Learn how to successfully negotiate conflicts and deepen our most intimate relationships in this practical and thoughtful guide by an experienced Buddhist teacher, psychotherapist, and couples counselor. A committed relationship, as most people see it today, is a partnership of equals who share values and goals, a team united by love and dedicated to each other’s growth on every level. This contemporary model for coupledom requires real intention and work, and, more often than not, the traditional archetypes of relationships experienced by our parents and grandparents fail us or seem irrelevant. Utilizing the wisdom of her years of personal and professional practice, Young-Eisendrath dismantles our idealized projections about love, while revealing how mindfulness and communication can help us identify and honor the differences with our partners and strengthen our bonds. These practical and time-tested guidelines are rooted in sound understanding of modern psychology and offer concrete ideas and the necessary tools to reinforce and reinvigorate our deepest relationships.

This book is designed for people who are either in a committed relationship or want to be. A committed relationship is one path toward spiritual growth and transformation. It is not the only path, nor is it a very easy path. The seven spiritual laws discussed in Part Two of this book provide a roadmap for couples who are committed to their mutual spiritual growth. This simple but profound guide to growth and happiness for couples will help you and your partner weather the ups and downs of your relationship so that you can grow together and deepen the intimacy between you.

Couples can make significant progress toward resolving their own problems when they receive appropriate guidance from a caring person. This book outlines five tasks focused on identity, agency, and meaning that spiritual caregivers can use to empower couples for significant change in just three to five conversations. This form of "empowering guidance" is a dimension of pastoral conversation rather than formal counseling. Critically integrating desert spiritual theology with empirical data about successful marriages, Bidwell advocates for mutuality and partnership within covenanted relationships, which allows partners to create an alliance strong enough to resist the forces that threaten relationships--especially the negative influences of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and withdrawal.

Sacred Pathways reveals nine distinct spiritual temperaments--and their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies--to help you improve your spiritual life and deepen your personal walk with God. It's time to strip away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and discover a path of worship that frees you to be you. Experienced spiritual directors, pastors, and church leaders recognize that all of us engage with God differently, and it's about time we do too. In this updated and expanded edition of Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas details nine spiritual temperaments and--like the Enneagram and other tools do with personality--encourages you to investigate the ways you most naturally express yourself in your relationship with God. He encourages you to dig into the traits, strengths, and pitfalls in your devotional approach so you can eliminate the barriers that keep you locked into rigid methods of worship and praise. Plus, as you begin to identify and understand your own temperament, you'll soon learn about the temperaments that aren’t necessarily "you" but that may help you understand the spiritual tendencies of friends, family, and others around you. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it's not by accident. It's by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique intentions. If your spiritual walk is not what you'd like it to be, you can change that, starting here. Sacred Pathways will show you the route you were made to travel, marked by growth and filled with the riches of a close walk with God.

The author of "The Case for Christ" now presents thoughts on the spiritual aspects of marriage.

Mary Anne Oliver develops an alternate to 'celibate' religious practices, drawing from the experience of couples and diverse sources in the Christian tradition. This work explores the dynamics of conjugal love.

An exploration of marital spirituality that weaves spiritual practice (lectio divina for couples) ancient wisdom, stories, personal experience and contemporary interpersonal process to help bring new life to marriage.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Heart and Soul and Communication: An Interview With Virginia Satir Virginia Satirs Spirituality Intimate Relationship as Path The Bodhi-Therapist Comment on The Bodhi-Therapist The Spiritual Connection Elements of Couple Psychotherapy and Awakening Couples and Spirituality: A Jewish Perspective on Exile, Yearning, and Return Holy Matrimony The Spirit of Home Poem Reference Notes Included.

Every couple has a restless aching, not just to know God individually but to experience God together. But how? How do you really allow God to fill the soul of your marriage? Becoming Soul Mates gives you a road map for cultivating rich spiritual intimacy in your relationship. Written by the creators of the dynamic Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts book and program, Becoming Soul Mates is a unique and insightful devotional that helps you dig deep for a strong spiritual foundation in your marriage. Fifty-two practical weekly devotions help you and your partner cross the hurdles of marriage to grow closer than you've ever imagined. In each session, you'll find: An insightful devotion that focuses on marriage-related topics A key passage of Scripture Questions that will spark discussions on crucial issues Insights from real-life soul mates like Pat and Shirley Boone, Bill and Vonette Bright, Norm and Joyce Wright, and John and Barbi Townsend Questions that will help you and your partner better understand each other's unique needs and remember them in prayer during the week A brief prayer that will help you both draw closer together and close to God. Becoming Soul Mates is a valuable resource for mining the rich potential of your marriage. Its principles, proven in the Parrotts' own relationship, will help you make your journey as a couple all God intends it to be. With the strength that comes from a deeply shared spiritual intimacy, your marriage can flourish in the midst of life's challenges. Start building on the closeness you've got today--and reap the rewards of a deeper, more satisfying relationship in the years ahead.