The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences [Paperback]

Deidre Combs (Author), Matthew Fox (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2004

The Way of Conflict teaches strategies for using time-tested knowledge and modern techniques to confidently engage in any dispute and reach a balanced resolution. The book integrates the wealth of conflict skills found throughout the world's major religious and indigenous traditions with the latest scientific systems and conflict resolution theory. Using the cross-cultural metaphor of the four natural elements — earth, water, fire, and air — it identifies innate conflicts in personalities and offers productive paths through the chaos of conflict. Combining her extensive experience as a licensed mediator and corporate trainer with insight gained from years of spiritual study, Deidre Combs uses assessment tests, anecdotes from indigenous and religious traditions, and illustrative folktales to show how to quickly assess a conflict and implement an appropriate resolution strategy. The Way of Conflict helps people overcome the sense of hopelessness they feel when facing personal, national, or international conflicts, and can help improve relationships and decrease levels of stress and frustration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (April 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577314492
• ISBN-13: 978-1577314493
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #682,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read & get ready to transform your view of conflict forever., May 21, 2004

By 

M. Hall (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences (Paperback)

Don't let Deidre Combs light-hearted approach in The Way of Conflict fool you...she is up to serious business here. She offers deep insights into the nature of every conflict and into the heart of every person. Her lessons apply as well from your smallest spat to our world's oldest and most deadly dilemmas. It is my hope that her work sinks a hook into each reader as it did into me and gets us all re-thinking the possibilities for resolving of our worst personal conflicts. From there the resolutions to age-old conflicts in the Middle East, between nations, between peoples are but steps away.

This is not a light read. It is powerful. Like The Artist's Way it has the power to change you and your point of view. It is well researched and has an extensive Bibiography. And all for a very reasonable list price!
Beyond a bargain. A Gift.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars some timely wisdom, May 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences (Paperback)

This is one of those rare books that contains a deceptively simple idea that has fascinating and universal applications. It will change the way you think about conflict. I enjoyed the fact that it was practical but also philosophical. It seems very well researched. I particularly enjoyed the multi-cultural use of myths and stories to illustrate the concepts. This is a book full of wisdom.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resolve disputes and overcome differences, August 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences (Paperback)

Resolve disputes and overcome differences with the help of The Way Of Conflict, where common traps to progress are outlined and implications of conflict outside the situation at hand are considered. Chapters handle everything from initial conflicts to escalation to violence, using first-person and real-world experiences to explore problems and solutions.