AMAZON.COM'S SPIRITUALITY & INSPIRATION EDITOR:
As the columnists that answer the question "Can this marriage be saved?" in the pages of Ladies' Home Journal, Evelyn and Paul Moschetta have seen some of the worst marital problems imaginable--physical abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, mental illness. Through writing their monthly column and working in clinical practice together, the Moschettas have come to believe that most marital problems are symptoms of the same disease: "the inability of partners to have their spiritual selves and not their egos determine the quality of their love." The doctors prescribe a seven-step plan that teaches readers how to blend spiritual values into the day-to-day workings of marriage.
AMAZON.COM'S PERSONAL GROWTH EDITOR:
In The Marriage Spirit Evelyn and Paul Moschetta, Manhattan marriage counselors and contributors to the Ladies' Home Journal column "Can This Marriage Be Saved?," go beyond the usual recommendations to help couples improve their relationships. The Moschettas believe that a good marriage isn't just a source of emotional and sexual companionship, but that it is a "sacred place" where two people's higher spiritual selves come together. They say that most married people share only their egos, which are selfish, vulnerable, and in need of constant validation. By using such techniques as meditation, visualization, and a variety of spiritual exercises, however, couples can access and share their higher selves so that "the sacred in you touches the sacred in your partner." Readers with troubled marriages may find that this advice brings them closer to their mates, while those whose marriages are essentially healthy can use the tools to take their relationships to a higher plane altogether.
SUZANNE CURLEY, NEWSDAY:
Husband-and-wife, Evelyn and Paul Moschetta, marriage counselors based in Manhattan and Huntington, tied the know - each for the second time - 23 years ago. What they've learned by experience with each other, their children and their stepchildren, they use to advise troubled couples in "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" The Ladies Home Journal's most widely read column, which also runs in these pages.
The focus in "The Marriage Spirit" is not on money, sex, children, infidelity or household chores. Looking to Eastern philosophy, the authors suggest a broader context for defining a healthy marriage; spiritual growth.
"The culture we live in glorifies the ego to such an extent that you begin to believe that is all you are." But, write the Moschettas, "when you are no longer ruled by your ego's self-centered tendencies, spiritual values become more important." Greater awareness of yourself as a spiritual being, they claim, can transport your marriage into a sacred place, bringing out more of the "best" of each partner than ever before.
The authors break it all down into seven steps, each with a "sharing" ritual to help couples put the principles into practice. While time-consuming at first, in the long run, these exercises look to be far more productive - and uplifting - than arguing about whose turn it is to take out the garbage.
