CENTERING AND THE ART OF INTIMACY: A NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS

by Gay Hendricks, Kathlyn Hendricks

With this enlightening book, readers can conquer the most common obstacles to satisfying love--the twin fears of aloneness and closeness. The keys to surmounting these fears lie in developing awareness, honesty and commitment. The authors offer activities and exercises to help readers develop these relationship skills.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Dr. Gay Hendricks has served for more than 30 years as one of the major contributors to the fields of relationship transformation and body-mind therapies. Along with his wife, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks, Gay is the author of many bestsellers, including Conscious Loving, At the Speed of Life, and Five Wishes.

Gay received his PhD in counseling psychology from Stanford University in 1974. After a 21-year career as a professor at the University of Colorado, he founded The Hendricks Institute, which offers seminars in North America, Asia, and Europe. He is also the founder of a new virtual learning center for transformation, Gaia Illumination University.

Throughout his career, Gay has done executive coaching with more than 800 executives, including the top management at such firms as Dell Computer, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and KLM. His book, The Corporate Mystic, is used widely to train management in combining business skills and personal development tools.

In recent years he has also been active in creating new forms of conscious entertainment. In 2003, along with movie producer Stephen Simon, Gay founded the Spiritual Cinema Circle, which distributes inspirational movies to subscribers in more than 70 countries around the world. He was the executive producer of the feature film Conversations with God, and he has appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including Oprah, CNN, CNBC, 48 Hours, and others

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book at a very poignant time for my relationship with intimacy. Given to me by a Professor who read this at the height of his divorce as a 20 yo with annotated sections. I felt seen, I felt called out, I felt understood. And now I understand my relationship to others, particularly my intimate relationships, in a clearer and deeper way. I understand the intimate relationship I hold with myself better too. Sharing this with a partner allowed for conversations around intimacy to use the same language and create closeness. Would recommend to all.

[Mark Cheret · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about easing into mutually enlightening relationships and overcome age-old programming of co-dependency. For everyone who wants to live more balanced and fun relationships that bring you joy, provided you're willing to put in the work, this is for you.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some things I liked about this book but it didn't blow me away as it appears to have done to some people. Perhaps I haven't been in enough "entanglements" (which word is one of the things I like about the book). I think their statements about balancing and being open to opposite inclinations (esp. closeness and separateness) is very appropriate advice. I guess I wish they had applied their philosophy to a new relationship and establishing relationship habits that foster intimacy and that facilitate getting through rough spots that come up. Their intentions are all very well but I guess I was hoping for something both more practical and deeper.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing was particularly enlightening about this book, but that was no surprise. It's a useful scan if your searching for a clear definition of some amorphous feeling you have.