On the Way to the Wedding: Transforming the Love Relationship

With deep understanding and practical wisdom, Jungian therapist Linda Schierse Leonard writes about the longing for a true wedding, one that unites two beings in a sacred search for meaning in life.  For many people, this longing focuses on the quest for a committed relationship with a soulmate.  For others, it centers on the relationship with the creative muse, on union with the divine, or on a wedding of opposite forces within the psyche.  Exploring dreams, personal experiences, myths and fairy tales, and themes from films and literature, the author uncovers the inner obstacles to love and creativity as experienced by both men and women.  The meanings of the traditional rituals of putting on the veil, taking the vow, and exchanging rings are presented through a contemplation of the poetry and life of Rainer Maria Rilke.  Leonard shows that whether one seeks an inner or an outer wedding, it is the work of transformation within that provides the transcendent ground for its attainment.  Ultimately, On the Way to the Wedding is about living an authentic life that honours with love and awe the mystery of the whole of existence.