summary of8 Rules of LoveBook by Jay Shetty

first KEY POINT

Look at love as a skill and master it

You have already learned a lot about love from romantic comedies, books, and songs. Modern society's collective cultural experience has formed specific ideas about this feeling in your mind even before you first fell in love. However, in this summary, you can look at the phenomenon of love differently: through the prism of the most ancient scriptures — the Hindu Vedas. Further, you will discover the interpretation of the laws of love produced by monks more than five thousand years ago.The ancient sages considered love as a lifelong process that included four stages. Each one is like a school class the students must complete, with each providing essential lessons to help us move on. If we resist learning or miss lessons, we may have to repeat the class — that is, experience the same difficulties repeatedly until we arrive at the proper conclusion. A successful graduate of such a “school” is a person whose love is boundless, directed to the whole world, and not dependent on one partner.

The four stages of love are:• A genuine acquaintance with yourself, an analysis of your trauma, goals, and desires. Here you learn to be happy alone so you can later share the joy with another person.
• Interaction with your loved one, where you learn to accept all your partner's features and risk showing yourself without armor.
• Struggle with the trials you will surely encounter on the path of love. This lesson is about resolving conflicts and finding compromises in times of crisis.
• The realization that you are the source of love and learning to be sincerely kind to all living things.In our further journey together, you will find tips on preparing your heart for love and its stages.