6 Keys to a Soulful Life via Thomas Moore

6 Keys to a Soulful Life via Thomas Moore January 25, 2025

the soul
Thomas Moore in winter. Photo courtesy the author.

Chances are, you go for a physical check-up every year. But what about a spiritual check-up? From time to time, it makes sense to take a pause—and evaluate yourself and the world around you to be sure you’re living a life that is both addressing your spiritual needs and caring for your soul. There may be no better time to do this than right now, as many of us are sheltering in place as we trudge through the coldest winter in recent memory.

The first thing to do is recognize the soul and the role it plays in your life.

I like to think of the body as our figurative home, as important as the roof over our heads. Our spirit, the fanciful part of ourselves that dreams, imagines and creates, lives in the well-lit attic. But our soul, the deepest part of our inner being, resides in the dimly lit basement. Like any basement, it also includes the foundation, the one on which our lives are built.

The late-spiritual leader Ram Dass pointed out that we often ignore the soul because we are entranced by the nonstop stream of thoughts entering our head. These thoughts engage the ego and until we stop long enough to break away from them, we don’t recognize the soul. That’s to our detriment, because to find true contentment in life we must satisfy this innermost part of ourselves. In Ram Dass’s words:

The soul contains love, compassion, wisdom, peace and joy, but most people identify with the mind. You’re not an ego. You’re a soul.

No one knows the soul and its yearnings better than Thomas Moore.

Moore may be best known his landmark book Care of the Soul. But it was in another of his many books, A Life at Work, the Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do, that I came across a passage that talked to the key components of a soul-centered life. I counted six in all, and they serve as helpful reminders to the kind of things a spiritually minded person should want in their own life. Moore reminds us:

The quest for a lifework (the task of a person’s life) entails creating a soulful style of living. That means living from a deep place…with an eye toward individual choice rather than unconsciously going with the crowd.

Remember the words “individual choice.” It’s up to you to determine what your soul is yearning for. Below you’ll find Moore’s words verbatim in bold text; my thoughts follow. As you read the list, consider what you might want to add or subtract from your own life. You may find that while you are satisfying some components of a soulful life, a few are missing.

6 Keys to Soulful Living

  1. A soulful life is one of thoughtfulness, care, and engagement—you are present in everything you do, not just going through the motions. You give attention to the things that matter most. That means being in the moment, as much as possible, each and every day. When you do find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of stress, or mindlessly scanning your smartphone, take a deep breath and return to the present moment.
  2. You take care of your body and your health. The body is a vehicle for the soul and their fates are intertwined. To be healthy and remain healthy, you must engage in a regular exercise program that at minimum gets you moving daily. Jog, walk, bike, swim, take a fitness class—engage in the activity, or activities, that are best suited for you.
  3. You make your home a place of comfort, welcome, and beauty. Home should be your refuge from the stresses and complexities of the everyday world. Find the photographs, artwork, tchotchkes and icons that speak to you and display them. Care of the soul also means having a comfortable place or two in your home where you can read, meditate, contemplate, pray, or just be.
  4. You educate yourself throughout your life in values and solid ideas. Never stop learning or expanding your thinking. If you consider yourself spiritual, this includes a regular diet of spirituality-related books and podcasts. It will help introduce yourself to new ideas and philosophies that touch the soul and reinforce the beliefs you already have.
  5. Your leisure time relaxes you, gives you a rich soulful life, and provides fun and play. Live a balanced life, disconnecting from work and the 24-hour news cycle from time-to-time. Does your job or a busy social life preclude you from finding time for yourself? It may be time to rethink your priorities, because without proper downtime—I’m talking daily, not just while on vacation—the soul cannot flourish.
  6. Your spirituality is deep as well as visionary, and you incorporate contemplation, discussion, ritual, and prayer into everyday life, and you do all of this in a style that suits you as an individual. If you’re part of an organized religion that meets the needs of your soul, great. But, like many of us, you may find that the way to becoming the best version of yourself is through your own regular spiritual practice. As Oprah said on her SuperSoul podcast, “you must nurture the spirit that is you, to be all you were meant to be.” And the only one who can nurture your soul is you, it’s a job that can be handled by no one else.

A different version of this story appeared in my book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious which just celebrated its one-year anniversary.

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