If you want to improve your relationships with others, you need to read The Power of Deep Connection: How to Understand and Appreciate the People in Your Life. This book will teach you how to communicate effectively, empathize deeply, and create lasting bonds with the people who matter most to you. You will learn how to overcome common barriers to connection, such as fear, judgment, and resentment, and how to cultivate a mindset of curiosity, compassion, and gratitude. You will also discover how to use the power of deep connection to enhance your personal and professional life, from boosting your creativity and productivity, to increasing your happiness and well-being. The Power of Deep Connection is more than just a book. It is a guide to living a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your relationships and yourself.
"Most of us will have many friends throughout our lifetimes—friends of all shapes, sizes, and callings. Many of these are wonderful, meaningful friendships. Some are difficult. But some magic few of these are connections that have gone right to our soul. These five or seven or ten friendships have been powerful keys to determining who we have become and who we will become. . . . These are the people I call Soul Friends." As the Senior Scholar-in-Residence for over 25 years at the renowned Kripalu Center, Stephen Cope has spent decades investigating—and writing about—the integration of body, mind, and spirit and the rich complexity of our relationships with others, and with ourselves. Perhaps the central truth that arises from his work is this: human beings are universally wired for one thing—vital connection with one another.Soul Friends invites us on a compelling journey into the connectivity of the human psyche, the study of which has fascinated scholars, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Cope seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on his own life as well as the histories of famous figures—from Eleanor Roosevelt to Charles Darwin to Queen Victoria—whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of friendship itself. In his exploration, he distills human connection into six distinct yet interconnected mechanisms: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, identification, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us to reflect on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of "who we have become and who we will become."Without a doubt, the journey to our most fulfilled selves requires us to look within. But in order to truly thrive, we must make the most of who we are in relation to one another as well. Unsparingly honest, deeply wise, and irresistibly readable, Soul Friends gives us a map to find our way.
“Lovingly crafted, deep, richly engaging, and wise.” —Jack Kornfield “An important resource...for many years to come.” —Sharon Salzberg “...brilliant and utterly engaging.” —Tara Brach This “glorious book” explores the essence of connection through 5 essential types of relationships, “[guiding] us into the infinite mysteries of human attunement” (Bessel van der Kolk, New York Times–bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score). Do you long to connect more deeply with other human beings? Do you wonder if you’re living up to your human potential to make these deep connections happen—and perhaps missing out on this most compelling aspect of a vital life? In this groundbreaking book, bestselling author Stephen Cope invites us to explore the most important questions in this domain: What is the nature of human connection? Why, precisely, is a capacity to connect deeply so important to the development of our minds, bodies, and spirits? What are the actual mechanisms of connection that we must master during the course of life? How can our lack of connection inhibit our happiness and satisfaction in life? Can we learn to connect more wisely than we do? Cope is well known as a master storyteller, and he seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on poignant stories from his own life as well as the lives of famous figures—from E. M. Forster to Sigmund Freud to Queen Victoria—whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of connection itself. In the process, he lays out in stunning detail the precise mechanisms of human connection, which he distills into five helpful categories: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us into a remarkably practical reflection on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of deep human connection—and a more satisfying and fruitful life. Deep Human Connection was originally published as Soul Friends.
“A book that offers hope.” —The New York Times Book Review “A wondrous tapestry.” —Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel Audubon Medal winner Richard Louv’s landmark book Last Child in the Woods inspired an international movement to connect children and nature. Now he redefines the future of human-animal coexistence. In Our Wild Calling, Louv interviews researchers, theologians, wildlife experts, indigenous healers, psychologists, and others to show how people are connecting with animals in ancient and new ways, and how this serves as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness; how dogs can teach children ethical behavior; how animal-assisted therapy may yet transform the mental health field; and what role the human-animal relationship plays in our spiritual health. He reports on wildlife relocation and on how the growing populations of wild species in urban areas are blurring the lines between domestic and wild animals. Our Wild Calling makes the case for protecting, promoting, and creating a sustainable and shared habitat for all creatures—not out of fear, but out of love. Includes a new interview with the author, discussion questions, and a resource guide.
The sequel to the bestseller The Great Work of Your Life shows us the way through our darkest times to our truest calling. How do we make sense of our lives when our world seems to be falling apart? This beautifully written guide from scholar and teacher Stephen Cope shows that crises don’t have to derail us from our purpose—they can actually help us to find our purpose and step forward as our best selves. In this sequel to his best-loved book, The Great Work of Your Life, Cope again takes the ancient yogic text the Bhagavad Gita—the epic narrative of the warrior Arjuna’s odyssey of self-discovery—as a roadmap for our journey to our own true calling. Then he builds on that foundation using the stories and teachings of famous figures, as well as stories of ordinary people and his own rich personal experience. Along the way, we find striking examples for finding meaning and purpose in our lives: Gandhi shows how to tap our spiritual resources and listen for our inner voice Sojourner Truth and Henry David Thoreau inspire us to seek out the unmistakable signs of dharma in the midst of chaos Marian Anderson and Ruby Sales shed light on dharma’s mystic power and how we learn to trust in it And more In the spirit of Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart, this book is required reading when you find yourself forging a path through crisis—or seeking a way through your darkest times to your truest self.
