John Amodeo

-- Jack Kornfield, PhD, best-selling author of A Path With Heart

"Dancing With Fire  brilliantly bridges the chasm between the stillness of meditation and the fierce passion and challenge of intimate relationships. John Amodeo heals the apparent rift, showing us how these are ultimately one and the same path."

-- Peter A. Levine PhD, best-selling author of Waking the Tiger

"A fresh and lucid voice in our emerging Western spirituality, John Amodeo offers a powerful synthesis of Buddhist teachings with attachment theory and the best of Western psychological understanding. Particularly compelling and promising is the weaving of Focusing, a body-oriented psychotherapy developed by Eugene Gendlin, with mindfulness meditation. Through this, and deep insights into the nature of relationships, Dancing with Fire gives us invaluable guidance in cultivating true intimacy with our lives."

-- Tara Brach, PhD, best-selling author of Radical Acceptance

"John Amodeo opens a new door into great truths of Buddhism and what they mean for our western world. He links meditation, mindfulness, humanistic psychology and the science of human bonding into a coherent whole. This book is a great contribution and a must read for every intelligent person who aspires to live as an awake and vibrant human being."

-- Dr. Sue  Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight

"With heartfelt kindness and down-to-earth usefulness, this book shows how to bring together lofty spiritual wisdom and juicy human passions. Drawing on his deep experience as a therapist and meditator, Dr. Amodeo has given us one of those rare books that actually bridges left and right brain, west and east, flesh and spirit - and self and other. "

-- Rick Hanson, PhD, best-selling author of Buddha's Brain

"Profoundly wise and beautifully written, this book is for anyone who ever wondered how to reconcile the spiritual journey with the paths of self-healing and intimacy with others.  A gifted writer at the top of his form, John Amodeo's book is not just about authenticity and connection, it actually offers those experiences as one reads. A life-changing book."

-- Ann Weiser Cornell, PhD, author of The Power of Focusing

"With masterful, lucid simplicity, Dancing with Fire  gives us a vision of how to make a fervent quest for spiritual freedom dovetail with an equally ardent search for love and intimate connection. Amodeo has created a founding treatise for the new, embodied wholeness so many of us yearn to find today. Yet reading it doesn't feel like listening to a sage give a lecture; it feels like you're having a conversation with a trusted friend."

-- Saniel Bonder, founder of Waking Down in Mutuality, author, Healing the Spirit/Matter Split

"Seekers of the sacred will find within these pages no ordinary wedding of East and West. Instead, John Amodeo invites us to reconcile the split between our worldly desire for intimacy and pleasure with our yearning for a robust spiritual life. His own tender voice seeps through each page--guiding us like a beacon of light toward a deeper, juicier connection with ourselves and each other, inspiring a passionate spirituality. John's best book yet!"

-- Maggie Kline, MFT,  co-author of Trauma through a Child's Eyes 

"Liberation and awakening are about being fully human. Spiritual awakening, personal growth, fullness of relating, learning to be a more healing presence for others, fulfillment through intimacy--these are all just different names for the same thing. The fact that a split has developed--many splits, in fact--between therapy, spirituality, and personal growth is a sign that something has gone wrong. There has to be a re-integration. This book is an important landmark on the path to such wholeness."

-- David Brazier,  leader of the Amida Order and author of The Feeling Buddha

"John Amodeo has written an extremely compelling and fascinating book and one that has been long overdue.  All too many people on a so-called 'spiritual path' are actually looking for more subtle and effective ways of short-circuiting the pain that is inherent in life. He clearly illuminates the lack of any contradiction between practicing mindful living and creating intimacy in one's relationships. His distinction between the extinguishing of desires and attachments and working skillfully with them is incredibly important and offers a clear path toward living life with engagement and open-heartedness."

-- Charlie Bloom, co-author of 101 Things I Wish I knew When I Got Married

"We owe John Amodeo a debt of gratitude for providing all of us with valuable insights on the connection between mindfulness and deepening intimacy in relationships. Whether you see yourself as nurtured by spiritual practice or psychological growth, read on and your heart will be touched, your mind opened. I highly recommend this fine book as an important guide for all those who seek genuine happiness and greater awareness."

--- Charles Garfield, PhD, author of Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb

"Amodeo brings what often remains lofty conversation into our kitchens and bedrooms. He shows how meditative awareness can help us develop more vital relationships while helping us embody spiritual realization more fully in everyday life. The writing style is warm and inviting, like having a conversation with a wise and gentle friend. This book is wonderful contribution to the emerging relationship yoga of the West."

-- Jett Psaris, PhD, co-author of Undefended Love

"A bold adaptation of Eastern spirituality to bring about loving, intimate connections."

-- Daniel B. Wile, PhD, author of After the Fight

"John Amodeo's brilliantly written, incisive, and heart-centered book provides a multi-layered in-depth journey demonstrating why we need both the spiritual teachings on mindfulness along with Western approaches, like Focusing and Emotionally Focused Therapy, to truly live an awakened, embodied life of sacred intimacy within oneself, relationships, and life itself!"

 -- Laury Rappaport, PhD,  author of Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy

"Brilliant, liberating, clarifying wisdom for meditators of every persuasion! One of the most helpful books ever written on spiritual practice."

-- Deborah Boyar, PhD, Senior Teacher, Waking Down in Mutuality

Being on a spiritual path allows us to connect with something larger than ourselves. Along the way, there is often a human tendency to bypass feelings and longings that are uncomfortable or difficult.  We move toward emotional and spiritual maturity as we uncover and welcome our deepest feelings and longings.  By bringing loving-kindness and a warm acceptance to whatever we're experiencing, we cultivate a spacious presence to our inner world, which makes us more available for meaningful connections with others. This award-winning book explores relationships as a spiritual path--a  vehicle for integrating our desire for intimacy, fulfillment, and joy with a robust spiritual life. 
  

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"This is a sane, sound, readable, and eminently useful book. It is a carefully guided sequence of exercises, guidelines, explanations, and case examples, all thoughtfully geared to facilitate the two-fold movement of befriending self and befriending others, particularly intimates." 

-- Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything

"Being Intimate is a practical and original approach for individuals and couples that could make all the difference between happiness and painful separation."
-- Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

"John and Kris's book is a fine blend of the tools of modern psychotherapy and spiritual understanding. It will be helpful to those who wish to learn about these paths of growth."
--Jack Kornfield, author of  After the Ecstasy, the Laundry

"This book provides a useful grid through which the reader can both look at the vast array of human stumbling blocks to intimacy and the author's helpful directions/suggestions for change."
--Virginia Satir, author of Conjoint Family Therapy

*Being Intimate is a clear and practical guide to the realization and communication or authentic feelings, and thus an excellent pathway toward lasting intimacy and love."
--George Leonard, author of Education and Ecstasy

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