John Gray - Why Mars and Venus Collide: Improve Your Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress

I thank my wife, Bonnie, for sharing the journey of developing this book with me. She has been a great teacher as well as my biggest fan. She is a tremendous source of insight, and her capacity to love is a great inspiration. I thank her for expanding my ability to understand and honor the female point of view. This perspective has not only enriched our life together but also provides the foundation for the many insights in this book.

I thank our three daughtersShannon and her husband, Jon Myers; Juliet and her husband, Dan Levinson; and Laurenfor their continuous love and support. Our many conversations have definitely enriched my perspective on what it means to be a young woman today. The love we share and the many challenges they have each overcome have helped anchor the many practical ideas in Why Mars and Venus Collide. I also thank our new grandchild Sophia Rose for the new grace and delight she has brought to our family.

I thank my staff and team, Bonnie Gray, Juliet Levinson, Jeff Owens, Melanie Gorman, Dean Levin, Neil Dickens, Ellie Coren, and Sherrie Natrass for their consistant support and hard work in organizing and producing my talks, seminars, columns, TV show, radio show, infomercial, nutritional product development and distribution, MarsVenus.com Web site, AskMarsVenus.com telephone coaching, MarsVenusDating.com, Mars Venus Coaching training program, MarsVenusGoCleanse.com, and Mars Venus Wellness Retreats. For a small group of people, you do a lot. I also want to thank the hundreds of supportive people who help our team bring this message to the world.

I thank my editors, Kathryn Huck and Diane Reverand, for their brilliant feedback, advice, and editorial expertise, and the CEO of HarperCollins, Jane Friedman, and publisher Jonathan Burnham for their vision and encouragement. I thank Steven Kunkes, M.D., for reviewing the scientific chapters to make sure I had it all right.

The ideas in this book are certainly inspired by my own personal experiences in creating a loving relationship and in helping others do the same, but without the thousands of people who have generously shared their insights, experiences, and research it could never have been so rich. Each page has some jewel of wisdom that I have cherished hearing, and I know you, the reader, will as well. To gather these ideas, it has taken a team of dedicated health, happiness, and relationship teachers, writers, coaches, researchers, therapists, doctors, nurses, patients, and seminar participants over thirty years to refine and develop. Much of this work in developing the new ideas of Why Mars and Venus Collide was done through special gatherings and seminars at the Mars Venus Wellness Center in northern California during the past five years.

I thank the colleagues and experts who have aided me during my research: Dr. Daniel G. Amen, John and Cher Anderson, Jack Canfield, Warren Farrell, Jim and Kathy Cover, Tony and Randi Escobar, Dr. Solar Farahmand, Dr. Mitzi Gold, Dr. Dennis Harper, Dr. William Hitt, Peter and Sarah Greenwall, Dr. Tom McNeillis, Dr. Gary Gordon, Ron Reid, Dr. Brian Turner, Harv Ecker, and Dr. Cynthia Watson.

I thank the thousands of people who have shared their personal experiences, concerns, and comments. Their enthusiasm with this material has motivated me and given me the confidence to write this book.

I thank my many friends and family members for their support and helpful suggestions: Robert Gray, Tom Gray, David Gray, and Virginia Gray, Darren and Jackie Stephens, Clifford McGuire, Ian and Ellen Coren, Martin and Josie Brown, Andrea and Reggie Henkart, Mirra Rose, Lee Shapiro, Gary Quinton, Russ and Carol Burns, Rhonda Collier, Rami El Batrawi, Sherrie Bettie, Max and Karen Langenburg, and Malcolm Johns.

I thank my parents, Virginia and David Gray, for all their love and support, and Lucille Brixey, who was always like a second mother to me. Although they are no longer here, their love and encouragement continue to surround and bless me.

R epeatedly, I have witnessed the many miracles of cellular cleansing with thousands of people, both adults and children. Within seven days, blood sugar levels are balanced and food cravings are gone, blood pressure is normalized as stress levels drop, four to eight pounds of extra weight are released, bone mass begins to increase, and the needs for antidepressants and ADD drugs are replaced by sound sleep, positive moods, and abounding energy. Mars Venus cleansing coaches are available for free to assist, support, educate, and motivate you to follow a healthy nutritional program to balance hormones and stimulate healthy brain chemicals on a daily basis. Just as we need good relationship skills for stimulating healthy hormones and brain chemicals to lower stress, we also need to eat nutritious foods and take healthy supplements.

Relationship skills and behaviors can only stimulate the body to make healthy hormones and brain chemicals if the raw materials are available. If you are living on junk food, it will be much harder to get the results you deserve, no matter how many times you read this book. With the free assistance of a Mars Venus cleansing coach, you can most effectively support your relationships by taking some time to cleanse your body as well. You can refer to my Web site www.MarsVenus.com to get this additional support. It can be very powerful to let go of limiting and sometimes toxic beliefs and attitudes while also cleansing your body at the same time. I invite you to join our Mars Venus Wellness Community and after a few cleanses learn to coach others in the same process.

Relationship skills and behaviors can only stimulate the body to make healthy hormones and brain chemicals if the raw materials are also available.

Everyone knows, and no one disputes, that we live in a world filled with toxic chemicals that can increase our stress levels and cause a host of diseases. More importantly, these toxins and chemicals interfere with your bodys natural ability to heal disease and cope effectively with stress. For some body types the gradual accumulation of toxins means increasing obesity, cancer, and heart disease, while for others it means osteoporosis, sleeplessness, and anxiety disorders. It would be naive to think that this stress doesnt take a toll on our relationships as well. Just as we need to let go of old roles and strategies for relating that dont work anymore, we also need to assist our bodies in letting go of toxins that we have accumulated throughout our lives. When we regularly cleanse our cells, then they can most effectively absorb the nutrition we require from the food we eat. Just as our cars get dirty and need to be cleaned on a regular basis, so do our bodies. It is not enough just to eat good foods; we need to assist the body in cleaning out toxic wastes and acids that prevent our cells from coping with stress to produce an abundance of energy.

It is exciting for me to share with you these natural solutions for healthy living and loving. It has taken a team of dedicated health, happiness, and relationship teachers, writers, coaches, researchers, therapists, doctors, nurses, patients, and seminar participants over thirty years to refine and develop the many resources available at www.MarsVenus.com. Much of this work is done today through special gatherings and seminars at the Mars Venus Wellness Center in northern California. For information on how you can attend a Mars Venus Wellness Retreat or Seminar taught by me or one of my trainers, call 1-877-JOHNGRAY (1-877-564-6472).

Everyone knows that medical drugs have dangerous side effects and should only be used when diet and exercise have failed. While most doctors are trained in treating disease, they know very little about creating health. In my weekly Internet TV show at www.MarsVenusWellness.com, I explore in great depth the principles of health for both men and women. The Mars Venus Wellness Solution reveals the secrets of restoring health without the need for drugs. In addition you will find a variety of gender-specific recipes and premixed healthy fast food formulas to support both men and women in getting the necessary nutrients to produce healthy brain chemicals and lower stress levels. The Mars Venus Wellness products are not only good for you but taste great as well.