The Five Stages of the Soul: Charting the Spiritual Passages That Shape Our Lives - Softcover

Moody, Harry R.; Carroll, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385486774 ISBN 13: 9780385486774

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1998

Synopsis

An exciting exploration of the spiritual passages we go through as we age—from midlife crises to the search for inner purpose—and the rich possibilities they offer for fulfillment in the life journey.

Based on twenty years of research, The Five Stages of the Soul is the first book to  focus squarely on the spiritual passages that the majority of us go through, offering readers a detailed road map of their quest for meaning and self-discovery.

Interweaving psychology, religion, myth, and literature, Harry Moody—in the bestselling tradition of Joseph Campbell, Thomas Moore, and Scott Peck—charts the passages of countless individuals across the country who have journeyed through the five stages of spiritual awakening common to almost all of us: the Call, the Search, the Struggle, the Breakthrough, and finally, the Return. Dr. Moody's insightful and wonderfully affirming narrative reveals the challenges and opportunities offered us by the spiritual stages we go through as we explore the question of meaning in our lives.

About this title

Review

The quintessential baby-boom seeker of spiritual fulfillment, Harry Moody came of age in the late '60s, began his search for deeper meaning, gradually assimilated into professional life, married, and became "normal." The only difference is that Moody never stopped searching, and The Five Stages of the Soul is the culmination of his efforts. Everyone, especially in the middle years, he says, takes an interest in the spiritual life, and more or less goes through five stages of development: the call, the search, the struggle, the breakthrough, the return. In a colorful array of stories from contemporary America and legends and myths from religious traditions around the world, Moody unveils the varieties of spiritual paths and the common threads that bind them all together. As a mirror of our own search, The Five Stages of the Soul is as useful as it is informative.

From the Publisher

In a groundbreaking book that interweaves twenty years of case studies and research in the field of aging with an exhaustive knowledge of psychology, religion and literature, Harry R. Moody, co-founder and Director of the Brookdale Institute of Aging, reveals the spiritual passages that the vast majority of us encounter in life and explores the opportunities those spiritual stages offer us in achieving a sense of inner fulfillment.

At some point in our lives, most of us begin to question what life is all about, what the purpose of our existence is. This first of the passages in our spiritual lives often arises as the result of the death of a parent or other loved one, the birth of a child, or any number of life-changing events that force us to rethink who and what we are. Everyone responds differently to what Dr. Moody describes as the Call. For some, it may lead back to traditional religion; for others to good works in the community; still others turn to mysticism. Those who ignore the Call are called again, for the Call comes not once, but any number of times in one's life, and in any number of ways. For those who heed the Call, it is an opportunity to reflect on their inner lives, to explore and fulfill a deeper part of themselves. InThe Five Stages of the Soul, Dr. Moody identifies five specific spiritual stages that make up our inner lives, exploring the psychology of our spiritual development and interweaving the wisdom of Western and Eastern spiritual masters as we struggle through the labyrinth of life.

Written in richly textured narrative that constantly inspires as it offers a detailed roadmap of our spiritual lives, The Five Stages of the Soul is reminiscent in its approach of the best work of Scott Peck and Thomas Moore.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0385486774
• ISBN 13: 9780385486774
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384