Soul: an Archaeology - Softcover

What does soul mean? Is it, as in Aristotle's classic definition, the 'life-giving principle'? Is it the shiver up your spine when Aretha Franklin sings the blues? Or is it the simple, breathtaking beauty of a Pablo Neruda poem?

'Soul' offers a range of stories, essays, poems, myths and songs that illustrate the ways in which soul has been expressed through the ages and explores its myriad dimensions – philosophical, spiritual, theological and even alchemical. Selections include writing from such literary and historical luminaries as Carl Jung, James Joyce, Thomas Aquinas, St Theresa of Avila, D.H Lawrence, Jack Kerouac, John Keats, Milan Kundera, Alice Walker, Wassily Kandinski and many, many more..

'Place this enriching book near your bed or some other intimate place and read it slowly over many years. Here you'll find both pleasure and enlightenment, for Phil Cousineau has a remarkable talent for giving the glow of beauty to matters of the utmost importance and depth.'
THOMAS MOORE, author of 'Care of the Soul'

'This wonderful volume is a treasure house of wisdom and hope.'
JOAN HALIFAX, author of 'The Fruitful Darkness'

'Phil Cousineau writes with brilliance but always from the heart. Indeed, he pays honour to that "inner universe that is as bright as the outer one."'
ROBERT JOHNSON, author of 'He, She, and We'

'Cousineau fires our night sky with flaming soul-bursts from every age and quarter... If there is a world soul – an 'anima mundi' – it would address our times in something like Cousineau's voice.'
HUSTON SMITH, author of 'Forgotten Truth and the World's Religions'