David Richo

Most relationship problems are essentially trust issues, explains psychotherapist David Richo. Whether it's fear of commitment, insecurity, jealousy, or a tendency to be controlling, the real obstacle is a fundamental lack of trust--both in ourselves and in our partner. Daring to Trust offers key insights and practical exercises for exploring and addressing our trust issues in relationships. Topics include: - How we learn early in life to trust others (or not to trust them) - Why we fear trusting - Developing greater trust in ourselves as the basis for trusting others - How to know if someone is trustworthy - Na ve trust vs. healthy, adult trust - What to do when trust is broken Ultimately, Richo explains, we must develop trust in four directions: toward ourselves, toward others, toward life as it is, and toward a higher power or spiritual path. These four types of trust are not only the basis of healthy relationships, they are also the foundation of emotional well-being and freedom from fear.

Popular best-selling author and therapist David Richo provides here a detailed and straightforward vision of what faith and spirituality can look like in adult consciousness. He explores our inherited and often childlike understanding of God, religion, and life’s plaguing question. He then offers adult alternatives in the light of mysticism, depth psychology, and the evolutionary cosmology. He looks at the differences between religion and spirituality in the light of their similar components: beliefs, a moral code, rituals, and devotion. The emphasis is on self-help so the chapters outline exactly how human maturation in faith thrives best with religious views that are open ended rather that parochial, metaphorical rather than literal, and respectful of our potential rather than rigidly demanding of obedience. How to Be an Adult in Faith and Spirituality is written for the average person and is not biased toward or against any religious tradition. It can be of assistance to us in designing an expansive and adult spiritual path. This book is a gentle reply to the atheism of our postmodern world though it does not recommend a return to the “God in the sky” but rather an opening to the transcendent, the More within and around us everywhere, where adult faith abounds. †

Most of us, at one time or another, would like to help a friend, family member, or acquaintance through a challenging time. But do we really know how to give meaningful support and guidance? And why do our best efforts at helping others often come up short? Here is a practical guide that will be of special interest to helping professionals--and anyone who wants to make a positive difference in the lives of people they care about. To be truly helpful to others, Karen Wegela explains, we must begin by focusing on ourselves. We must develop greater awareness, steadiness of mind, fearlessness, and self-compassion. Only then can we extend these qualities to the people we'd like to help. Drawing on her experiences as a psychotherapist and on her longtime study of Buddhist meditation, Wegela emphasizes the benefits of mindfulness, or learning to become fully present in our moment-to-moment experience. Through mindfulness we develop a fearless, compassionate presence in our daily lives--and we become better listeners, take wiser actions, and give more valuable, effective guidance to the people we'd like to help.

Psychotherapist David Richo offers a fresh and inspiring approach to personal growth: we can use the process of writing and reading poetry to move toward greater self-understanding and emotional healing. Even if you've never written a poem before, you can learn to use poetry to explore your feelings, your relationships, your childhood, your dreams, and more. Richo explains how the creative, intuitive process of making poetry can help us gain access to our deepest truths, leading us to make connections and explore experiences in a new way, beyond the constraints of everyday language. This book offers a range of practical exercises for getting started, as well as guidance on how to read poetry in a way that can be personally transformative."" "Being True to Life" shows us that poetry is not reserved for a few specially talented individuals but is a deeply human activity that anyone can tap into for greater clarity and insight into life's struggles, beauty, and mysteries.

In this book, psychotherapist David Richo explores how we replay the past in our present-day relationships--and how we can free ourselves from this destructive pattern. We all have a tendency to transfer potent feelings, needs, expectations, and beliefs from childhood or from former relationships onto the people in our daily lives, whether they are our intimate partners, friends, or acquaintances. When the Past Is Present helps us to become more aware of the ways we slip into the past so that we can identify our emotional baggage and take steps to unpack it and put it where it belongs. Drawing on decades of experience as a psychotherapist, Richo helps readers to: - Understand how the wounds of childhood become exposed in adult relationships--and why this is a gift - Identify and heal the emotional wounds we carry over from the past so that they won't sabotage present-day relationships - Recognize how strong attractions and aversions to people in the present can be signals of own own unfinished business - Use mindfulness to stay in the present moment and cultivate authentic intimacy

THE SACRED HEART OF THE WORLD renews our devotion to the Sacred Heart by attending to its scriptural and mystical origins, and expanding our spirituality to embrace universal compassion. It is the first book to tackle the issue of devotedness to the Heart of Jesus that is intelligible and appealing to people of the twenty-first century. Based on a combination of extensive research and the author’s own personal devotion to the Sacred Heart—a lost treasure from our Catholic past—and his interest in mysticism, THE SACRED HEART OF THE WORLD unlocks a new future of vibrant and conscious faith. The book has a threefold purpose: • to inspire devotion to the Sacred Heart, • to rekindle spiritual devotion, and • to center the Sacred Heart into the new cosmological realizations that will appeal both to Catholics and people from a variety of religious traditions. The book explores the symbolism of the heart in world religious traditions, and then traces the historical thread of the devotion into modern times. It draws significant links to the philosophy and theology of Teilhard de Chardin and Karl Rahner and their links with Ignatian spirituality. The prayers and meditations at the end of each section provide spiritual bonuses that will continue to benefit the reader after reading the book. †

Meaningful coincidences and surprising connections occur all the time in our daily lives, yet we often fail to appreciate how they can guide us, warn us, and confirm us on our life's path. This book explores how meaningful coincidence operates in our daily lives, in our intimate relationships, and in our creative endeavors. "The Power of Coincidence" will help you to: interpret a series of similar happenings, open yourself to assisting forces around you, understand how your dreams can guide you through life events, use your creative imagination in life choices--and live in accord with your deepest needs and wishes, as revealed to you by meaningful coincidences. Originally published under the title "Unexpected Miracles, "the author has fully revised and updated the book for this edition.

In warm and encouraging terms, therapist Richo shows readers how to drop their resistance to the difficulties of life and discover their greatest gifts.

Psychological and spiritual adulthood does not come automatically with age. It requires ongoing and ardent work on ourselves. It involves articulating our own truth and acting in accord with its challenges. In this best-selling work, David Richo provides a hand-book for achieving psychological and spiritual health. Based on his many years' experience as a psychotherapist and workshop leader, the author uses the metaphor of the heroic journey, whose three phases—departure, struggle, and return—explain what happens in us as we evolve from neurotic ego through healthy ego to the spiritual self. First, he discusses the three challenges to adulthood: fear, anger, and guilt, as well as the self-esteem that comes from meeting those challenges. Then he discusses the dual problem of maintaining personal boundaries and establishing appropriate intimacy. Finally, he discusses the techniques of integration and the return to wholeness and love. How to Be an Adult is a thoughtful, accessible guide filled with useful quotations and reflections for meditation, as well as other techniques and concrete advice on the process of growth. The new appendix provides readers with practical ways to show integrity and loving-kindness. David Richo, PhD, is a psychotherapist, teacher, and retreat leader in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, California. He is the author of many books and emphasizes spiritual perspectives in all his work. His website is www.davericho.com. †