Relationships That Work: The Power of Conscious Living: How Transformative Communication Can Change Your Life

by David Wolf

Book Overview

The fundamental necessity in any good relationship is simple: both parties must first tend to their own spiritual growth. David Wolf understands this intimately, and his book elucidates that approach... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1601090153
• ISBN13: 9781601090157
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Mandala Media
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Book By David Wolf

I'm the kind of person who is naturally skeptical about books that have a title like Relationships That Work: The Power Of Conscious Living (How Transformative Communication Can Change Your Life). But David B. Wolf's latest book made me change my mind, in addition to making me want to change my mind for the better. The operative word here is transformation when we communicate with people. Sure, we know how to establish a rapport, and set out our ideas, but does this really change anything? Perhaps it does, but if we are still having a lot of angst and dysfunctional relationships in our lives, we might want to reexamine some of our most basic presumptions about ourselves, our significant others, in fact, the entire world and the way it works. Well, you might say, and it might very well be true, that your communication skills are excellent. OK, but how well do you communicate with yourself? This was the most important part of Wolf's book for me. I'm introspective. I go deep. But I could go deeper if I could sustain my introspection at a more intense level of application. What is the value of self-honesty if you go around in a circle, as we tend to do? And for the religious among us, Wolf invites us to apply our religious principles, too, through the power of transformative communication. We are not flattering the great religious leaders of history by accepting their teachings in a shallow way only, and we are certainly not flattering ourselves. The real test of religion, as far as I am concerned, is when we answer this question: are we happy? Or at least, as happy as we can be in this crazy old world? Relationships That Work invites us to make our world a little less crazy. Isn't that what it is all about? Be prepared for some nitty-gritty reading. Wolf is going to help you confront yourself.

The ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and persuasively is key to being successful in any

The ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and persuasively is key to being successful in any endeavor. Being able to practice good communication techniques and skills as a personal disciplined and conscious life stratagem is to be able to discover personal and social truths, all while exercising influence upon others in every social or professional relationship. In "Relationships That Work: The Power Of conscious Living", David B. Wolf draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to present a series of principles, strategies and tools for effective, life-changing and life-enhancing communication as he addresses ten commonly encountered roadblocks to effective communication, the practice of empathetic listening, the use of 'mirroring' to help solve the problems of others and/or inspiring them to act in their own best interests, neutralizing hostile and aggressive people, being assertive in challenging situations, asking questions that improve the quality of dialogue, and finding the hidden motives behind different types of communication styles. Informed and informative, accessibly written for both students of communication as well as non-specialist general readers wanting to improve their own communication abilities, "Relationships That Work" is a deftly written, 'user friendly', and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Self-Help, Self-Improvement reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Real progress

For many years now as I've read "self-help" or similar style books, in my mind I would have to reconcile statements the authors made with my own spiritual truths. One thing I loved about this book is the unusual depth and universality of it's spiritual understanding. This book explains how to apply that fresh spiritual understanding in practical ways for forging "real" relationships with ourselves and with others; it uncovers the simple dynamics of breakthrough communication; and how to improve in any area of life one would like to work on. Happily, I feel like I am finally making concrete progress in my personal growth. This book gave me courage to do so.

A Must Read-- A Manual for High Interpersonal Living

Relationships That Work is not merely a good read. It is an experience. As I was reading through the pages of this book I could see and experience changes within me, in my view of my world and others. Dr. Wolf gives us a "How to" on living a meaningful life, rich with fulfilling relationships and rewarding results. I see this book entering every household and becoming a standard reference for creating the intimacy we are all looking for. Whatever I do or whomever I meet, I now feel fully equipped and empowered to accomplish whatever I choose to achieve, not allowing insecurity to run my life. Thank you Dr. David Wolf for this gift to humanity.

Wonderful book!

I read this book and loved it! I read a lot of personal growth and self-help books, and this was really unique. It teaches how to use spiritually-based self-development tools to enhance personal relationships. Some of the topics and methods discussed in the book include the importance of being true to our word, becoming aware of our false assumptions, discovering various roadblocks to effective communication, being truly empathetic, how to diffuse hostility, learning the art of powerful, open-ended questions, assertiveness skills, and cultivating an attitude of gratitude. I especially appreciated the focus on the spiritual dimension of all our relationships, and understood more than ever how essential deep trust, honesty, personal responsibility, self-awareness and commitment are to the process of fulfilling relations. Also, from Relationships That Work I got that "love" means dedication to the spiritual growth of another person, and I'm using this understanding in my life, with amazing results. An underlying theme of this book with which I completely resonate is that we already have the personal qualities to experience completeness, fulfillment and happiness. The book provides a sublime process for uncovering those qualities. For me it was more than a "read"- I'm changing my life through the process defined in the pages- bringing out the gifts and treasures that are inside. Miriam Mendoza- New York City Public School Teacher