Introduction by John Gray
Author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Welcome! This deck of remarkable cards is a powerful tool that can expand your joy and happiness in relating. In using it, you show a belief that you can have fulfilling relationships. You also show a willingness to learn new things, which is a prerequisite for success.
There are many ways this tool can be used. You can use it as an individual or with a partner. It can apply to all of your relationships. Use it to explore matters regarding friends, relatives, children, parents, business colleagues, and, of course, your romantic partner.
When you use the cards alone, they help you clarify what’s going on in a relationship, letting you see beneath the surface. The cards present new ways to view and deal with any situation. They help you discover new options that make a positive difference in how you relate.
If you use the cards with a partner, you can improve communication, move through specific issues or problems, explore dreams, and reawaken the vitality of your connection. The cards help shift you out of patterns that block you from moving forward to the joy and happiness you can experience.
This is a gentle guide for staying conscious in how we relate to one another. All of us can fall prey to habit, start to take things for granted, or act in ways we don’t really intend to. Routine often robs us of our spontaneity. Occasionally we get bogged down with problems. These cards were designed to be little “wake-up calls” to help you keep things clear, reawaken flexibility and discover positive options you are not currently seeing.
In addition, the cards can help you recognize factors in a relationship that you may overlook. It will encourage you to take your next step — whether it’s in communicating, dealing with an old problem, healing an emotional wound, or bringing to life all of your dreams of what you truly want in a relationship.
You may have noticed the coincidence that I, John Gray, am introducing a work by another John Grey. Yes, there are two of us in the world! In fact, the coincidence does not stop there. To top that, we are both involved in the psychology of relationships.
Happily, it is not the coincidence of our names which led me to write this. I heartily endorse these cards as a practical and effective tool for couples, or anyone else, to use for improving their relationships.
Indeed, when I first saw this tool, I thought that if I had created a deck of cards on the theme of relationships, it might have looked very much like this one. I immediately saw the power of an interactive tool specifically designed to address the topic of relationships. I was very pleased to see how deeply grounded this tool is in practical and current psychology.
Since I first saw the prototype self-help tool, I have been involved in the project — and have even suggested a few items of content. The point I am making is, whether you at first thought this was by me or realized there is actually another John Grey, I feel you have a very valuable tool. It is entirely consistent with my approach to the subject of relationships, and I encourage you to use it. I always enjoy the insights I get from these cards.
The rewards from using these cards are often pleasantly surprising. I encourage you to use them not only when you are facing problems, but any time you want to bring more magic and heart alive.
Here’s to your success, happiness, and joy in relating!
— John Gray, Ph.D.
Author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus