Love and Awakening : Discovering the Sacred Path of Intimate Relationship

Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing.
Review: This is probably one of the best, if not the best book I have read about that huge topic of LOVE. Among all the books dealing with this topic, this one stands out because of the depth of its explanation and the poetry of its wording.

Welwood suggests that love is not simply a pure physical attraction. It could lift lovers to another level: the discovery of oneself. Love, according to the author is a journey, a path toward understanding oneself and one's partner. From there, if could lift lovers to a state of communion: they become warriors who travel on the same road toward spiritual enrichment. Viewed from this angle, love seems to be divine. It has the power of transforming people like any other thing in the world.

This is part of the eastern philosophy that has suggested back in the 6th century AC that:
"Love enjoyed by the ignorant
Becomes bondage.
That very same love
Tested by one with understanding
Brings liberation."

Using a combination of poetry, eastern philosophy (one ground two paths, alliance of warriors, suchness...) and western psychology, Welwood has been able to weave a tale inner fight and self-discovery that could lead lovers to enlightenment. Enlightenment, not in its religious sense, is defined as a constant state of happiness without suffering. And that is what we are searching for in our human condition.

This book should be read by anyone falling in love for the first or the hundredth time.


Rating:
Summary: Love and Awakening
Review: Although this book might help some people, I did not like the conversation format. The subjects seemed to take on a whiny tone and used "psychobabble" such as "I fell into myself" and "He isn't in his heart". I could not read this without thinking about a 70's group therapy session due to the lingo.

Rating:
Summary: RECOMMENDED TO ALL WHO NOW LOVE OR WILL LOVE.
Review: I haven't read the whole book. The chapter, Soulwork and Sacred Combat, was assigned to us as part of our Communicating Conflict class. I was so affected by this one chapter that I bought the whole book. Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Warriors of the Heart
Review: This is a very valuable book - not just for those in relationships - but for anyone interested in the path of personal development. Welwood writes lucidly and with authority: therapeutic and spiritual concepts and practices are clearly and accessibly presented. This book usefully develops the ideas outlined in Welwood's earlier Journey of the Heart. The inclusion of 'dialogues' gives readers an insight into the experiences of people Welwood has worked with - and this provides a very helpful practical model for readers wishing to explore their own lives in similar ways. Based in solid scholarship, but designed for the lay-reader, I heartily recommend this book to all who are interested in the 'warrior work' of looking into one's own heart.

Rating:
Summary: Love and Awakening
Review: To say that Love and Awakening changed my life is an understatement. I found this book so moving that sometimes I could only read a few pages before I needed to stop and catch my breath. I truly believe that this book has the potential to change the lives of those who take its message to heart. Reading this book was like looking in a mirror. I've always known what the author writes about, but never had the exact words for it. I have a background in psychology and have read and studied spiritual matters all my life, but I've never read a book that spoke so personally to me, and was such a clear and powerful synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and East/West concerns.This book--along with John Welwood's other book, Journey of the Heart, has been the most powerful teacher on relationship (both to myself and to others)I have yet encounterd. It is an awesome book of heart and profound sensitivity, and has had an enormous impact on my life.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful sequel to Journey of the Heart.
Review: Welwood has crafted a masterful book. Although he expands on the material he presented in his previous book Journey of the Heart, this book can be read by itself. Journey of the Heart was like a roadmap of the terrain of intimate relationships. Love and Awakening provides dialogue from some of Welwood's clients rediscovering their personal authenticity in relationship. There are also brief sections throughout the book narrating a quality or observation about relationship that are truly stunning in its poetic clarity. It perfectly echos the truths we all know deep in our hearts. His section on the "Broken-Hearted Warrior" is the most poignant, eloquent and beautiful passage about the path of intimate relationship I have ever read. The real power and magic of this book is that it does not prescribe cures like a doctor towards a patient. It gently guides us to our own center, our own being and provides tools for awakening greater awareness.