The Greek myth of Eros and Psyche demonstrates the deep connection between love, sexuality, and the soul. It can serve as a source of inspiration for us even today, because it teaches the importance of intimacy and trust.

According to Greek mythology, Eros was the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of sensual love. Psyche was the youngest of three daughters and her beauty was said to rival Aphrodite's. Because of this, Aphrodite became jealous and asked Eros to have Psyche married to a monster that would devour her. But one of Eros's own arrows pricked him and he fell in love with Psyche.

Eros put her in a beautiful garden and castle and came to her only at night. He told Psyche that she was forbidden to look upon him or he would leave her forever. Eventually, Psyche disobeyed and looked at Eros, so he left her. But by this time, Psyche was pregnant. Eventually, Psyche went to Eros's mother, Aphrodite, the goddess who hated her beauty and thought she was dead. (How often does a mother think that the woman her son has chosen isn't good enough for him?)

Aphrodite gave Psyche four tasks. Though she tried her best, the tasks were so hard that each time Psyche had no choice but to give up. But nature always came to her aid in some way, helping her complete the tasks.

On the fourth and last task, Psyche fell to the ground as if dead, and Eros finally woke from his stupor and saved her by going to Zeus. Zeus helped in a way that did not interfere with his daughter, Aphrodite — he made Psyche (the Soul) immortal, and both she and Eros took their places among the gods. They experienced loss, broken trust, and separation from parents, and they grew up. They found deep, trusting, and compassionate true love, yet they had to go through a “trial by fire” to get there.

The moral of the story is that if these two seemingly cursed lovers can conquer the heavens and immortal foes to be together and enjoy love, surely there's hope for the rest of us!

Stand by Your Man (or Woman)!

The challenge today is to get through the hard times, to make it through your own personal trial by fire. It's very easy to simply give up and walk away from a relationship. The high divorce rates attest to the fact that many people choose to just cut their losses when things start going south. With so many fish in the sea and so many easy ways to meet people, there is always another woman, another man, or another relationship to move on to if this one just doesn't seem to be working.

But remember the old adage about the grass always seeming greener. No relationship is perfect. Even the best love affairs will occasionally hit a rough patch. The same struggles, drama, complaints, and problems will come up eventually. True, life is too short to waste time on a relationship that has run its course, and nobody benefits from staying together if both of you are miserable. But if you have genuine feelings for each other and are simply feeling like things have gotten a bit stale, there is plenty of hope — and this book can help bring that spark back to your relationship.