Compassionate Commitment: Growing Together Through Awareness, Empathy and Kindness Couples Therapy Workbook for Better Communication in Marriage

From a Relationship of Ignorance and Conflict to Awareness and Fulfillment

In Buddhist psychology, it is said that the root of all pain is ignorance. Nowhere in life is our ignorance more evident and frustrating than when we attempt to relate with someone we love and find ourselves forever walking through relational minefields. We find ourselves consistently being frustrated in our efforts to relate with our partner and become upset with the way they are relating to us.

This book is intended to describe what a real relationship of compassionate commitment is between two people and explores:

• How to negotiate the inevitable season of struggle between partners
• Providing insight into how couples will use the same words and speak different languages
• The importance of not taking things personally
• Understanding the role that stress plays in our relationship
• Learn compassionate communication (similar to Nonviolent Communication)
• Practice a mindfulness-based approach to communication

The purpose of this book is to help couples gain a sense of what is going on between themselves and to help develop the awareness and skills to get beyond their confusion, frustration, pain and suffering, to a sense of fulfillment as individuals and as relational partners. Information contained in this book is the distillation of over forty-seven years work as a marriage and family therapist.