Relationship is a precious tool that offers us the opportunity to awaken to the love that often lies dormant within us. Yet, unfortunately, over the course of my journey as a seeker of truth, I have found relationship to be the cause of great anguish for many people.

When a relationship becomes difficult, it is easy to blame one's partner-the "other"-and to be consumed by the feeling of having been treated unfairly because we are disappointed that the one we loved is not fitting our internal idea of what a loved one "should" be. When relationship is viewed as a battlefield, with two people stuck in an endless war, it seems impossible to find a truly loving connection.

This situation is what led me to write this book. To offer some light and guidance on the path toward understanding what "real" or authentic love looks like in a relationship and how to uncover it hidden beneath the sometimes destructive and frequently confusing idea that we generally think of as love.

My book is an attempt to address the missing elements in contemporary relationships and to bring us back into alignment with our higher purpose of living from a place of authentic love within those relationships. To help put us back on track with the divine nature of real love by examining the mostly unconscious role that we play in sabotaging our own love story-a role that keeps us from finding true love. To this end, I offer what I call the New Marriage.

In order to participate in the New Marriage, we have to have the courage to face our own deep wounds that cause us to bring negativity into our love connections. We have to take a courageous look at what prevents us from finding our truest happiness in love.

Many of us have been taught that making our partner happy is the most important part of relationship. But without a healthy foundation and understanding of ourselves, this can create dependency, resentment, and an endless striving to please.

In my book, I address much of what I have learned about relationship over the years-from my students and from the laboratory of my own life. I suggest a way out of the battlefield and on to the path of love and sexuality as a deep expression-a prayer-that can heal and free us from the repression of unhealthy attachment.

It is my hope that as we examine relationship at its deepest level, we will open up to understanding.

Sri Prem Baba was born in São Paulo, Brazil and studied psychology and yoga. He became a disciple of the master Sri Sachcha Baba Maharaj Ji, of the Indian Sachcha lineage. He splits his time between Brazil and India, where he gives lectures and offers retreats. He is also the author of Transformando o sofrimento em alegria (From Suffering to Joy) and Propósito: A coragem de ser quem somos (Purpose: The courage to be who we are). He has also written messages of wisdom which he calls the "Flower of the Day," distributed on a daily basis to thousands of people and translated into various languages.