Open Love PDF Download

Author: Axel Neustädter
Publisher: Bruno Gmuender
ISBN: 9783959852838
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Who do we love? Who can we love? And how many? With Open Love, Axel Neustadter explores the possibilities and reveals the secrets of non-monogamous gay love. Fuck buddies, platonic friendships, spiritual partnerships: these are some of the possibilities beyond the traditional monogamous couple. Above all, however, it s the open relationship that has always posed special challenges for people willing to step outside the monogamy template. Neustadter tackles all the important questions asked by anyone who s yearned for a relationship with that certain extra quality: How do you open up a relationship without drama? What about jealousy? Is sex outside the relationship the new fidelity? Why are open relationships the new way to be safe? How gay is polyamory anyway? This book is a guide to the freedom and joy of alternative relationships. At the same time, it offers words of caution about excessive expectations and the pitfalls that can lead to disappointment and failure in free love."

Author: Mandy Len Catron
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501137468
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
“A beautifully written and well-researched cultural criticism as well as an honest memoir” (Los Angeles Review of Books) from the author of the popular New York Times essay, “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This,” explores the romantic myths we create and explains how they limit our ability to achieve and sustain intimacy. What really makes love last? Does love ever work the way we say it does in movies and books and Facebook posts? Or does obsessing over those love stories hurt our real-life relationships? When her parents divorced after a twenty-eight year marriage and her own ten-year relationship ended, those were the questions that Mandy Len Catron wanted to answer. In a series of candid, vulnerable, and wise essays that takes a closer look at what it means to love someone, be loved, and how we present our love to the world, “Catron melds science and emotion beautifully into a thoughtful and thought-provoking meditation” (Bookpage). She delves back to 1944, when her grandparents met in a coal mining town in Appalachia, to her own dating life as a professor in Vancouver. She uses biologists’ research into dopamine triggers to ask whether the need to love is an innate human drive. She uses literary theory to show why we prefer certain kinds of love stories. She urges us to question the unwritten scripts we follow in relationships and looks into where those scripts come from. And she tells the story of how she decided to test an experiment that she’d read about—where the goal was to create intimacy between strangers using a list of thirty-six questions—and ended up in the surreal situation of having millions of people following her brand-new relationship. “Perfect fodder for the romantic and the cynic in all of us” (Booklist), How to Fall in Love with Anyone flips the script on love. “Clear-eyed and full of heart, it is mandatory reading for anyone coping with—or curious about—the challenges of contemporary courtship” (The Toronto Star).

Author: Kathy Labriola
Publisher: SCB Distributors
ISBN: 0937609471
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Beyond the basics of polyamory lies a complex web of negotiations, agreements, pitfalls and rewards. Kathy Labriola, a relationships counselor who has worked for many years with singles, couples and groups in polyamorous and open relationships, sets forth some of the realities of alternative lifestyles: dealing with some of the common relationship-disrupters, managing jealousy, choosing compatible partners, combining BDSM with polyamory, distinguishing between sex addiction and polyamory, and much more.

Author: Jentezen Franklin
Publisher: Chosen Books
ISBN: 1493413511
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The human heart was created with a great capacity to love. But along with that comes a great capacity to feel pain. There is no denying that those who love us, who are closest to us, can wound us the most profoundly. That kind of pain can be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. And it can feel even more impossible to continue loving in the face of it. Yet that is exactly what we are called to do. Sharing his own story of personal pain, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Jentezen Franklin shows us how to find the strength, courage, and motivation to set aside the hurt, see others as God sees them, and reach out in love. Through biblical and modern-day stories, he discusses different types of relational disappointment and heartache, and answers questions such as Why should I trust again? and How can I ever really forgive? The walls we build around our hearts to cut us off from pain are the very walls that block us from seeing hope, receiving healing, and feeling love. Here are the tools and inspiration you need to tear down those walls, work through your wounds, repair damaged relationships, and learn to love like you've never been hurt.

Author: Susan Piver
Publisher: Lionheart Press, a division of the Open Heart Project
ISBN: 1732277613
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
"Susan Piver consistently offers what so many of us seek: A generous, caring, loving teacher, someone with an open heart and a clear mind, eager to help us find our own way forward." —Seth Godin, author of Linchpin Broken hearts, resentment, affairs, divorce. Why is it so hard to make relationships work? New York Times bestselling author and mindfulness expert Susan Piver applies classic Buddhist wisdom to modern romance, including her own long-term relationship, to show that ancient philosophies have timeless—and unexpected—wisdom on how to love. The Four Noble Truths of Love will challenge the expectations you have about dating, sex, and romance, liberating you from the habits, traumas, and expectations that have been holding back your relationships. This mindful approach toward love will help you open your heart fearlessly, deepen communications with your partner, increase your compassion and resilience, and lead you toward a path of true happiness. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain: expansive, real love for yourself and others.

Author: Michael Bryson
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1783743514
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
This book is a history of love and the challenge love offers to the laws and customs of its times and places, as told through poetry from the Song of Songs to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. It is also an account of the critical reception afforded to such literature, and the ways in which criticism has attempted to stifle this challenge. Bryson and Movsesian argue that the poetry they explore celebrates and reinvents the love the troubadour poets of the eleventh and twelfth centuries called fin’amor: love as an end in itself, mutual and freely chosen even in the face of social, religious, or political retribution. Neither eros nor agape, neither exclusively of the body, nor solely of the spirit, this love is a middle path. Alongside this tradition has grown a critical movement that employs a 'hermeneutics of suspicion', in Paul Ricoeur’s phrase, to claim that passionate love poetry is not what it seems, and should be properly understood as worship of God, subordination to Empire, or an entanglement with the structures of language itself – in short, the very things it resists. The book engages with some of the seminal literature of the Western canon, including the Bible, the poetry of Ovid, and works by English authors such as William Shakespeare and John Donne, and with criticism that stretches from the earliest readings of the Song of Songs to contemporary academic literature. Lively and enjoyable in its style, it attempts to restore a sense of pleasure to the reading of poetry, and to puncture critical insistence that literature must be outwitted. It will be of value to professional, graduate, and advanced undergraduate scholars of literature, and to the educated general reader interested in treatments of love in poetry throughout history.

