The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life [Paperback]

Thomas Moore (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 27, 1997

Starting from the premise that we can no longer afford to live in a disenchanted world, Moore shows that a profound, enchanted engagement with life is not a childish thing to be put away with adulthood, but a necessity for one's personal and collective survival.

With his lens focused on specific aspects of daily life such as clothing, food, furniture, architecture, ecology, language, and politics, Moore describes the renaissance these can undergo when there is a genuine engagement with beauty, craft, nature, and art in both private and public life.

Millions of readers who found comfort and substance in Moore's previous bestsellers will discover in this book ways to restore the heart and soul of work, home, and creative endeavors through a radical, fresh return to ancient ways of living the soulful life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Where better to care for the soul than in the details of our daily lives? And so this profound yet practical sequel to Moore's massive bestseller, Care of the Soul, explores how we may nurture our souls while eating, dressing, traveling and so on. The soul, according to Moore, is a kind of sea of intelligence and responsiveness to life; it animates, yet exceeds, the individual. The soul can never be fully known or possessed, only glimpsed. Yet when we learn to open to it, it can pull us into the beautiful mystery of our lives. "In a condition of enchantment, we stop doing and the soul acts," writes Moore of a possible soul-based therapy. "We stop interpreting and the soul is revealed." The soul's power of enchantment can be engaged not just by listening in the therapist's office, but by living surrounded by?and in harmony with?the textures, tastes and images that inspire the imagination. Some of Moore's reflections are simplistic, even dogmatic (for instance, that concern over the healthiness of our food will diminish its resonance) or too romantic. But this important book will dare many to believe that life really is full of enchantment, if only we can go beyond our habitual literal-mindedness and narcissism to experiment with that broader state of attunement that Moore calls soul. $250,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB dual main selections; simultaneous audio from HarperAudio; author tour; U.K., translation, first serial, dramatic rights: Michael Katz.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As he has done in his previous books, former monk and best-selling writer Moore (Meditations, LJ 1/95) continues to explore the ways in which soulful living invests ordinary experiences with magic and enchantment. This collection of parables and anecdotes about contemporary life traces the effects of soulful living on everyday practices as wide-ranging as sex and sports. Moore casts simple and often simplistic reflections in an elegant prose that will appeal to fans of the work of Matthew Fox and M. Scott Peck. Most libraries will want to purchase Moore's book for his numerous readers.
-?Henry Carrigan Jr., Westerville P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (February 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060928247
• ISBN-13: 978-0060928247
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,431 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bringing the Magic Back In July 1, 2000

By unraveler

Format:Paperback

Moore addresses a very important question: How can we bring back magic into our lives? We are used to living in a rational, practical society, argues the author, with the result that we have neither time, nor ability to stop, think, and savor the strangeness and beauty of things. We have over-rationalized our existence to the point where spirituality suffers. Some things, the authors counsels are, well... not very practical. Can we really afford to keep old and dilapidated buildings because they can enchant us when we intentionally romanticize them? But the utility of Moore's book lies in learning how to accept what is and endow it with spirit, magic, and meaning. Even if we must grow up, we need not give up the romantic spirit that makes life fascinating.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It! June 29, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

After having never gotten around to Moore's previous best sellers, I finally bought this one. I enjoyed it very much, and found much to savor. It is NOT a book to read through all at once; rather, it's a smorgasbord that I have found myself musing on, reflecting on, and returning to again and again.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gentle-No Promises Prescription for the Ills of this Life July 29, 2001

By Annabel Temple

Format:Paperback

In this book, Moore builds on the material expressed in his earlier books, Care of the Soul and Soul-Mates, by considering the essentials of art, culture and society. A thought-provoking and re-energising read, without overt self-disclosure, false pretensions or weak, misguided self-illusions. Moore skillfully weaves his own special web of spiritual significance that stretches beyond our culture itself: by going straight to the centre of all human experience. An intellectually modest, yet soulfully rigorous book that is still highly capable of having literary and philosophical relevance to even the simplest of considerations. It's also a great interpretation of much of our long-forgotten human thought and endeavours from our past, present and the future, as well as allows you to realistically think about your own, unique cherished experiences yet to come.