression, building community and forging a meaningful legacy for future generations. 'As you get older, if you’re not moving beyond your earlier understanding of life, you’re not expanding,' he writes." 

Illustration: Serge Bloch for WSJ

Where is validation for inner voices at this time?

In a blog post of 17 November 2017, author Kathleen Hirsch shares her conversation with Thomas Moore, recently published in the journal Anchor. Hirsch met with Moore for breakfast in Cambridge, Massachusetts before publication of Ageless Soul. She describes his approaches to soul and aging, observing, "It is clear that Moore is more concerned with individual consciousness than he is with social critique." She includes his view:

“In the monastery, I learned that ‘to work is to pray.’ What you do is prayer. That got through to me. I’ve always viewed my individual work as drawing out a person’s inner excellence. This was what the Greeks meant when they used the word, ‘therapy,’ which they did quite a bit. Plotinus added the element of beauty. These are my sources. And my writing is my personal daily spiritual practice. As soon as I wake in the morning, I go to my desk.”

Listen to a 5-part radio podcast about Ageless Soul

Two worthwhile resources for Thomas Moore's new book Ageless Soul appear this week.

Listen to Alan Hutner with Transitions Radio Media (TRM) interview Moore in a five-part podcast that is also available for download. It is commercial-free and each segment is approximately 11 minutes: Thomas Moore Complete Interview: Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning and Joy. Special TRM Podcast. In the last segment, Moore talks about his approaches to the current political challenges in the U.S.A.

In Ireland, TV3 prints Liz Connor's discussion of Moore's book, published by Simon & Schuster for the U.K.: "Dread growing old? Here's how to age happily and see getting older in a whole new light".Under the section head "Ageing gives us a better vantage point" Conner includes Moore's view:

"'I don’t worry about getting old – because I feel that my job is to respond to life, and not to control it,' says Thomas, who is now 77. 

Writing his book helped him to focus on matters he hadn’t previously thought much about, he reflects. 'I never thought so clearly before how ageing makes us naturally equipped for contemplation, making art, and learning things that are outside the usual curriculum. I like the idea of following the signs that ageing brings, to slow down and tell my story.'"

These references with additional information about Ageless Soul are available at thomasmoore.ning.com.

Ageless Soul tops ALA Booklist's top ten this week

Thomas Moore's new book Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey toward Meaning and Joy is listed first as 2017 Top Ten Religion and Spirituality Books by Ilene Cooper for Booklist from the American Library Association (ALA).

Her short description is "Moore, a former monk and current psychotherapist, contemplates aging, counseling older readers on how to use their time productively and to use obstacles as a way to perfect the soul."

Cooper links to Booklist's review by Candace Smith that includes:

"Successful aging is more than growing older, he writes. It’s going through the steps and passages of life proactively to finally arrive at your true self. Moore sees melancholy and loneliness as feelings to embrace, explore, and work through. Instead of fighting aging, he urges readers to accept it and become mentors or elders to younger people, sharing both wisdom and compassion. Moore doesn’t belittle the challenges that older people face, but instead counsels them to use these obstacles as the means to develop the soul."

Practical positions to take during our development

Krysta Gibson talks with Thomas Moore on her program Keeping It Real in this 23 minute podcast about his new book, Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning and Joy: "Thomas Moore: Aging versus Getting Old". Listen to Moore talk about stories, anger, illness and death.

Gibson writes, "In contrast to the perception that aging means diminishment, Moore regards aging as the process by which we become more fully ourselves: a series of initiations, rather than losses. He notes, 'Aging with soul is the process of becoming a full, rich, and interesting person.' Ageless Soul is a deeply compassionate book on how to find new meaning, vigor, connection, and growth in the process of aging."

This book isn't only for old people. Moore stresses that people in their 20s, 30s and 40s may benefit from the insights he shares.

This "may be Moore's most crucial work to date..."

Today Southwest Journal shares Jim Walsh's interview with Thomas Moore about his recently released book Ageless Soul under the headline "Happy All Souls Day from Soul Man no. 1". Walsh writes, "... his new book, Ageless Soul, comes at a time when the world dearly needs a soul lift."

Walsh acknowledges, "We’ve been lucky to have Moore keeping tabs on the state of the soul all these years. As a one-time monk, psychotherapist, musician and university professor, his work on the somewhat ephemeral notion of soul provides a welcome tool for these turbulent times."

He concludes, "... the just-published Ageless Soul may be Moore’s most crucial work to date and a must-read for contemplatives of all ages."