The V-Word

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first stepped through the door of the charming Victorian house that the Investigator Academy would be held in for two weeks. Like many others, I had assumed that human trafficking consisted primarily of sex trafficking (a large part, but merely a part of) a much bigger, more disturbing picture. With 25 other citizens from all walks of life, I learned...

‘An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young.” -Oscar Wilde

One of my best memories of the recent sex therapy conference that I recently attended was when I met the 84 year old grandmother of one of the PhD students attending the conference. Actually, she was accompanied by both her mom and sister too and the whole family was being interviewed about the ‘hottest thing’ they...

‘Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.’ ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Life is made of moments of unraveling. There are good reasons everyday that things come undone, but perhaps none so painful as the un-doing of our most intimate relationships. It is easy to understand how living with the difficult emotions of disappointment, embarrassment and the irritation and resentment associated with...

‘We always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love – first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage.’ Albert Camus

The percentage of people impacted by infidelity is between 30-60% of all married couples, depending on the study cited. More interesting than the differing rates of occurrence for men and women are the different patterns of infidelity for each gender.

Cheating men...

‘Betrayal can only happen if you love.’ -John Le Carre

If ever an expression defined human behavior, it is the notion that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Ovid, an ancient Roman philosopher and poet was perhaps the first when he said that ‘the harvest is always more fruitful in another man’s fields.’ This sense that life is better for others has perhaps its strongest and most...

“For women the best aphrodisiacs are words. The G-spot is in the ears. He who looks for it below there is wasting his time.’ -Isabel Allende

Recent studies have found high correlations between the music that teens are listening to and the onset of sexual activity. Teens who listen to highly sexualized lyrics were twice as likely to engage in sexual activity than teens who didn’t listen to that...

According to a recent Advertising Age article, either improved marketing or “recession sex” is to thank for this year’s dramatic increase in sexual-enhancement device sales.

“The recession hasn’t taken any edge off the sexual-accessories trade and may well have helped: Data show that such things as his-and-hers lubricants and mass-market sexual-enhancement devices are producing fireworks in...

‘There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.’ -Howard Thurman

Perhaps the most challenging listening that we attempt in this life is learning to listen to ourselves. We know our inner voice well in childhood, but often lose touch with it as the opinions of others dominate our life in adolescence. It is tragic really, how we are trained to...