Among religious traditions Christianity has a distinctive focus on love at the very center of all its teachings--love of God and love of neighbor. Yet what that love means and requires is not altogether clear--even to Christians.
Richard Smoley explains that a true understanding of love requires exploration of the deepest teachings of Christian mystery and the unconditional love at the heart of the universe. In "Conscious Love" he reflects on how that kind of love can transcend the bargains and negotiations that are characteristic of what he calls transactional love.
As an extension of his previous work on "inner Christianity," this new book explores the meaning of love in the full gamut of human life: sex and romance; family bonds; friendship; love for one's neighbor; and finally in "agape," the unconditional love of which the New Testament speaks.
Smoley's unique position as an expert on this ancient tradition of mystical Christianity incorporates insights and wisdom from noted thinkers in literature, art, philosophy, sociology, cultural criticism, and even neurology.
In its suggestions for how conscious love can be infused into human relationships and possibly transform them, "Conscious Love" will resonate with Christian and New Age seekers alike.
