Dancing with Fire: A Mindful Way to Loving Relationships

The search for inner peace and our heart’s desire for love can seem like irreconcilable aims. Yet our longings for spiritual liberation and a juicy intimacy spring from the same sacred yearning. In this innovative book, John Amodeo shows how interpersonal fulfillment and spiritual development are two sides of the same coin of awakening. Following a spiritual path in a mindful way naturally leads toward fulfilling relationships—and vice versa. The author suggests that the Buddha’s teaching about the root of suffering is misunderstood. It is not desire that causes suffering, desire is the fire that springs from the basic life force. Drawing upon the science of attachment theory, Amodeo illuminates how the root of our suffering is disconnection and isolation, which are fueled by clinging to what doesn't serve and nurture us. We move toward inner freedom and nourishing connections as we greet our desires and feelings with warm acceptance and loving-kindness, while being receptive to the wise messages that our feelings are trying to convey. Guiding us on this healing and transformative journey is this book’s purpose. In a warm, conversational tone and with lyrical lucidity, Amodeo presents relationships as the ultimate spiritual practice, while also showing how a mature spiritual path deepens intimacy with ourselves, others, and life itself.

292 pages

About the author: John Amodeo, PhD, a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 30 years, has been engaged in Buddhism and spiritual practice for 40 years. He is author of The Authentic Heart and Love and Betrayal and was a writer and contributing editor for Yoga Journal. He is a Focusing Trainer and is trained in Somatic Experiencing for trauma. He lectures internationally on love and relationships, and has been a featured guest on CNN, CNBC, Donahue, and New Dimensions Radio. He has been interviewed or written articles for publications that include the Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The Rocky Mountain News, and Cosmopolitan magazine.