"Conflict is a vehicle for transformation, and you can ride it so both you and your opponents can win," writes Deidre Combs, a credentialed mediator, a faculty member of the University of Creation Spirituality and Naropa University, an interfaith minister, and founder of Combs & Company, a consulting and strategic planning firm. In this paperback, she demonstrates how conflict is the constant dance between systems; a source of evolution and growth; a process that upon completion yields a lasting, win-win resolution; and a game played best when all parties are seen as equal, interconnected, and valuable.

Combs draws on spiritual teachings, modern science, and psychology to illustrate ways in which we can resolve conflicts in families, communities, and organizations. Each chapter contains a resource-rich mix of material from folktales to practical tips to profiles of important people who have mastered the art of conflict resolution. Combs also uses the cross-cultural metaphor of the four elements to add further breadth and depth to her portrait of the process of resolving disputes and transcending differences in a variety of settings. All of us can learn from our enemies, be open to others in tough situations, and see that peace can be achieved mainly by understanding.