Seldom or never does a marriage develop into an individual relationship smoothly and without crisis. There is no birth of consciousness without pain. - C.G. Jung

Marriage Education

Our Philosophy . . .

Most of us are very comfortable learning new skills that with help advance us in our careers to “get ahead” in the world, but we cringe at the thought of having to learn new relationship skills. Is it because we “shouldn’t have to” with someone we love and loves us, wanting to be accepted unconditionally – which doesn’t happen in the workplace. Or, it’s just too darn much “hard work.” I think a big shift is happening. People are realizing that true partnership can be one of the highest, most personal and deeply meaningful paths to a fulfilling life.

Marriage is a spiritual path not for the faint-hearted. Rarely is anyone taught marriage or relationship skills. We may have learned by example (or TV sitcoms), however examples vary greatly, and how many couples want to live out their parent’s marriage? Every person, couple, child, teenager, family, co-worker, boss (you get the picture) can benefit from relationship education.

Marriage is the joining of two lives, the mystical, physical, and emotional union of two human beings who have separate families and histories, separate tragedies and destinies. It is the merging of not only two bodies and two personalities, but also of two life stories. Two individuals willingly choose to set aside the solitary exploration of them selves to discover who they are in the presence of another.

In marriage we marry a mystery, an other, a counterpart. In a sense the person we marry is a stranger about whom we have a magnificent hunch. The person we choose to marry is someone we love, but his depths, her intimate intricacies, we will come to know only in the long unraveling of time. To our knowledge we add our willingness to embark on the journey of getting to know him, of coming to see her, ever so wonderfully more.

Marriage is also the incubator of love, the protected environment in which a love that is personal and touching and real can grow and, as a consequence of that growth, develop in us our highest capabilities as loving human beings. We are each still and always becoming, and when we marry, we promise not only our own becoming but also our willingness to witness and withstand the ongoing becoming of another human being. In marriage we say not only “I love you today,” but also, “I promise to love you tomorrow, the next day, and always.”

We change because of these promises. We shape ourselves according to them; we live in their midst and live differently because of them. We feel protected because of them. We try some things and resist trying others because, having promised; we feel secure. Marriage, the bond, makes us free - to see, to be, to love. Our souls are protected; our hearts have come home.

It is precisely at the point at which marriage, the institution, and love, the emotion, intersect that there exist some of our greatest emotional and spiritual possibilities. For marriage is love in the round; marriage is loving in every direction. We marry for many reasons, but especially to come into the presence of our own capacity to love: to nurture, to heal, to give, and to forgive.

Thus marriage is an invitation to transcend the human condition. For loving one another is the beginning of compassion. The compassionate, soul-changing loving of a single other human being connects us most profoundly to the All. And it is in the practice of this radiant other-discovering love that true marriage calls forth the best in us, the most we can ever become.

Our Offerings . . .

We offer marriage education in three formats:

1)      Individual Couple Sessions

2)      Package of 5 Individual/Couple Sessions (can be spread out over time)

3)      Group Seminar with other Couples

Check our listings under Classes & Events