In Section Five of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life you'll read about "Gold, Silver, Rubies, and Precautions, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3,” which are practical insights about Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs.

Section Five also contains the final Wisdom Tool, "Wisdom Tool #17: Post-It Note Wisdom," which is space in the book for you to record insights you've gleaned from the book.

Section Five also contains the “Final Comments about Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life,” and the Appendix, which contains:

Appendix A: The Karpman Triangle and The Equality/Empowerment Triangle

Appendix B: The List of 442 Character Values and Virtues

Appendix C: The List of 176 Character Defects

This section of the book was the original inspiration for writing it, as I asked myself: “If I were to provide, a core set of “best practices” for people to develop for their well-being and for the well -being of others, what would they be?”

“What would be on the list of “best practices” that, when applied consistently, would lead to wise behaviors and life-giving outcomes for the rest of their life?”

So here it is, the “63 Healthy Adult Mode Behaviors!” — Dr. Ken McGil

After reading through the arduous information about “M. E.” in Section Two, where you gained a much thorough picture of your maladaptive schemas, maladaptive schema modes, your ego defenses and your cognitive distortions, and the impact they have had upon you, your Manager, Firefighter and Exiles in your Internal Family System, you’ll remain in your self-discovery mode and interview and learn more about the origin, role, function and the “why” behind what your Manager and Firefighter do to protect you.

In Section Three, of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life, you’ll be invited to reclaim your life and your choices, recapture the canvas of your mind and heart, and begin recalibrating or re-creating your life through wisdom exercises designed to help you bring vibrant colors connected to healing experiences into, and onto the portrait of your life, one behavioral brushstroke at a time!

So with the integration and practice of these suggested Wisdom tools, coupled with your existing body of knowledge, you’ll have the opportunity to recalibrate, rethink, refine, re-mind, reclaim, reparent, and renew your behavior into behaviors that reflect you’re truly becoming wise and skilled at living by choosing to live by principles that make sense to you (and hopefully to the neighbors in your life!).

A final word: Remember, your healing is not about erasing your past, but it is about integrating wisdom into your life experiences that empowers you to move forward with clarity and wisdom. As you engage in reflection, allow yourself the grace to learn, the courage to release, and the openness to embrace a new way of being! Dr. Ken McGill

In Section Two of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life, you'll discover how your Wisdom within you becomes “compromised,” (via adverse childhood, community, cultural and climate experiences), the effect of compromised wisdom upon you and your relationships, and how to “recalibrate” yourself so you’re able to grow beyond challenges in life that threaten your maturity and your ability to live a wise and productive life.

The bulk of the chapter addresses how survival tactics morph into unhealthy coping mechanisms, which develop into maladaptive schemas, maladaptive schema modes, ego defenses and cognitive distortions, and these coping strategies impact your Manager, Firefighter and Exile(d) parts within you per Internal Family Systems.

In Section One of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life, we’ll take a look at how integrated wisdom principles from the disciplines of Psychology, Theology, and Neurobiology provide you with sound strategies and tools to assist you in your growth process.

The goal of your actions is to connect you with your God to receive enlightenment, empowerment, inspiration, and guidance (1.0 behaviors), which you’ll integrate and, over time, demonstrate through Loving Yourself (1.5 behaviors). This also strengthens your ability to Love Your Neighbors (2.0 behaviors) as you love yourself.

A strong focus is on developing and benefiting from skilled behavior to create an “internal safe place” to feel safe in your body and in your environment, which Dr. McGill mentions is one of the best ways to demonstrate love to yourself.

Dr. McGill states that a prime advantage of creating and engaging in this process to regulate your body is that it positions you to experience some of your best insights, wisdom, and other payoffs for your personal and relational benefit.

In Section One of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life, we’ll take a look at how integrated wisdom principles from the disciplines of Psychology, Theology, and Neurobiology provide you with sound strategies and tools to assist you in your growth process.

The goal of your actions is to connect you with your God to receive enlightenment, empowerment, inspiration, and guidance (1.0 behaviors), which you’ll integrate and, over time, demonstrate through Loving Yourself (1.5 behaviors). This also strengthens your ability to Love Your Neighbors (2.0 behaviors) as you love yourself.

A strong focus is on developing and benefiting from skilled behavior to create an “internal safe place” to feel safe in your body and in your environment, which Dr. McGill mentions is one of the best ways to demonstrate love to yourself.

Dr. McGill states that a prime advantage of creating and engaging in this process to regulate your body is that it positions you to experience some of your best insights, wisdom, and other payoffs for your personal and relational benefit.

Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life by Dr. Ken McGill is written to take a deep dive into the subject of wisdom and to explore how to grow and remain wise during the seasons of a person’s life. It is also a book about the subject of love and the powerful effect that “cultivated love” can have in your life.

In this episode, Dr. McGill shares “What’s in the Box” of Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life and how this book could be helpful to the therapist or clinician, pastor or parishioner, professor or student, husband or wife, high schooler or retiree, grandparent or adolescent, group leader or group member, mentor or mentee.

Cultivating Love: Wisdom for Life is the ninth book in Dr. McGill’s Cultivating Love series and is expected to be released in mid-November 2025.