Dancing with Fire

Spiritual teachers say that love seduces us away from spiritual growth, while psychologists argue that love’s juiciness is what life is about; meditation is navel-gazing. Reconciling these opposites, John Amodeo shows how spirituality and vibrant relationships are identical. He says that Buddha’s concept of the root of suffering is misunderstood. It is not desire that causes suffering; the true root of suffering is isolation. Desire itself is the fire that springs from the basic force of life. What makes the difference is how we relate to desire. Teaching us to do so in a positive way is this book’s purpose. In a conversational tone, Amodeo presents relationship as sacred experience. He teaches how to welcome desire mindfully rather than suppress it, how to avoid clinging and craving, and how to overcome fear of failure in relating. He also discusses meditation as self-intimacy and holding ourselves with loving-kindness. Lastly, he explores the role of community in spiritual awakening and the issue of whom to trust-our guru or ourselves?