Journey of the Heart : Path of Conscious Love, The

Rating:
Summary: Can't Go Wrong
Review: I first read Journey of the Heart ten years ago--and to this day it is the best book I have read on the topic of love and relationships. Welwood's succinct, penetrating insights into these topics, and into relationship as an actual spiritual path (in the same way that yoga is a "path") helped shape my views in a profound way. I am very grateful to him for writing this book.

If you get one significant learning from a book, I think it is well worth your while. From reading this book though, I received about five major learnings which have shaped my understanding and decisions in relationship ever since. It was that good.

Rating:
Summary: Excellence in Understanding
Review: I have read Journey of Heart well over a dozen times and I always come away with deeper insights and awareness into myself and how I interact in relationships. For the past 5 years, I have given a copy of this book to all of my friends, relatives and even strangers. Reading this book can be truly transformative. Unlike many other books in this field, it does not presribe a set of techniques. Welwood beautifully articulates the various aspects of romantic love - passion, conscious commitment, conditional and unconditional love etc. He weaves them together and demonstrates how this relates to our authentic spiritual development. Journey of the Heart will stand as an all-time classic as we pioneer into the evolution of conscious relationship. Only the Levines' book Embracing the Beloved explores these issues with such depth and sincerity.

Rating:
Summary: True spiritual, inner connected relationships exist!
Review: John Welgood expertly, encouragingly teaches us to be whole individually, to be connected spiritually with one another, and to be "in relationship" with our partners in a spiritual sense, trusting in love and the process leading to growth, healing and development that necessarily occurs by the nature of being human and our contact with our higher power which can be explored and experienced on the path of human intimacy.

He speaks of the razor's edge in relationships and staying on the periphery of emotion to observe it rise and fall in the Zen art of watchfulness. And, he cajols us kindly to be patient with each other, holding our love before any issues, situations or circumstances, letting go of critical voices that insist one chooses one path or another, rather than maintaining an open, loving presence.

Perhaps being perched on this edge is best characterized by the word surrender, but he admonishes us this patient waiting, presence with our beloved, and watching of life does not mean submission to another person. Deeper surrender individually and mutually leads us to true intimacy and nips the problem thorns we all encounter.

Rating:
Summary: The best book on love and relationships I have ever read
Review: This book should be on everyone's shelves, whether single or married - in a relationship or not! The concepts and ideas discussed here go deep to the heart of what love is, and how we make love a conscious choice daily. No matter what place you find yourself in along life's path, this book will apply to you in many ways. I would love to buy a copy for all of my family and friends, have preordered the new book to be released in 2000, and just ordered "Love and Awakening" because I learned so much from this one. This author is fantastic, and the book is life-changing!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This book, and it's follow-up, 'Love and Awakening,' are wonderful books. The important take-away for me is that conflict in an intimate relationship is a reliable pointer toward my own 'stuckness' and emotional defenses. As such, conflict is a guide on my path of inner work to soften and become more loving. When viewed this way, relationship 'problems' can be welcomed as opportunities for growth and intimacy. That profound shift takes us away from 'what is wrong with my partner?' to 'what is happening in my heart?', a shift which opens the door to so much possibility. Of course, it takes commitment by BOTH parties in a relationship to use this paradigm to bear fruit. Just the same, there is something in this book for anyone who is looking for more love and intimacy. Wellwood's gentle and compassionate way of writing add to the books power.

Rating:
Summary: There's great wisdom in this book
Review: This is a buddhist-inspired, philosophical discourse on the nature of the spiritual aspects and potential of loving relationships and marriage. For anyone struggling to find meaning in a relationship, searching for clarity and consciousness on dealing with themselves and their partner, this book provides some extremely powerful yet subtle ideas and precepts to live and grow by. This book may not have been able to save my marriage, but it will certainly inspire and inform the next one (especially if my wife and I end up back together!).

Rating:
Summary: Great book about loving
Review: This is one of my three favorite books, together with "The Wild Girl" by Michèle Roberts and "The Continuum Concept" by Jean Liedloff. It's about how to deal with the great challenges of an intimate relationship, and it considers the heavenly realm as well as the earthly realm. I couldn't imagine any better guide for this vulnerable territory. Very helpful!

Rating:
Summary: Great book about loving
Review: This is one of my three favorite books, together with "The Wild Girl" by Michèle Roberts and "The Continuum Concept" by Jean Liedloff. It's about how to deal with the great challenges of an intimate relationship, and it considers the heavenly realm as well as the earthly realm. I couldn't imagine any better guide for this vulnerable territory. Very helpful!

Rating:
Summary: Maps the Depths and Reaches of the Heart
Review: This is one of the best, if not the best, book on the path and dynamics of romantic love that I have encountered. I was most impressed with John's classifying connection into five levels: fusion, companionship, community, communication, and communion. While it is not a lengthy section, the definitions are very clear and were easy for me to relate to and identify with. By breaking up connection into these five levels, it made it easier for me to understand the dynamics at play in the relationships throughout my life and why some were more potent than others. Although I wish I had read this book sooner, I probably wouldn't have understood it until I've had the experiences that I've had.