Reading Corner

In this week’s blog article we wrote about how to make every day Valentines Day in your relationship. Other writers offer their suggestions.

Spread The Love! 10 Ways To Make Every Day Valentine’s Day “The importance of giving material things has been greatly over-emphasized. In the end, the greatest Valentine’s gift of all to the one you love is the gift of your time. Over the past 32 years, our marriage research in 48 countries on all seven of the continents of the world supports this concept.”

What Would Your Relationship Be Like If You Treated Your Partner Every Day Like It Was Valentine’s Day? “But relationships can stand the test of time. The ‘secret’ to keeping your partnership strong and healthy is to treat each day as if it were your anniversary or Valentine’s Day. Can you imagine what would happen if you made your relationship top priority? What shape would it be in if you both paid attention to all the small details every day?”

Relationship Rx — Make Everyday Valentine’s Day “Why wait for that one day a year to show and tell your sweetie how much you love them — especially a day when everybody and their grandmother expresses the same sentiments for their loved ones as well?”

In this week’s blog article we wrote about how to keep romance in your relationship. Here are some articles that offer ideas on how to do this.

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10 Keys to a Successful Romantic Relationship “According to psychologists Nathaniel Branden and Robert Sternberg, who have both researched and written about the challenges of romantic relationships, these little displays of interest and affection can be more important than all the ‘active listening’ and trust games in the world.”

KEEPING THE ROMANCE ALIVE “Giving each other a daily dose of what I call the 3 A’s—attention, appreciation and affection—are the critical factors in keeping any relationship alive with interest and desire.”

Keeping the Romance Alive “Intimate time together, honest communication and thoughtful acts of loving kindness are the fuel of great relationships. So, if you want to replace your fizzle with some sizzle, you’ll both need to move your priorities around, start talking more, and make a mutual commitment to keeping the romance thriving.”

In this week’s blog article we wrote about maintaining your sacred space. Here are some articles that cover various aspects of this topic.

Speaking the Love Language of Quality Time “A central aspect of quality time is togetherness. I do not mean proximity. Togetherness has to do with focused attention. A husband who is watching sports on television while he talks to his wife is not giving her quality time, because she does not have his full attention.”

Sacred Space at Home This article talks about making a physical location for a sacred space “The notion of creating a ‘Holy of Holies’ in a home—a room of one’s own—came to me while exploring the connection between architecture and spirituality. ”

Make time for your partner This article talks about making time when you have children “In this busy, chaotic world of daily activities, tasks and schedules, it is easy to forget that the person you chose to spend your life with is the person who can make your days brighter and the road ahead easier to travel. For most couples, the key to improving your relationship is to make it a priority to spend more time together.”

In this week’s blog article we wrote about sacred space. Here are some articles that touch on various aspects of this topic.

Spend Time with your Partner for Relationship Success “Research has shown that one of the major reasons that relationships fail is due to lack of time spent together. Spending time with your partner is like saving money for a rainy day. Every time you and your partner spend some time together you are shoring up the relationship against the times that you will hit a bump.”

The Policy of Undivided Attention “many couples [make] the argument that it’s impractical. But in the end, they usually agree that without time for undivided attention, they cannot re-create the love they once had for each other.”

5 Simple but Often Forgotten Ways to Keep a Relationship Strong “Quality time is essential. Whether you are in a long-distance relationship or just live a busy life with full-time jobs and outside activities, you may not be able to spend as much time as you’d like with your loved one. Do something fun together, do something meaningful, have meaningful conversations, pay attention to each other, and express your love like crazy.”

In this week’s blog article we wrote about sex, intimacy and union. It was difficult finding articles that talked about the whole issue. Here are some articles that touch on various aspects of this trinity.

Intimacy and Relationships “Emotional intimacy doesn’t automatically occur with sexual intimacy, as people who are sexually involved may still be unable or choose not to share their innermost thoughts and feelings.”

How Does Sex Differ from Intimacy? “Are sex and intimacy different things? Can you have one without the other? Or does one lead to another?”

Sexuality and Marital Intimacy “Too often couples are embarrassed to ask questions, to discuss likes and dislikes – everyone assumes they are supposed to know how to be good lovers, but how can you be unless you are able to talk about it. Of course, this includes the after as well, because the issue I’m addressing here is finding out what works and what doesn’t IN THIS RELATIONSHIP.”