Love Enlightened

Reed took all my firsts like a shiny present. He made promises with silky words I greedily kept as truths. But the moment I faltered, he took everything away. Now we're both guilty of sins. As we come together for Grandfather Ian's funeral, it's time to face what I've done - what we've done. The boy I've loved since age eight is now a man, his rage palpable, his turquoise eyes piercing me with an intensity that sets me on fire. Each delicious kiss seems to peel away our ugly past - a past we're desperate to escape.

David Lauriston has been recuperating at Lord Murdo Balfour’s Laverock estate for the last five months. At Laverock, he has regained his health and confidence and has found - with Murdo - more happiness and contentment than he has never known before. David is all too aware that some day soon he will have to leave Laverock - and Murdo - and return to his legal practice in Edinburgh, just as Murdo will have to return to his life in London.

Kidnapped. Consciousness expanded. And that was just the start of my day. I always thought I was a nice enough guy. The kind who’d never want to commit murder. Turns out I simply lacked incentive. Some crimes can never be forgiven.

From the death of Louis XIV in 1715 until the onset of the French Revolution in 1789, there occurred a profound evolution in the thinking of political philosophers, whose epoch is known as The Enlightenment. There were three men whose writings were to be most responsible for this intellectual whirlwind: Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau.

If you really want to know how spiritually awake you are, spend time around other people. For each of our relationships—from the brief interaction with the barista to our bonds with lifelong partners or family members— reflect back to us our predominant state of consciousness. On Enlightened...

Love and marriage are two of the greatest gifts life has to offer, yet too many marriages fail because couples don't fully understand the five stages of relationships. Because most of us have had hurtful experiences in past relationships, often going back to childhood, we develop an inaccurate love map that causes us to get off track when the stresses of life increase.