Meet The Authors

We, Mari and Leonard, are both passionate about doing our part to bring peace to the world. In our collaboration, we found that we approached disputes from two perspectives. In her mediation practice, Mari works with clients from the outside in, facilitating positive ways for them to speak and act with one another, which then alter their internal attitudes and feelings. Leonard deals with clients from the inside out, helping them understand their inner feelings, which changes their thoughts and emotions, resulting in new actions and behaviors. Our practices exemplified the Yin and Yang of couple’s conflict resolution. Instead of viewing our approaches as opposite, we have come to see them as powerful and complementary to bridge the inner and the outer worlds.

We continually think about the meaning of love in our own lives and are committed to look within and change ourselves. This forces us to be conscious of how we treat others and ourselves. Though we still get hooked into defending ourselves, wanting to be right, we try to remember that the only thing worth fighting for is love.