Stephen Cope is a Scholar-in-Residence, Kripalu Ambassador, and the founder and former Director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living. He is a best-selling author of numerous books including: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, The Great Work of Your Life, and The Dharma In Difficult Times. His work focuses on the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. We knew that Stephen was someone we wanted to speak with as soon as the idea for the theme of this issue came up. His book Soul Friends, (published in electronic form as Deep Human Connection) is a powerful contemplation of the intricacies, challenges and triumphs of human relationship.