Have you ever tried to explain the rules of football to someone from another culture? Or to a friend who doesn't understand sport? Now imagine trying to explain if both teams were wearing the same colours - or everyone wore different ones. Or if they all wore blindfolds - how could you explain that? Relationships can be as baffling as playing a game blindfolded. The stakes are high: losses can be disastrous but winning can lead to a lifetime of happiness. And you can't play the game - let alone win it - if you don't know the rules. In this book, Dr Irene Alexander explores what makes relationships work, covering everything from boundaries to sex. The essence is learning how to relate openly and effectively. When you achieve this, even conflict can be constructive and relationships will take on new depth and satisfying fullness.

About the Contributor(s): Irene Alexander is a lecturer in counseling at the Australian Catholic University and Christian Heritage College, and also teaches in Asia. She is a spiritual director and formator, and a companion of Northumbria Community, Brisbane. Her other books include A Glimpse of the Kingdom in Academia (2013), Practicing the Presence of Jesus (2011), and You Can't Play the Game if You Don't Know the Rules (2006).

Description: Many Christians long to know God more deeply but find themselves limited by old understandings and ways of knowing. Practicing the Presence of Jesus rediscovers the centuries old Ignatian tradition of placing oneself into the gospel story to experience the presence of Jesus in a vital and real way. Each chapter explores another angle to come to the stories, while remaining true to the scripture. Irene Alexander gives examples of her own retellings, and real life interactions with the gospels to illustrate the process and make it accessible to contemporary readers. Readers will be led through a process of entering the stories themselves, so that they connect with the Jesus, human and divine, in the present reality of their daily lives. Relevant for new believers as well as those who have known God for decades, these stories introduce readers to a vibrant way of being present to the reality of our God. Endorsements: ""Many Christians in the West no longer have a deep connection with the biblical story. They simply don't read it, except for the occasional Psalm and the story of Christmas. This book may revive their interest in re-engaging God's grand and invitational narrative. For as the author has so clearly demonstrated in this winsome and personal storytelling of psychological depth and spiritual insight, scripture is the profound story in which we can find ourselves with all of our life's issues. And where we can hear the invitation to become a renewed and enlarged self in the grace of Christ and the generative work of the Spirit."" --Charles Ringma Author of Seek the Silences with Thomas Merton and The Seeking Heart: A Journey with Henri Nouwen ""Don't think of this as a book to read. Think instead of it as a wonderful conversation over coffee--or perhaps while on a long walk--with a warm and very wise Christian woman whose faith is grounded in her own ongoing dialogue with the living God. This isn't a book of ideas. It is much more personal than that. It is a book in which the author invites the reader to accompany her in engaging with scriptures--not as a text to be studied but as the living word of the Creator that must, therefore, be engaged with the senses and imagination, not just reason and analysis. Read it slowly and prepare for your life to be changed."" --David G. Benner author of Opening to God and Soulful Spirituality About the Contributor(s): Irene Alexander is a psychologist and spiritual director. She lectures at Christian Heritage College and the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane, Australia. She is the author of several books including Dancing with God: Transformation through Relationship (2007).

Narrative Therapy is an approach to counseling and community work that is having increasing influence in the helping field internationally. As well, the concept of narrative has become increasingly utilized in therapy, spirituality, organizational psychology and theology. This text is written for counseling practitioners, psychologists, pastors, social workers and chaplains who desire to integrate spirituality in their professional practice. The book presents a conversation between Christian spirituality and Narrative ideas demonstrating the effectiveness of Narrative Therapy in transformational work. The book is edited by two lecturer/practitioners who both lead counselor education faculties. Other contributors to the book are lecturers and therapists who are integrating these ideas in their practice in the counseling room and the classroom. Philosophical difficulties are discussed and practical applications are offered for using Narrative Therapy in a range of contexts.