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Phil and Maude

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Author: Phil

How the Play Between Words and Feelings Affects Your Relationships

Phil May 17, 2026 Tagged with Language, Peaceful relationships
How the Play Between Words and Feelings Affects Your Relationships

PHIL: Besides writing with Maude, I also write independently on Substack. Maude is away on a trip for a few weeks, so I want to describe some ideas of mine and explain how they apply to relationships. I’ve been thinking …

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Base Your Relationships On Connection Not Competition

Phil Sep 28, 2025 Tagged with Competition, Connection, Peaceful relationships
Base Your Relationships On Connection Not Competition

PHIL: Several lifetimes ago, I shared a house with about a dozen other people. We had a budget and took turns cooking. There were issues like when to clean, what standard of cleanliness, whether contributions should be income-related, and how …

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For Peaceful Relationships, Share Your Opinions But Don’t Be Opinionated

Phil Jul 13, 2025 Tagged with Listening, Peaceful relationships
For Peaceful Relationships, Share Your Opinions But Don’t Be Opinionated

Maude is away with a friend on one of those adventures she described last week (hence the photo), so I’m here writing solo. The other night, as we were settling in for our evening’s entertainment, I said what I wanted …

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The More Honesty, The Better Your Relationships

Phil May 26, 2024 Tagged with Acceptance, Honesty
The More Honesty, The Better Your Relationships

Why aren’t people totally honest with each other? Maybe they think it will cause strife in the relationship. But strife isn’t the only reason for not being honest; shame is, too. There is something you are uncomfortable sharing, but you need to regard honesty as more important than shame.

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How Total Honesty Makes For Harmonious Relationships

Phil Jan 28, 2024 Tagged with Honesty
How Total Honesty Makes For Harmonious Relationships

Total honesty is a major part of a harmonious relationship. Holding back in the sense of not presenting yourself totally means that you are not quite yourself when you’re with the other person.

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Why It’s Important to be Aware of Words and Emotions in Your Relationships

Phil Aug 13, 2023 Tagged with Language, Listening
Why It’s Important to be Aware of Words and Emotions in Your Relationships

Maude is still away with her friend this week, so I’m writing about relationships. I want to start by describing how humans work and how we got this way. In earlier species, the brain was the receiver of senses and …

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Why Full Acceptance Is The Way To Go

Phil Aug 6, 2023 Tagged with Acceptance, Total Acceptance
Why Full Acceptance Is The Way To Go

An old friend of Maude’s from Europe is visiting, and they are away in the Bay area, so this week, I’m linking to an earlier blog on Total Acceptance. I chose this because it is a radically different way of …

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Three Ways That Help to Create a Peaceful Relationship

Phil Mar 19, 2023 Tagged with Differences
Three Ways That Help to Create a Peaceful Relationship

PHIL: We say that the essence of a successful relationship is having similar core values; recognizing that everyone is a unique individual, and joyfully accepting those differences; and a non-confrontational approach to handling differences. There are a number of other …

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How Can You Increase Quality Time in Your Relationship?

Phil Jan 15, 2023 Tagged with Peaceful relationships, Sacred Space
How Can You Increase Quality Time in Your Relationship?

We’ve spent many years looking at why we have a peaceful relationship, and one of the things is that we consistently spend time together, not only in activities like writing this blog, but time together without any plan. This is …

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Balance Being As Well As Doing For Peace In Your Relationships

Phil Aug 8, 2021 Tagged with Balance, Being, Presence
Balance Being As Well As Doing For Peace In Your Relationships

Maude has been ill this week (though she is recovering well), so I’m taking the opportunity to go all existential on you. Last week, we wrote about Oprah Winfrey concluding that everybody wants to be seen, heard, and know that …

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