Love makes a family.
Love and Kindness
Being friendly and kind is such a good idea that most religions incorporated it into their faith, and we ended up with the cross-cultural Golden Rule. Here are some good books on kindness:
The Practice of Kindness: Meditations for Bringing More Peace, Love, and Compassion into Daily Life, by the editors of Conari Press. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Random Acts of Kindness, by the editors of Conari Press. Have you seen the bumpersticker "Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty"? Well, this book should give you some good ideas. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Random Acts of Kindness (audio cassette), by the editors of Conari Press. Narrated by Ed Asner and Pat Fraley. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
More Random Acts of Kindness, by the editors of Conari Press. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
More Random Acts of Kindness (audio cassette), by the editors of Conari Press. Narrated by Ed Asner and Pat Fraley. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Kids' Random Acts of Kindness, by the editors of Conari Press. Foreword by Rosalynn Carter. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Out of print.
Guerrilla Kindness: A Manual of Good Works, Kind Acts and Thoughtful Deeds, by Gavin Whitsett.
Ken Keyes Living Love Method
Handbook to Higher Consciousness (cassette tape & mini-guide), by Ken Keyes, Jr. Reviewed by Amazon.com. I recommend this as your first introduction to the Ken Keyes living love method. Ken's new age focus is on staying centered, loving, and joyful instead of getting upset when things don't go our way. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Handbook to Higher Consciousness, by Ken Keyes, Jr. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Friendship and Interpersonal Skills
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. This book presents a mixture of friendship and leadership skills, with a focus on winning friends and influencing people. An old self-help classic, written in 1936. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
(Note: It appears that someone at Amazon.com mispriced this item in November 2000.)How to Deal With Difficult People (2 audio cassettes), by Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner. These tapes are informative, entertaining, and provide some very useful information about how to deal with some less-than-easy-to-get-along-with people. You can also buy a book version [5% discount] of their presentation. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Dealing With People You Can't Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, by Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner. This is a book version of their entertaining audio tape How to Deal With Difficult People [5% discount from the correct price]. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Toxic People: 10 Ways of Dealing With People Who Make Your Life Miserable, by Lillian Glass. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Relationships and Romance
The Personal Companion: Meditations and Exercises for Keeping the Love You Find, by Harville Hendrix, Helen Hunt, and Beatrice Benjamin (Illustrator). If you're single and want to be in a relationship, this is a good book and the one I recommend. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
The Couple's Companion: Meditations and Exercises for Getting the Love You Want, by Harville Hendrix, Helen Hunt, and Beatrice Benjamin (Illustrator). If you want to improve a relationship you're in, this is a good book and the one I recommend. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
The Lover's Waltz (CD), by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. Beautiful romantic music, mostly instrumental. Music samples from the CD and a music review are provided by Amazon.com.
You Just Don't Understand, by Deborah Tannen. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
You Just Don't Understand (audio cassette), by Deborah Tannen. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships, by John Gray, Ph.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships (audio cassette), by John Gray, Ph.D. (Note: Amazon.com sells a downloadable version of this audio cassete tape.) Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships (CD edition), by John Gray, Ph.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
43% discount. Only $3.99
from 1BookStreet.com as of 12/5/00.Men, Women and Relationships: Making Peace With the Opposite Sex, by John Gray, Ph.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Men, Women and Relationships: Making Peace With the Opposite Sex (audio cassette), by John Gray, Ph.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
While I personally take a flexible instead of a traditional approach to relationships and family, and I believe in openness, flexibility, honesty, love, and acceptance in relationships, here is a good article with a traditional perspective on family [from The Washington Post, 3/4/97, Bookworld section]. (I also must admit that I am not in a long-term relationship, married, or a parent, and that being in a long term-relationship, married, or a parent could change anyone's perspective.) [Post archive search.]
Body Language
How to Read a Person Like a Book, by Gerald Nierenberg and Henry Calero.
How to Read a Person Like a Book (audio cassette), by Gerald Nierenberg and Henry Calero. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Bodymind, by Ken Dychtwald. In addition to understanding body language, there is the even more advanced skill of understanding body types. While Bodymind was primarily written to allow you to read your own bodymind, you can also use the knowledge to understand more about other people's bodyminds as well.
- See also emotional healing and personal growth (including co-counseling and support groups).
- See also joy, happiness, and pleasure. -
- See also books for parents. -
- See also spirituality. -
- See also conflict resolution and peace. -