The V-Word

“Contentment consists not in adding more fuel, but in taking away some fire. ” -Thomas FullerFor many years when my parents used to send me gifts, I tried to make light of the many ridiculous, worthless bargains that made their way to my door in the holiday season. It wasn’t the gift itself, but the reflection of how invisible I felt with them. Worse still, the holiday dinners where my...

“Do not let the fact that things are not made for you, that conditions are not as they should be, stop you. Go on anyway. Everything depends on those who go on anyway.” —Robert Henri

If ever there was a cliché to take to heart when it comes to our relationships, especially in these weeks before our annual holiday reunions, it is this age-old mandate to “try and try again.” 

We’re all trying to make our marriage work, which seems to be why, almost every day, there’s a new study out there on how to make it last.

One of the latest, out of the University of Southern California and the University of Utah, show that that old adage, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it,” is truer than ever.

By tracking over 100 conversations of married couples in marriage therapy for...

This holiday season; re-think your gift giving rituals by focusing on how you spend your time and attention in your most meaningful relationships. There is no gift you could purchase that will more profoundly enhance the emotional connections in your life than the gift of your focused attention, which explains why most people cannot distinguish between the experiences of being deeply loved with...

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

If ever there was a season to re-think our capacity and intent to play it is the winter holidays. The darkness and all of the twinkling lights hanging everywhere is the modern day backdrop for all our collective holiday stories celebrating the rising light, re-birth and renewal. And yet, for many of us, this annual pageantry is...

“There would seem to be nothing more obvious, more tangible and palpable than the present moment.   And yet it eludes us completely. All the sadness of life lies in that fact.”   -Milan Kundera

Often, when we hear the phrase, “There is no time like the present…” we are admonishing ourselves or someone else about seizing the day, getting something done, and stopping the procrastination. Although...

“The way you make love is the way God will be with you.” -Rumi

There are times after I make love to my husband that I wished I had made a video so that I would always be able to remember how crazy and intense and out of our minds we made love to each other. Even a few hours later, my sexual memories take on the quality of dreams, where describing the sensation or even the sequence starts to feel...

“You take it all in. You let the pain of the world touch your heart and your turn it into compassion.”  -Gyalwa Karmapa

Part of the daily Buddhist meditation that is known the world over is “May you be free from suffering…” The tradition teaches that suffering is as much part of life is as love and joy, certainly you don’t have to dive too deep into world current events or even probably the...

How many siblings did you have? Three, like me? Less? Were you an only child?

According to a new studyout of Penn State, having opposite sex siblings affected your confidence in attracting and interacting with the opposite sex. The researchers think that this has to do with being provided plenty of opportunities to resolve conflicts, have discussions and witness varying perspectives about things....