Author: Susan Wenzel
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452178526
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Discover the secrets to successful open relationships. A Happy Life in an Open Relationship is a handbook to healthy nonmonogamous relationships. For anyone curious about open relationships, here is a valuable handbook from an expert in love, sex, and communication. Relationship therapist Susan Wenzel—who is in an open marriage herself—delivers skillful advice on how to navigate the complex emotional landscape of multi-partner relationships, from polyamory to swinging. • Filled with of compelling personal stories, anecdotes from clients, and practical exercises • A guide to cultivating harmonious and fulfilling open relationships • Author Susan Wenzel is a sex and relationship therapist with years of experience counseling patients on issues related to monogamy, intimacy, and trust. A Happy Life in an Open Relationship will help you develop your trust and communication skills, explore sexuality and desire, build your confidence and self-worth, set healthy boundaries, overcome jealousy, and so much more. People interested in making changes in their relationships will appreciate the positive tone, helpful advice, and expert wisdom from an accomplished relationship therapist who has gone through the experience herself. • A great book for anyone interested in testing the boundaries of monogamy and exploring the world of polyamory • An accessible and inviting guide for couples to build an open relationship that is strong and lasting • Perfect for fans of Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence and The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perel, The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family by Dan Savage, and Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships by Christopher Ryan

Author: Rachel Krantz
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1913183335
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
***** 'A starkly naked story of a young woman's adventure of self-discovery, told with a striking lack of shame or apology. Highly recommended.' - Dr. Christopher Ryan, author of Sex At Dawn 'Smart, original, ambitious, and deeply absorbing memoir... She succeeds by bringing us deftly and irresistibly into her most intimate pains and joys, stretching our understanding of what commitment and autonomy mean.' - Dr. Wednesday Martin, author of Untrue & Primates of Park Avenue 'A perfect guide to our new world, the only problem I had picking up this book was putting it back down. Open compels, entertains, and may ultimately transform its readers.' - Dr. Terry Real, internationally recognised Family Therapist, author, and founder of the Relational Life Institute 'A sexy, messy, necessary look at polyamory' - Advocate When Rachel Krantz met and fell for Adam, he told her that he was looking for a committed partnership - just one that did not include exclusivity. Excited but a little trepidatious, Rachel set out to see whether love and a serious relationship can coexist beyond the familiar borders of monogamy. This is her open and honest true story. Now, in her debut memoir, she chronicles her dive into non-monogamy. With fly-on-the-wall detail and extraordinary perceptiveness, OPEN takes us inside Brooklyn parties and into the wider swinger and polyamory community. Armed with her journalistic instincts, detailed journal entries and interviews with experts and therapists, Krantz also breaks new ground in confronting the unique ways tacit abuse and gaslighting can manifest when things get so complex. Unflinching and brazen, OPEN asks what liberation really looks like, and whether the pleasure really is worth the pain.

Author: Meggan Watterson
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
ISBN: 1401948049
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Are you trying to find love – and beginning to suspect you’re not looking in the right place? This wise, hip guide gives you a new map for the journey to happiness in relationships of all kinds, starting in your own heart. Told from the alternating vantage points of authors Meggan Watterson and Lodro Rinzler, How to Love Yourself (and Sometimes Other People) reminds us that love isn’t something we have to earn. All of us are deeply and intrinsically worthy of love – not only the love we hope to receive from others, but the love we give to ourselves – and this book offers the insight and practical tools we need to stay firmly grounded in self-love as we ride out the natural (and often stormy) cycles of relationships. Meggan and Lodro’s unique perspectives as teachers and scholars of Christian mysticism and Buddhism respectively make for a rich and lively dialogue that draws on wisdom sources like the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Four Noble Truths, along with funny, revealing stories from their own love lives and their deep friendship with each other. You’ll find guidance for embracing single life, dating with an open heart, and thriving in lasting love; meditations and practices for calm abiding, "disciplined hope," and connecting to the source of love within you; and tips on everything from sex, self-worth, and nourishing friendships to navigating breakups and learning to truly love yourself. Ultimately, you’ll be able to see your ideal partner in a new light – not as someone who "completes" you, but as someone who mirrors back to you your own wholeness.

Author: Jane White
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1846943051
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Conducting your own special spiritual attunements helps you connect directly with your divine essence. It is not only simple and fun, it can be utterly life-transforming too. By following a few basic steps, you can quickly harness the power of your higher love to bring positive change and innumerable blessings into your life. Here are over twenty ceremonies for you to try out and enjoy, either with a group of friends or on your own. They have been designed to assist you in expanding your healing gifts and accelerating your personal growth, as well as to give you a deeper understanding of consciousness and the nature of your vast, multifaceted self. You will find innovative ways of using crystals and working with an ancient sacred technique for accessing energetic blockages, together with a wealth of other thought-provoking ideas, personal stories and anecdotes from which to glean inspiration.