Illness offers a window on one's way of life

On her eponymous blog, Daphne Michaels includes a quote from Thomas Moore about his broken heart, and his reaction to the physician’s recommendation that he undergo angioplasty.

According to Michaels, Moore said, "One thing I plan to do is to take a trip to Ireland. Ireland really soothes me. My blood pressure goes down when I am there; it just drops right down. So I am trying to listen to illness as an opportunity to reflect not just on my body, but on my way of life."

Intimate, open conversation may be therapeutic

Wisdom Magazine offers an excerpt from Thomas Moore's Writing in the Sand, Chapter Five: Everyone a Healer. The passage includes Thomas Moore’s observation:

"As a therapist, I have seen many people get better physically and in every other way just through intimate and open conversation. I don’t judge them and I don’t tell them how they should live. I listen to them and in their suffering welcome them into the human race. We all suffer. I help them get a perspective on their pain and I laugh with them about how we complain and wish for an ideal life. I have no doubt that the body can be healed by spiritual compassion."

Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels, published by Hay House, is available now.