The Education of the Heart: Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life [Paperback]

Thomas Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 1997

Don't you ever,
You up in the sky,
Don't you ever get tired
Of having the clouds between you and us?
-- Nootka Prayer

There are Sweets of Pathos, when Sweets of Mirth have passed away --
-- Emily Dickinson

With their themes of restoring the soul, cultivating humanity and living a more harmonious and spiritual existence, Thomas Moore's classic books have touched and comforted millions of people across the country, created a burgeoning interest in soul work and made Thomas Moore a household name. To date, these books have sold two and a half million copies, and continue to hit bestseller lists every week.

The Education of the Heart   gives readers access to the wellspring of wisdom that Moore drew on when creating these seminal works. Ideal for reading groups, the book includes a study guide that offers suggestions for discussion. Selected not only for their brilliance in describing the soul, but for the beauty and power of their language, the essays, poems, songs and passages included here make the book a truly rewarding reading experience. Arranged into chapters devoted to topics such as marriage and intimacy, common life, dwelling and home and life passages, these selections are taken from a rich variety of sources: from Greek tragedies and ancient magical texts; from the Renaissance philosophers such as Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola; and from modern archetypal psychologists such as C. G. Jung and James Hillman.

As Thomas Moore says in his introduction, "Meditate on the book, read the passages aloud, write them down for future reference, tell them to friends, commit them to memory; These are all ways of educating the heart."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Since Thomas Moore's name on a book attracts hundreds of thousands, this collection of passages that have inspired Moore in writing his best-sellers Care of the Soul (1992), Soul Mates (1993), and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life may attract a readership much broader than such a work usually does these days. (Early in this century, such inspirational gatherings helped make Elbert Hubbard internationally famous.) Moore says he has designed the book to be equally rewarding whether randomly browsed, read cover to cover, or used as a text for individual or class study of the soul. He separately introduces each of the 8 sections and 24 chapters in which he arrays the selections. Most of the authors are theologians, philosophers, psychologists, and poets, and they are a top-drawer lot: Jesus, Plato, Homer, Emerson, Ficino, Origen, Boethius, Gandhi, Eliot, Jung, Yeats--good company, indeed. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Thomas Moore was a monk in a Catholic religious order for twelve years and has degrees in theology, musicology, and philosophy. A former professor of psychology, he is the author of Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, The Education of the Heart, The Soul of Sex, and Original Self. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060928603
• ISBN-13: 978-0060928605
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Moore is the author of the bestselling book Care of the Soul and fifteen other books on deepening spirituality and cultivating soul in every aspect of life. He has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist, and today he lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and ecology. He lectures frequently in Ireland and has a special love of Irish culture. He has Ph. D. in religion from Syracuse University and has won several awards for his work, including an honorary doctorate from Lesley University and the Humanitarian Award from Einstein Medical School of Yeshiva University. He also writes fiction and music and often works with his wife, artist and yoga instructor, Hari Kirin. He writes regular columns for Resurgence and Spirituality & Health and has recently published A Life at Work and Writing in the Sand. He is a patron of Re-Vision, a London center of spirituality and counseling, and on the board of Turning Point, a bereavement counselors training program in Dublin, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the Education of the heart, December 27, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Education of the Heart: Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life (Paperback)

this book, the Education of the Heart, is translated in Chinese. When I read this book, I am enjoyed. it is not book than can read at once, but you could read it every time. In this book, the greatest man ask me what is the soul,and how to care of it. sometimes, I feel so tire that can't do anything, and by reading this book, I could gain the power for my life. Well, I like this book. I hope you like it too.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A PHILOCALIA of the soul, October 5, 2005

By 

Charlus (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Education of the Heart: Readings and Sources for Care of the Soul, Soul Mates, and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life (Paperback)

This is simply a "source book", an anthology of brief readings by writers from Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola to Emily Dickinson and Rainer Maria Rilke, on that noumenal inner reality that Thomas Moore, of CARE OF THE SOUL fame, calls the soul.

A lovely collection indeed, which perhaps ought to have been more portably formatted. I am very glad to have it in any size.