Relationships can be so challenging…for just about everybody.   Love manifests itself in strange ways, as I ponder the many stories I get to hear, every day……Drama, drama, drama..Sometimes I think all families get dysfunctional, at some level, for at least parts of their journeys together.

Alcohol, addictions, and mental illness in a family are often factors.  But even without these, relationships can just get bumpy at times.  It is the stuff of all novels and movies!

And for the individual, either in the context of a one-on-one relationship, as well as in a clan, or in the ever-challenging blended families, it can feel very lonely when there is stress between people.

It was about twenty-five years ago that I first learned of A Course in Miracles. Since then, I have read much of it, meditated on the principles therein, and continued to go back to it over the years; even have the “app” on my phone now. This document was scribed by a lady named Dr. Helen Shucmann and a gentleman friend named Dr. William Thetford, both being associated with Columbia University in New York City.  It has grown into a movement of sorts, and many highly intelligent people have written further about it.
Some cities have organizations which meet about its principles,  It is not intended to be a religion.

I have found that many of the basic principles for good mental health and for healing relationships can be found in its pages.  One of my favorites, which I often recommend, is Love is Letting Go of Fear, by Dr. Gerald Jampolsky.

You can actually find on the primary website some of its history and principles.  The site is www.acim.org.

This makes for excellent reading when you are faced with a challenging situation in a relationship.