Thomas Moore's 10 ways to care for your soul during trying times

NY Times bestselling author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore offers a book full of ways to care for the soul, which he describes as applying poetics to everyday life. It’s about feeling better through problem-noticing and wondering, rather than solving. 

Accept your dualistic nature. There is nothing wrong with high ideals and dreams. Recognize that at times you will need to show humility and at other times you will entertain your ego. Both of these are valid and do not need to cause inner strife.

Appreciate your uniqueness by not seeking to conform at the sake of your soul. Traditional therapy smooths out psychological issues and remedies them with drugs, with very little regard for introspection. Instead, delve deeply into who you are and what makes you original.

Rather than striving towards making a relationship work, see love as a mysterious “event of the soul” that is a respite from life’s monotony.

When experiencing a negative emotion like jealousy, know that it too may serve the soul. Jealousy indicates boundaries you have set for yourself in the relationship. It’s evidence of the care you are showing yourself and the relationship.

The power of your soul is different to the power of your ego. Soul power is attained not through planning and striving, but simply through listening to it and allowing it to exist. Allow it to guide your life without needing to fully understand its depth and source.

Depression is actually a gift and should not be avoided like the plague. It unwraps values, goals and work which can shield us from ourselves. Depression offers a view of the soul otherwise swept under the rug.

Don’t seek a “salvation fantasy” which rescues you from your current situation. Instead, take part in a quest to discover who you are and what you can make yourself to be.

Take the risk of having someone in your life with whom you may be totally candid, open and honest. It may seem obvious, but deeply genuine conversations heal and help the soul.

Don’t look at yourself as a surgeon with a scalpel looks upon a patient. Embrace who you are, even the parts you would call “flaws”. Learn to live at peace with who you are and you will find that you can weather any storm.