Book Review: Freeing the Soul from Fear

Amazon.com Review:nnRobert Sardello is considered a leading philosopher on the soul, having inspired both Thomas Moore's and James Hillman's writings. Once again he departs from common spiritual assumptions in this intelligent and smoothly written handbook, Freeing the Soul from Fear. One of the more popular attitudes toward the soul is that it's a permanent element of the human being, Sardello explains. As a result, current spiritual guidance often discusses how to reconnect with our impermeable souls through meditation, honoring suffering, and returning to a sense of enchantment.nnAs important as this reconnection is, Sardello believes that it does not go far enough. Rather, we should recognize the soul as a vulnerable entity and commit to strengthening its core. And what weakens a soul the most? Fear. Fundamentally, it contracts the soul's ability to love. And above all else, love comes from the soul--"an experience through which another person, or a spiritual being, or God lives within us," Sardello explains. Chapter by chapter, Sardello examines how perennial fears (such as money, relationships, and death) as well as contemporary fears (Y2K, terrorism, and time collapse) affect the soul. He then offers concrete suggestions for overcoming soul-debilitating fears through love and imagination. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. nnProduct Information:nnFrom the man who inspired James Hillman and Thomas Moore in their writing on the soul comes the book that reveals a method for defeating the soul's greatest enemy: fear.nn"Robert Sardello is one of the most creative thinkers I know. He writes from a combination of breathtaking originality and heartfelt compassion."--Thomas MoorennFear comes at us from politics, war, work, relationships, strangers, movies, and television. It keeps us from behaving intelligently, since the mind's first reaction to fear is to ignore danger, hoping it will go away. When fear takes over, it drives us to extremes of manic happiness or fits of rage; it pushes us to destroy relationships instead of letting relationships help us defeat it. When fear wins the battle, viciousness sets in, and we have miserable lives in a miserable world. Most important, fear keeps us from the one thing that could stop its taking over: becoming present. nnRobert Sardello argues that the soul's greatest enemy is fear. It is only when we can look every fear--from insecurity at work to existential angst--in the face that we free the soul to fulfill its potential for kindness, love, and compassion.nnThis book is a call to arms to change our situation and thereby change the world. It is a rich combination of theory, anecdote, exercises for strengthening the soul, and the wisdom of a great student of the soul. Notes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. nnTo view this book on Amazon.com, click here.