We were at a wedding and were captivated by two children playing. They were so filled with joy and the obvious pleasure of being together. Joy is such an important element in relationships, too. It’s easy to find it in …
How to Bring Joy to Relationship Problem Solving Read more »
I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the discussions we’ve had recently concerning power struggles within a relationship. We’ve been talking about John Gottman’s book “Why Marriages Succeed or Fail“. He observed many couples in terms of their conflicts and issues …
How to Avoid Power Struggles in Your Relationship Read more »
White lies. They’re the lubricant of human interactions. “What an adorable baby!” “No, of course I don’t mind.” “I must have missed your email.” We tell them to make others feel better or to make us look better. They’re seen …
The phrase “complete honesty” brings up many issues immediately. What does it mean? Are little white lies allowed? Does it do more harm than good? In our experience, the answer is clear. Complete honesty is one of the basic foundations …
We’ve all had failed relationships and suffered the inevitable postmortem of what went wrong. Are you starting out a new relationship? Do you want this one to be different? What can you do to make better choices? Questions like these …
The Three A’s: Acceptance, Acknowledgment, Appreciation I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give …
We’ve talked about the importance of having aligned core values for a successful relationship. Breaking this down further, you can think of core values at two levels: universal and individual. Universal core values are based on the understanding that we …
An important element in accepting your partner and finding a loving connection is your intention. You have to have the intention to find peaceful harmonious ways of being together, and this has to be something that is a guiding principle …
Do You Want this Relationship to Work? Intention Is a Key to Success Read more »
Do you want to have a good relationship? Of course everybody says yes. But do you intend to have a good relationship? What does that even mean? It has to do with how you perceive a relationship ought to be, …
Often when people think about the issue of acceptance, they think it is about compromise. Compromise is an act of giving up something to get something else. It assumes that there are different sides, and that one must settle in …