In this collection of writings, readers learn how mindfulness can be brought to bear in our relationships to increase intimacy, strengthen communication, and help us find greater fulfillment. In recent years, scientists have discovered that mindfulness can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance our sense of well-being.

Topics in this collection include how to open your heart and develop loving-kindness for yourself and others, improve communication through mindful speech and deep listening, notice and counteract destructive patterns, and discover how intimate relationships can become a rich form of spiritual practice.

Chapters and contributors include the following

• Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on what mindfulness is and why it lies at the heart of real love,
• psychotherapist David Richo on finding a partner,
• psychotherapist and meditation teacher Tara Brach on the power of forgiveness,
• Rabbi Harold Kushner on striving to give love rather than receive it,
• novelist Jane Hamilton on marital meltdown--and recovery,
• meditation teacher Susan Piver on the value of heartbreak,
• psychologist John Welwood on relationships as a path of personal and spiritual growth.