Love's Journey The Season's and Stages of a Relationship

by GURIAN, MICHAEL

• ISBN13: 9781570626173
• ISBN10: 1570626170
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

How can a modern relationship possibly survive? By looking to the past, for the age-old mythic traditions of the world provide all the advice we need about love, according to Michael Gurian. And the wisdom they offer is strikingly similar across cultures: a relationship must ultimately look beyond itself and be consciously accepted as a spiritual path. Gurian has drawn on a range of spiritual and mythic traditions to create the new model for relationship that he presents in his popular workshops. This model, called the "Lover's Journey," consists of four distinct "seasons":The Season of Enchantment:the springtime of falling in loveThe Season of Awakening:the summertime, when the euphoria of romance is past and we learn independent co-existenceThe Season of Partnership:the autumn of maturity, when the fruits of our joint efforts can be enjoyedThe Season of Nonattachment:the winter of companionship, quietude, and the letting-go of old age

Author Biography

Michael Gurian is a teacher, therapist, storyteller, and workshop leader. He is also the author of Mothers, Sons, and Lovers: How a Man's Relationship with His Mother Affects the Rest of His Life, The Prince and the King: Healing the Father-Son Wound, and The Wonder of Boys.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Season of Enchantment
Story: The Enchanted Ring	p. 23
Romance	p. 29
The Fall into Disillusionment	p. 55
Power Struggle	p. 67
The Season of Awakening
Story: The Big People at the Bottom of the World	p. 91
Awakening	p. 101
The First Conscious Descent	p. 125
Refined Intimacy	p. 149
The Season of Interdependent Partnership
Story: Isis and Osiris	p. 171
Creative Partnership	p. 178
The Second Conscious Descent	p. 203
Radiant Love	p. 225
The Season of Nonattachment
Story: The Living and the Dead	p. 243
The Elder's Solitude	p. 248
The Third Conscious Descent	p. 261
Initiation into Cosmic Consciousness	p. 274
Epilogue	p. 283
Selected Readings	p. 285
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