The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community

Product Description We are people of desire.In The Soul of Desire, psychiatrist Curt Thompson suggests that underneath all our longings is the desire to be known?and what's more, that this fundamental yearning manifests itself in our deep need to make things of beauty, revealing who we are to others. Desire and beauty go hand in hand.But both our craving to be known and our ability to create beauty have been marred by trauma and shame, collapsing our imagination for what God has for us and blinding us to the possibility that beauty could ever emerge from our ashes. Drawing on his work in interpersonal neurobiology and clinical practice, Thompson presents a powerful picture of the capacity of the believing community to reshape our imaginations, hold our desires and griefs together, and invite us into the beauty of God's presence.The Soul of Desire is a mature, creative work, weaving together neuroscience and spiritual formation to open up new horizons for thinking not only about the nature of the mind, but about what it means to be human. Review "Curt Thompson's The Soul of Desire is a superb example of the integration of theology, psychology, psychiatry, and neurobiology on an applied level. The wisdom he shares penetrates powerfully as it emerges in the lives and stories of real people in safe and transformative communities. Within a few pages, I was eager to reread this book, and I have already begun it again. My guess is many of Thompson's readers will do likewise?desiring, as I do, to live into its depth of insights and practices." -- Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary"In this timely and necessary book, Curt Thompson gently and with great compassion leads us away from the idea that we are 'problems to be solved or broken objects to be repaired.' He reminds us that the original blessing proclaims that we are all created as beloved children of God for the purpose of working with God toward a new creation. By the time I read the last sentence I felt the freedom to embrace what I long for, to reimagine beauty, and to be part of a community created for the purpose of naming my desires, sharing my grief, and doing the work of transformation. And then, I read it again!" -- Suzanne Stabile, author of The Path Between Us and The Journey Toward Wholeness"The Soul of Desire is a feast of new creation hope. Weaving together wisdom from Scripture, insights from neurobiology, and stories of broken lives incrementally made whole, Curt Thompson offers much-needed guidance to those beset by grief, trauma, and shame. His daring proposal is that beauty isn't a luxury but a necessity for our healing, and that this transformative beauty is best encountered and created in the context of vulnerable community. As a pastor, I'm eager to see this profound, even heavenly vision unleashed upon the church. As a person seeking to overcome trauma and shame myself, I'm deeply grateful for Curt's compassion for hurting people and his unmistakable love for the God of beauty to whom this book ultimately points." -- Duke Kwon, lead pastor of Grace Meridian Hill and coauthor of Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair"Pick up this book and read it'slowly. The Soul of Desire will help you uncover the ways you've built up walls around the deeper places in your soul. With Curt's help, you will see firsthand what beauty can do for the human heart." -- Jennie Allen, author of Get Out of Your Head and founder and visionary of IF:Gathering"Reading this wonderful, deep, and engaging book helped me to see and understand the deep longing I have always felt in my soul as God's factory-equipped desire for beauty, and ultimately for God. Dr. Thompson is once again a doctor of our souls, but in this book his prescription for our healing is to gaze upon, and to make, beauty. Beauty is captivating, and this book captivated me?because it is a beautiful book. I highly recommend you read it, not once but over