From Our Heart To Yours

Let’s talk about sex, baby! A good marriage is best friends with passion. Without the passion, you just have a friendship. You are roommates or companions. Poor communication and a diminished sexual relationship are at the center of a troubled marriage and both are symptoms of the power struggle. In this episode, we look at sexless marriages and sexual withholding, what some of the contributors are, and share some information on how to address the pertinent issues.

Different people give and receive love differently, and if your objective is to show your partner how much you love them, it makes sense to do it in a language they understand and in a way that is specifically meaningful to them. This way, you communicate awareness of their right to be separate, different, and distinct, with their own preferences, experiences, and values. So, learning to express love in ways that resonate with your partner will lead to a more harmonious relationship and will increase connection, safety, and intimacy.

When the relationship matures, and the people in it are so connected and attuned, there is affection, restfulness, trust, and security. Stability is good. However, this state of satiation can sometimes lead to a lull, a sense of sleep that can rob the relationship of excitement, mystery, and intrigue. The relationship can flatline and this may lead to boredom. The solution is to re-romanticize the relationship. Though the romantic love stage ends, the romance can last a lifetime, and this is what makes a difference between married life being a chore and being a celebration.

One of the things people who are in committed relationships long for is a closeness of body, mind, spirit and soul. To know and be known at a level that is so deep that it’s like a mingling of souls and a sharing of hearts. Two hearts that beat as one. Finishing each other’s sentences. Perfect attunement. This is possible provided partners consciously seek to foster intimacy. In this episode, we share some insights around the topic of intimacy.

Now that the relationship vision has been crafted, it is important to deepen your understanding of what it means to each of you and what it looks like when you are living it out. That calls for communication. In this episode we teach you a skill called the 'Imago Dialogue'. We can guarantee you that if you can incorporate this skill into your relationship, your struggles with being heard and understood are over.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Before any journey begins, the traveler must have a destination in mind, know the route to take, and what preparations are needed to ensure a smooth and enjoyable journey. The same applies to marriage. When there is a relationship vision, the expectations are clearly communicated, intentions, desires and goals are clarified. In this episode we take you through the process of co-creating the blueprint for your relationship.

The quality of your life is impacted hugely by the quality of your relationships. And in addition to to the relationship you had with your primary caregivers, no other relationship is as impactful upon your life as the intimate relationship with your partner. So it makes perfect sense that you would want to do all in your power to make this relationship a priority. Season 2 is all about increasing pleasure and decreasing pain. Consciously. Intentionally. Join us as we begin by exploring some of the characteristics of a conscious relationship.

Intimacy is a trauma trigger, and what happened in you because of what happened to you will be played out in your relationship. In this virtual session, we will be looking at adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their effect on relationships, how the relationship can be a vessel for healing, and how therapy supports this process. The first hour will be a presentation and the second hour will be a live interview with a couple who will be sharing how the wounds from their childhood impacted their marriage, and how they are experiencing healing and transformation within the relationship.

In this episode, we give a summary of the previous episodes, revisit some of the key concepts of Imago therapy, and we integrate this information into the concept of 'the space between', an energy, a vibration that exists between the two individuals that can expedite or hinder healing and growth.

The journey does not have to end with the power struggle. Hidden beneath the critical, discontent, demanding person you are with is a vulnerable, hurting, yet wonderful and magnificent human being. And beyond troughs of conflict and tension is a deep, rewarding, intimate connectedness that can be ushered in by the conscious relationship stage. In this stage, the energy shifts from antagonism to cooperation, indifference to a deep understanding, and disconnection to attachment. The love that is possible in this stage is a 'deep' rather than a 'high' love. Welcome to the conscious relationship stage.

Now, the honeymoon phase has ended. You begin to truly see your partner, flaws and all, and you feel cheated because this is not what you signed up for. What happened to the kind, thoughtful, loving partner who worshiped the ground you walk on? This stage is known as the 'Power Struggle' stage, and this is where most couples get stuck. This week, we discuss in depth what this stage actually is, and how we can reframe our perception of it so that we can truly harness the opportunity it presents to create a safe, stable relationship that can stand the test of time.

Now that you have found your soulmate and the two of you are head over heels in love, let's talk about the trajectory of romantic relationships. We begin by looking at the 'Romantic Love' stage, the stage where we experience what it feels like to be fully alive, to be our most loved and loving self.

This week, we look at how the unconscious plays a role in the partner-selection process, and how the differences that we often label as incompatibility actually provide the context for healing and growth.

Intimacy is a trauma trigger. Today, we take a look at how relationships create opportunities for past traumas to resurface, but also how they can be a vessel to facilitate healing and restoration.

Let's take it right back to the beginning. How we were held, nurtured, loved, and parented, both inside and outside the womb, has significantly shaped us into the people we are. In this episode, we discuss how gestation and early childhood experiences contribute to who we are as individuals and partners today.

This week, we discuss the integral role of commitment and what it entails in building safe relationships. 

This week's episode introduces the concept of safety in romantic relationships and establishes its importance in building and maintaining solid and thriving relationships.