ÒBoys are emotionally illiterate and donÕt want intimate friendships.Ó In this empirically grounded challenge to our stereotypes about boys and men, Niobe Way reveals the intense intimacy among teenage boys especially during early and middle adolescence. Boys not only share their deepest secrets and feelings with their closest male friends, they claim that without them they would go Òwacko.Ó Yet as boys become men, they become distrustful, lose these friendships, and feel isolated and alone. Drawing from hundreds of interviews conducted throughout adolescence with black, Latino, white, and Asian American boys, Deep Secrets reveals the ways in which we have been telling ourselves a false story about boys, friendships, and human nature. BoysÕ descriptions of their male friendships sound more like Òsomething out of Love Story than Lord of the Flies.Ó Yet in late adolescence, boys feel they have to Òman upÓ by becoming stoic and independent. Vulnerable emotions and intimate friendships are for girls and gay men. ÒNo homoÓ becomes their mantra. These findings are alarming, given what we know about links between friendships and health, and even longevity. Rather than a Òboy crisis,Ó Way argues that boys are experiencing a Òcrisis of connectionÓ because they live in a culture where human needs and capacities are given a sex (female) and a sexuality (gay), and thus discouraged for those who are neither. Way argues that the solution lies with exposing the inaccuracies of our gender stereotypes and fostering these critical relationships and fundamental human skills.
An inspirational call to build deep business and personal relationships as the foundation of a meaningful life and purposeful collaborations, drawing from the wisdom of legendary partnerships including Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Ben and Jerry, Desmond and Leah Tutu, and the collective who saved humanity by closing the ozone hole. Our individualistic society has created an environment of fear, division, and domination, which has crushed our ability to relate meaningfully to each other and diminished our capacity to innovate and collaborate. Jean Oelwang, president and founding CEO of Virgin Unite, has been on a decade-long exploration to find out how to nurture relationships with depth and purpose. Deep connections shape who we are and have a profound ripple effect on everything we do, supporting us to achieve more, withstand anything, and amplify impact. Those enduring partnerships are the foundation of a meaningful life as well as the backbone of any successful organization and collaboration. From hundreds of interviews with sixty great partnerships, ranging from business partners, to friends, to life partners, who have made a profound difference, Oelwang offers new insight into how to build relationships that matter. She identifies six core principles including the all-important virtues that connect great partners, the daily rituals that they use to stay in sync, and the skills that allow them to disagree respectfully and productively. Packed with wisdom to nourish the relationships that give us strength and meaning, Partnering is a profound call-to-action to forge partnerships in service of a greater purpose.
There are many books that promise to help you fix a bad relationship. This groundbreaking bestseller is the first one to help you choose whether you should even try—or if you need to go. Psychotherapist Mira Kirshenbaum draws on years of research and her work with real-life couples to help you make the right decision. She shows you how to diagnose your unique situation with self-analysis and questions like these, which get to the very heart of your problems: • What sins are forgivable and which ones are unpardonable? • Is your partner questioning your opinions to the point where you doubt yourself? • What is your sex life really like, and how important is it? • Is there real love left between you, and how does it stack up against all that you find unlovable? Mira Kirshenbaum provides expert guidelines that are the key to making all your choices, concrete steps that you can implement right now, and the ultimate way to determine your personal bottom line—what you need to be happy. This remarkably insightful and probing guide offers advice that lets you see the truth about your relationship—and with wisdom and compassion, it helps you act with the confidence of knowing that whether you decide to go or stay, you are doing the very best thing.
Based on a phenomenally popular blog post, a simple and counterintuitive approach to finding true joy When Luminita Saviuc, founder the PurposeFairy blog, posted a list of things to let go in order to be happy, she had no idea that it would go viral, shared more than 1.2 million times and counting. Based on that inspiring post, this heartfelt book gives readers permission to give up--that is, to let go of the bad habits that are holding them back from achieving authentic happiness and living their best lives. Lessons include: · Give Up the Past · Give Up Your Limiting Beliefs · Give Up Blaming Others · Give Up the Need to Always Be Right · Give Up Labels · Give Up Attachment Simple yet wise, and informed by the author's own inspiring personal journey, this liberating little book presents a fresh twist on happiness advice: take a step back to reflect, and give yourself permission to let things go. Includes a foreword by Vishen Lakhiani, New York Times-bestselling author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and founder and CEO of Mindvalley.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Over a million copies sold! “An eminently practical guide to an emotionally intelligent—and long-lasting—marriage.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman’s unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide couples on a path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Straightforward yet profound, these principles teach partners new approaches for resolving conflicts, creating new common ground, and achieving greater levels of intimacy. Gottman offers strategies and resources to help couples collaborate more effectively to resolve any problem, whether dealing with issues related to sex, money, religion, work, family, or anything else. Packed with new exercises and the latest research out of the esteemed Gottman Institute, this revised edition of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential.
