Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power Of Intimate Relationships [Paperback]

One of Ms. Wiliamson's earlier books, A Return to Love, explained some of the principles of A Course in Miracles as they relate to issues in daily life. A Return to Love was a very clear, well written book, that I have enjoyed reading at least five times over the past few years. Unfortunately I found Enchanted Love something of a disappointment. It lacks the organization around clear topics that one finds in A Return to Love. Enchanted Love contains some very good paragraphs, but the book often seems like a not very interesting assortment of preachy pronouncements. Although some of the author's statements are explained with examples, others are simply uttered, and one may well wonder "Is that really true?" or even "What does that mean?"

We are told, for example: "I once heard Pat Allen say that men produce into women's appetites. Men are by nature producers, and one of the things they produce into is female desire. From our sexual lives to our emotional lives, that is an archetypal pattern of great beauty and significance." I do not have the vaguest idea who Pat Allen is. I have never before heard the verb "produce" followed by the preposition "into." I cannot imagine what "produce into" means, but "producing into" certainly does not sound like a pattern of beauty to me. Perhap there are circles of people who know of Pat Allen and who speak of "producing into appetites." Who knows? I don't. One wonders what sort of editorial process the book went through.

Ms. Williamson writes, "Marrieds and singles are constantly sending telepathic communications to each other. There is a constant conversation everyone knows is there, but which few dare to verbalize." I was unaware of such constant telepathic communication. Is it really taking place?

Although some of the author's poems and prayers may serve as worthwhile meditations, some are quite banal. One poem, for example, contains the line "Your issues are more interesting now." Is that poetry, or merely the sort of psychobabble one may routinely hear at twelve-step meetings?

Fans of Ms. Williamson may find that the book contains some interesting material and food for thought. For those unacquainted with Ms. Williamson, I would recommend A Return to Love, but not Enchanted Love.

After perusing the following excerpt from the book I knew this was a book I had to read.
"Often upon seeing the weaknesses in each other, we have the tendency to go "Yuck!" and walk away on some level. But often it is not a change in partners but rather a change in perception that delivers us to the love seek. When we shift our view of the purpose of intimacy - from serving our own needs as we define them to serving a larger process of healing - then an entirely new opportunity presents itself. Our wounds have been brought forward, not to block the experience of love, but to serve it." Later Williamson writes, "The purpose of an intimate relationship is not that it be a place where we can hide from our weaknesses, but rather where we can safely let them go." and, "We unconsciously seek the relationships that challenge us to deliver on our most soulful selves, as well as tempt us to fall into our most neurotic patterns."

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It should be used by parents, teachers, ministers and counselors to help young adults and couples of all ages understand what's really going on when people unintentionally touch their partner's emotional wounds.

Short, thoughtful, compassionate, at times divinely inspired, easy to read and understand, this book rates as one of my top ten.