The author of the classic In a Different Voice offers a brilliant, provocative book about love that has powerful implications for the way we live and love today. “Compelling ... A thrilling new paradigm.” —The Times Literary Supplement Carol Gilligan, whose In a Different Voice revolutionized the study of human psychology, now asks: Why is love so often associated with tragedy? Why are our experiences of pleasure so often shadowed by loss? And can we change these patterns? Gilligan observes children at play and adult couples in therapy and discovers that the roots of a more hopeful view of love are all around us. She finds evidence in new psychological research and traces a path leading from the myth of Psyche and Cupid through Shakespeare’s plays and Freud’s case histories, to Anne Frank’s diaries and contemporary novels.

Cupid and Psyche Apuleius - Cupid and Psyche is a story from the Latin novel Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century AD by Apuleius. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche (Soul or Breath of Life) and Cupid (Desire), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage.

" Journey through the timeless legend of Psyche and Eros in "The Legacy of Love: The Tale of Psyche and Eros." This enchanting book weaves a captivating narrative of love, resilience, and unity as it follows Psyche, a mortal who overcomes divine trials to unite with her beloved Eros, the god of love. From the treacherous tasks set by the jealous goddess Aphrodite to Psyche's courageous journey into the Underworld, each chapter reveals the transformative power of love. Alongside Eros, Psyche's unwavering determination and compassion bring light to the darkest corners of the mortal and divine realms. As Guardians of Love and Unity, Psyche and Eros travel through kingdoms and villages, healing hearts and mending divides. Their enduring legacy inspires future generations of gods and mortals alike, proving that even in the face of the greatest challenges, love can conquer all. Rich with ancient wisdom and divine adventures, "The Legacy of Love" is a tale for the ages, celebrating the unbreakable bond that transforms and uplifts all who encounter it. "

"All descriptions of the past are in the present; therefore, history tells our descendants more about us than it does about the imaginary creatures we like to call our ancestors.... All of which is only another way of saying that the past and the future do not exist; nevertheless, we need these narrative fictions, for we gain knowledge by looking backward at patterns and forward in anticipation of the results of our actions." --William Irwin Thompson With the threat of global climate change, a looming mass extinction of species, and increasingly complex and volatile geopolitical relations, the entire Earth Community has entered a most critical phase of what the author describes as the "Planetary Era." This era began some five hundred years ago with the conquest of the Americas and the Copernican revolution in cosmology, but it is just now becoming a defining feature of human consciousness on a global scale. How did the Planetary Era come about, and why was it initiated in the European West? What elements in the evolution of the Western worldview might contribute to the actualization of a sustainable planetary culture? Drawing from a wide range of panoptic, or "big-picture," thinkers--from Hegel, Teilhard, Jaspers, and Campbell, to Ken Wilber, Richard Tarnas, and Edgar Morin, among others--the author answers such questions and presents his own synthetic theory of the evolution of consciousness, leading to the birth and transformation of the Planetary Era. Beginning with a consideration of the fundamental pattern of world history, Sean Kelly reveals the role of a "Great Code" and the turning of a tightening spiral in the evolution of the past two millennia of Western--and increasingly, planetary--consciousness. Along with a vision of the path that has lead to our vexed and complex present, the author offers reason to hope that we are on the threshold of a new countercultural resurgence--a new planetary wisdom culture--that could signal the homecoming for which our troubled world so desperately longs.

The Myth of the Birth of the Hero is a book by German psychoanalyst Otto Rank in which the author puts forth a psychoanalytical interpretation of mythological heroes, specifically with regard to legends about their births. The book comprises three parts. In the first section, Rank introduces his topic of investigation; In the work's second section, Rank closes analyzes myths about the births of Sargon of Akkad, Moses, Karna, Oedipus, Paris, Telephos, Perseus, Dionysus, Gilgamesh, Cyrus the Great, Trakhan, Tristan, Romulus, Hercules, Jesus, Sigurd, Lohengrin, and Sceafa. In the final section, Rank lays out a rough outline that he claims can be applied to almost all mythical birth stories.