Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment. -Seneca Friendships are profoundly wonderful gifts. I've been blessed with many deep and intimate friendships. Rumi and his master Shamsi of Tabriz would sometimes spend days in dialogue of the heart. The Persian word for such contact is "sohbet." This to me is a precious form of friendship, to bask in the esteem and enquiry of a friend. Particularly lasting friends include my co-parent Brenda Plowman, publishing colleagues Sam Jernigan, David Ish, Andrew Vidich and David Cawthorn, and men's group friends Bill McMillan and David Miller. My sister Jenny Howard and her husband, Bishop Dale Howard are dear to me, as are their children. My friends in the Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine fields include Mary Hammond, Larry Stoler, Greg Nicosia, Dorothea Hover-Kramer, David Gruder, David Feinstein and Donna Eden, Brenda Sanders and Ken Jenkins, My author friends include Brad Blanton, author of Practicing Radical Honesty and other books, Shepherd Hoodwin, author of Loving From Your Soul, Kelly Bryson, author of Don't Be Nice, Be Real, Margaret Horton and Bruce Lipton of The Biology of Belief, and Deborah Anapol, author of Love Without Limits.

People I've felt close to for a decade more more include Cristull Hassan, Charlene Hunter, Andrew Vidich, Gordon and Mary Feller, and David Banner. Other close friends include Andrea Dillon, Cynthia Branchflower, Claire Victor, Kate Yates, Jack & Trish Jacobs, and Michaela McGivern.

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine. -Thomas Jefferson Friends from Manspirit include Kevin Hutchinson, Bob Sayers and Richard Murphy, Roy Massen, Greg Hentz, Jim Churchill, Jerry Cornachio, Bill Frater, Davey Jones, Jim Dreaver, Sahar Pinkham, Steve Brumme, and Rob Weathers.

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. -Washington Irving Friends I've met dancing include Natalie Craig, Margaret Barkley, Deja Clarke, and Lani Jacobsen. Friends I've met volunteering include Lois Shelton, Joe and Kathy Tonkovich, and Art Warmoth. Brenda Plowman and I were married for ten years, and produced two gorgeous children. Although we chose different paths after a decade together, we still hold each other in the highest respect and trust.