(Exam questions are not drawn from the Review Of Literature section)

Escape From Intimacy: Untangling The Love Addictions: Love, Romance, Relationships (1989), is written by Anne Wilson Shaeff, Ph.D., a former psychotherapist. In addition, Shaeff is a lecturer and a trainer or healthcare professionals in Living Process Facilitation. In this book, she unravels the complex forms of relationship addictions, pointing out the difference between sexual, love and romance addictive behaviors and how they can be easily confused. For the purposes of this paper, it is noteworthy to focus on her concepts of the development of relationship addiction, in general.

Heart Over Heels: 50 Ways Not To Leave Your Lover (1989) is written by Bob Mandel, who has written other books on the art of relationship and is the National Director of the loving Relationships Training program. In a world where it is difficult to create a good, enduring relationships, he works with the pitfalls by using the vehicle of a fictional case history of two lovers going through transitions. Each section, representing the transition, ends with affirmations and spiritual advice. A mix between a novel and a self-help book, Heart Over Heels is fun to read.

Soulmates: Honoring The Mysteries Of Love And Relationships (1994), by Thomas Moore, is a poetic book. For twelve years Moore was a Catholic monk, and as a philosopher and theologian he is an influential lecturer and writer. His prose elaborates on the soulfulness of archetypal psychology and mythology as he endeavors to help people get a better understanding of themselves through introspection, grace, and gratitude which honors the natural impulses of the soul in relationship. This is a book to muse with as a background in considering the art of intimate relating.

Centering And The Art Of Intimacy (1985) was written by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks. This book establishes many of the practices for enlightened relationships. The authors, a popular team of therapists practicing conscious relationship skill-building in private practice and nation-wide workshops, went on to write a more in-depth book called Conscious Loving: A Journey to Co-Commitment (1990). As a specific guide to building and maintaining an intimate partnership, Conscious Loving is highly recommended as an updated source to have in one's library, even though not directly used in this paper. Centering and the Art of Intimacy, as a precursor to Conscious Loving, presents a lot of this material in a short volume which is absorbing and easy to read.

Learning To Love Yourself (1993) by Gay Hendricks is a small, yet foundational volume regarding the art of relationship, in that it spells out how to practice unconditional self-love in every moment. The author uses himself as an example, and it is easy to absorb and understand.

Emotional Clearing (1993), by John Ruskan, is a large compilation of information. It ranges from the basic steps of recognizing, accepting and integrating our emotional patterns to yoga meditation practices and cleansing breath work. This book is useful for the “singular” path of learning to release negative feelings, but has some insight on how we project onto relationships with our un-integrated fear of being alone.

The two books, Journey Of Souls (1995) and its sequel, Destiny Of Souls (2002) by Dr. Michael Newton are truly amazing revelations. Dr. Newton, who is a hypnotherapist in private practice, gives us the accounts of 29 people in the hypnotic state of superconsciousness. From this vantage point, they describe their experiences in graphic detail between incarnations. The aspects of incarnating with soul mates is mentioned for the purposes of this paper. Both books are recommended reading for anyone interested in metaphysics, as much can be gained from reading them.

In Journey Of The Heart: The Path Of Conscious Love (1990), John Welwood writes about the challenge of conscious relationship. A clinical psychologist and therapist in private practice, he describes how we can deepen our capacity to connect with others in a spiritual and heartful way. It is useful for expanding our awareness of ourselves in relationship.