Thomas Moore is the author of the best seller Care of the Soul. He lived as a catholic monk for 12 years and later became a psychotherapist, with degrees in theology, musicology and religion. He now lectures extensively throughout the world.
A Review
I always read the introduction before reading a book (if there is an introduction to the book). I was really delighted reading the following in the introduction of Tomas Moore’s book Dark Nights of the Soul:
“Today we label many of these experiences ‘depression,’ but not all dark nights are depressive, and the world is too clinical for something that makes you question the very meaning of life. It’s time for a different way of imagining this common experience, and therefore a different way of dealing with it. But, I warn you, this business is subtle, and you will have to look closely at yourself and at the examples I give to see how a deeply disturbing episode can be a precious moment of transformation.”
How delightful it sounded, almost as if there was someone who was going to give a quick fix ‘how to’… how to use your depression and transform yourself into a healthy happy person. One thing I have immediately agreed with is ‘this business is subtle’ indeed, for what would be more subtle and less tangible then the human soul? We don’t even have hard evidence that the soul exists at all. I am not going to speculate here whether the soul exists or not, this is not the subject of the article, but I had continued to read the book as I was very encouraged by its introduction.
The soul and depression
The soul is as much an abstract notion as depression is, and we have more evidence for the latter, hence that evidence is often a good enough reason why we reach out for such literature.
We read in the beginning of the book that life brings great challenges that will make things hard for us. We learn that life is made of difficult experiences, which can lead to higher levels of understanding and consequently higher levels of joy. True, no one can argue with what is widely known. Throughout the book the author speaks from his personal life experiences, he skillfully uses stories from literature, mythology and art to present the reader with the ever-present theme throughout the history of mankind – the struggle with dark nights of the soul in order to grow emotionally, mentally and eventually spiritually. Throughout the entire book, Moore uses beautiful parables, metaphors and archetypes which make it easy to find mementos of one’s own life and identify with them. He evokes some of the important figures of the dark night of the soul, like poets Rainer Maria Rilke, Emily Dickinson, Anne Sexton, Wallace Stevens, authors Oscar Wilde, the Marquis de Sade, Samuel Beckett and painter Frida Kahlo. The author includes examples of distressing films and mysteries, even the stories by Zen teachers and Sufi masters as allies during the period of dark nights.
This is not an entirely easy read; it is a reflective and thoughtful work. Moore had spent many years in isolation and reflection as a monk, which adds to his authority on such a subject. With using symbolism, mythology and archetypes, Moore’s aim is to help one in grasping a deeper meaning of depression, his intention not being to offer a ‘cure’ but to explain and give meaning to the seemingly meaningless.
There are various degrees of depression ranging from a ‘mild blue’ feeling, which can be a momentary feeling, or it could extend to several hours, days or weeks, to a very deep and dark, clinical depression which needs professional attention. I would not say that this book could be of any significant help to the person with a clinical depression, in some way reading it might even make matters worse if one is suffering from a severe depression.
Spirituality, Astrology and Tarot
But to a reader who is looking for some sort of direction and advice in matters of soul, the book could have been a good guide. When I said ‘it could have been’, I meant that the book takes its turn quite unpredictably. In chapter four, The View from the Moon (Lunar Consciousness), Moore turns over his spirituality to astrologers, psychics and the widely suspicious New Age ‘hocus-pocus’ philosophy, “A psychic and an astrologer told me a year ago that losses would come. I’m watching things fall apart. I have a perspective on all that’s happening, but it doesn’t diminish the anxiety and other emotions. I’m as much in the dark as ever, and I’m trying to live my philosophy of staying cool, not looking for solutions and understanding, but being affected by each passing development. Regularly I consult my well-worn Tarot cards and I listen to the tapes of the psychics.”
Here I am losing my interest in Moore’s spirituality because I need a more serious approach to the matters of such a mysterious and complex phenomenon as the human soul and its dark phases. We all know that losses will come at some point in our lives. A serious spiritual seeker knows that and doesn’t give in to the word of psychics, astrologers and the likes. From there on we are treading on the land of the occult and New Age, the concepts which are in some parts in direct opposition to what he was brilliantly portraying earlier through the concepts of Greek mythology and the rich Christian tradition.
I got the impression that even though it is a well-written book, because Moore is an intelligent, thoughtful and exceptionally good writer that he tried to satisfy a wide range of views, philosophies and ‘religious’ beliefs.
As I, myself, am not a stranger to the dark nights of the soul, I wanted to call for an answer to the following, “The rule is: Don’t become one-dimensional in your dark night. Keep your sense of humor.”
Positivity and the New Age
My question would be – how? Such advice (be positive!) comes from the pages of the New Age philosophy and pop-psychology and is absolutely inapplicable. There is more to the cure of the malady of one’s soul.
While the book is well written and lots of questions are thoroughly and skillfully answered, I feel that it is a kind of spiritual bible, aiming to satisfy as many readers as possible and my own soul has been left slightly puzzled.
Moore, Thomas
Dark Nights of the Soul
Publisher: Piatkus Books Ltd
Publication date: 2004
ISBN 0 7499 2557 4
Branka Cubrilo - Branka Cubrilo is a novelist, short story writer and a journalist. Her novels and short stories are published worldwide.
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