Just An Old Fashioned Love Song Meets Stoic Man

The title of this work will confuse some readers. That’s not unusual. Most of the words used to introduce my work don’t conform to accepted marketing principles. My titles are the esoteric thought-teasers that push some people to look inside and other people to shake their heads in disbelief. And that’s the way we roll, according to actor and artist Jim Carey. Carey claims we should accept and discern rather than stress and worry about pleasing the masses because of the sliding scale of perceptions people experience.

After all, Stoicism, the 3rd-century philosophy created by Zeno of Citium, claimed the road to happiness is when things present themselves to us. The early Stoics believed we should not let fear or the desire for pleasure define us. The early Stoics also thought a person’s philosophy is not in what they say but how they act. In order to live a good life, one must understand the laws of nature since nature is free from the ills that people choose to experience.

Through the years, the word stoic became the moniker for a person who doesn’t show the pleasure, pain, grief, or the joy human experiences unearth. The ancient Stoics believed virtue is the only good. And wealth, health, and pleasure are not good or bad unless we think they are. All emotions have value because they give us the stage for virtue to act. 

You’ll read the words consciousness, beliefs, and thoughts a lot in this book. The essays and comments in the book capture the thoughts of poets that lived in earlier centuries. Non-physical energy is the foundation of their poetry. Their poetry comes from their inner personality and from the consciousness where all creativity overflows with awareness. 

Bringing different styles of poetry together to express what an aspect of consciousness is does not do the action of this non-physical energy justice. The word consciousness, like the word Zen, has different meanings in the minds of people who have different beliefs.

In this book, our non-physical consciousness is our old fashioned love song. When our stoic consciousness accepts our inner love song, we realize our reality is just one reality in the action of our creative energy.  

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 As a reader who likes many genres, I have to say “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song Meets Stoic  Man” by H.T. Manogue was not one that could be “classified;” reason being, every page is filled  with a wealth of surprises. Yes, the tales, phrases, stanzas—all are filled with emotion, but they  also delve into science, religion, and offer almost paranormal viewpoints. This amazing writer  actually creates this collection by utilizing the core of a long-time theory that many people  believe is fact: That as humans, we are living a variety of lives in various locations and/or  dimensions at one time.  Now, I know there are many who shake their heads or roll their eyes at what they feel is nothing  more than sci-fi beliefs, but this author makes quite a pertinent case for his insights. Whether the  subject he’s using is animals and nature, or fate, or events that seem to be pre-ordained, you feel  a sense of enlightenment when you read the heartfelt words. The author states it best by explaining that there are particular words that “pop up” in the book  many times over, such as consciousness, beliefs, and thoughts. This explanation makes perfect  sense after you find yourself enjoying the journey you take through his essays and comments,  some that are focused on the thoughts and beliefs of poets who lived in the early centuries. This  is not a book (as you can probably tell from the title itself) that will ‘conform’ to other books or  become part of the ‘norm’ when speaking about fiction or non-fiction. And the beauty of it is the  fact that it does not do these things; that the author worked to go against the grain and be  different. This fact alone allows this book to stand out. In addition, it’s extremely important to point out that H.T. Manogue did a great deal of research  in order to gather unforgettable quotes that can help each and every one of us to better  understand life and be able to shed that anxiety and worry we seem to run on nowadays. Words  are offered from the minds of Emerson, Rumi, and more—even rare Indian tales from long ago  are presented. And after you read the collection, you will see that the happiness and calmness  you feel will make this book one of your absolute favorites.  “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song Meets Stoic Man” is wisdom in a nutshell, to say the least. Not only will you learn lessons, but you will be able to enjoy and laugh as well. The author has made sure of that!

Deborah H. Yemm

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quick Guide to Spiritual Wisdom

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2021

It is a huge challenge to present a long study of spiritual philosophy in short bursts of understanding but Manogue does just that with this book. Such a diverse array of thoughtful contemplations as Ken Wilber to Thomas Merton to Rumi and Rilke and like those last two poets, the poet in Manogue is allowed to come out and play alongside them. I found the short essays most useful, especially the summary of Wilber's Eight Awareness Waves encountered early in the book because I knew of him but not what his perspective was. Every essay illuminates the thoughts in the poem that precedes it at a soul understood level.

I also appreciated meeting some thinkers in Manogue's book who were totally new to me, even though I've studied such thinking for 3 decades now. Anyone who is just dipping their awareness into spiritual philosophy will come away from reading this book with a foundation that would have taken them a long time to acquire and from there they can go off on their own path to their own new discoveries.

Deborah H. Yemm

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quick Guide to Spiritual Wisdom

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2021

It is a huge challenge to present a long study of spiritual philosophy in short bursts of understanding but Manogue does just that with this book. Such a diverse array of thoughtful contemplations as Ken Wilber to Thomas Merton to Rumi and Rilke and like those last two poets, the poet in Manogue is allowed to come out and play alongside them. I found the short essays most useful, especially the summary of Wilber's Eight Awareness Waves encountered early in the book because I knew of him but not what his perspective was. Every essay illuminates the thoughts in the poem that precedes it at a soul understood level.

I also appreciated meeting some thinkers in Manogue's book who were totally new to me, even though I've studied such thinking for 3 decades now. Anyone who is just dipping their awareness into spiritual philosophy will come away from reading this book with a foundation that would have taken them a long time to acquire and from there they can go off on their own path to their own new discoveries.

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