Life & Relationship Blog
14 Nov
Are you suffering with a deep gut ache wondering if you can trust this person? Does trust require a restriction of inquiry? Have you locked yourself into a damned if you ask and potentially damned if you do not ask quandary? Are you willing to risk damaging your relationship and hurting your partner’s feelings? Will your inquiry prompt the inevitable response? “Now since you do not trust me I might as well do what you have accused me of doing!” How can you proceed with out making a mess of your relationship?
Runaway feelings and emotions so characteristic of falling in love or the excitement of a start-up company can make you put a person on a pedestal. Do you prefer to view the world and your partner through the rose-colored glasses of trust until proven unworthy? The silent trust deal says you do not ask your partner to prove their trustworthiness and demands that you know without asking. You bestow trust upon him or her without proof. If one invests carelessly too much of their lives into the relationship and is betrayed, the extradition can be difficult and involve a wide circle of friends and family. Initially more pleasant and less work, this attitude is fraught with risk and vulnerability. Most people remove their rosy glasses after their first heartbreak.
On the other hand, do you choose a position of mistrust until you acquire proof positive of the ability to trust demonstrated with consistent behavior. This requires a holding back of your feelings. To lead a life of bitter disappointment devoid of the uplifting flight of heart that comes from just believing in someone or something is also risky and unprotected. Opportunities for love may be lost if you are too defended.
The fake it until you make it philosophy is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you behave like your partner is trustworthy, the trust can help to support your partner when tempted to cheat. The act of trusting creates its own momentum in a relationship. Positive creates positive reactions and pessimistic negativity creates negative reactions.
The most important element of trust is the lack of suspicion felt in the pit of your stomach. You happily move forward in your day assuming that your relationship is just fine. There is an absence, a silence that one takes for granted until something out of the ordinary causes you to doubt. Once that doubt creeps in a chain reaction starts. Your adrenals flood your body and you can hardly breathe or function. Doubt, suspicion, jealousy eat away at your tranquility leaving you a pile of jangled nerves. Unable to function in your work and the inability to think reasonably or to recover your sense of balance may lead to rash and sometimes violent actions. Whether true betrayal or just imaginary mental scenes have transpired, you must quiet your reactionary rage. Innocent until proven guilty counts in relationships, too.
If your partner admits to betraying you, you have several choices. If you are deeply in love and isolated from the support of friends and family, do not abruptly walk out the door. You may need to rely on the shreds of your relationship to help you through the deep grief of losing trust in someone you love. What is the true cost of betrayal? Have you assessed the amount of potential damages to your world if you cannot trust your partner? Illness, divorce, hurt for your children and even death are consequences that might result from betrayal.
Once you sort it all out, do you risk your heart and trust again? The assumption that your relationship will never be tested is unrealistic. There is no way to guarantee that trust will never be broken again. If you love the person, give them a second chance if you possibly can. If they make no effort to protect you from hurt or to change their behavior, you may need to question if his or her love is strong enough and worth investing your welfare and future.
To rebuild trust as a couple, remember to:
Get the facts before reacting, be honest and stay honest.
Allow yourself or your partner a desensitization period to rehash the hurt over and over until they heal.
Accept or give a sincere apology and make it up to your partner any way you can.
Know that it can take a year for your partner to grieve and learn to trust you again.
Learn to be more open with each other to deepen your connection.
Dr. Molly Barrow holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is the author of the new book, “Matchlines: A Revolutionary New Way of Looking at Relationships and Making the Right Choices in Love.” She is an authority on relationship and psychological topics, a member of the American Psychological Association and a licensed mental health counselor. Dr. Molly has appeared as an expert on NBC, PBS, KTLA, and in O Magazine (1/07), Psychology Today, Newsday, The Nest, MSN.com, Match.com, N Magazine, Women’s Health and Women’s World. Please visit: askdrmolly.com askdrmolly.com DrMollyBarrow.com/ DrMollyBarrow.com/

14 Nov
The most satisfying love making positions for men are those that allow him to thrust freely, provide deep penetration and give him an incredible view.
The urge to thrust is built into the male’s desire biologically, deep penetration gives him some of the most pleasurable sensations and men are highly stimulated visually.
So if you’d really like to make it a night about pleasing him, you can’t go wrong with these two positions.
Reverse Cowgirl
The reverse cowgirl is a variation of the woman on top position. However, your face is facing his feet instead of his face. Lean forward and hold onto his knees for balance and bounce your hips up and down. Vary your pace and switch back forth between a slow ride and wild ride.
This gives him one of the most dazzling views of your behind possible and it allows him to watch penetration take place, which is highly arousing to the male.
His hands are free, so he can reach out and caress your buttocks or provide you with some anal stimulation.
The reverse cowgirl can also be very enjoyable for the female. It can be fun to get a little wild and let your inner exhibitionist come out. Once you learn how to manipulate your hips and position yourself on your man in the right spot, you can achieve great g spot stimulation.
Doggie Style
Tap into your primal energy and set him on fire tonight by waiting for him on the bed on your knees with your buttocks up in the air.
Doggie Style is probably the most favorite position for the male. This is because in this position he has a spectacular view of your buttocks and vagina, he can thrust as freely as he desires and achieve very deep penetration, all at the same.
He is in position heaven, satisfying all his important needs simultaneously and experiencing the deepest pleasure and satisfaction on a biological and emotional level.
Make it even better, by helping him out a little. Push your hips backwards against him as he thrusts forward and reach even deeper penetration..
The woman can pleasure herself by stimulating her clitoris with a vibrator, or the man can reach around and rub her clitoris with his fingers while engaging in doggie style.
Keep in mind that when you partake in positions that allow free thrusting and deep penetration, the man will most likely achieve climax quite rapidly. So for the woman’s pleasure, the couple will need to save these positions for the end of their lovemaking event or he can pleasure her with oral sex or manual stimulation afterwards.
Cynthia Perkins,M.Ed.,is a sex and relationship coach helping couples have better sex. She is also author of the hot sex guides for couples “The Lovemaking Smorgasbord and “Smoldering Embers.” Visit her newest site the

14 Nov
Better communication skills requires a communications assessment. You need to know where you are to plan where you want to go.
I like the story of the weary traveler who stopped at the home of an old farmer to ask for directions to the town of New Hope. The old man scratched his head, shuffled his feet, and with a shrug of his tired old shoulders replied, “Sir, I have never been to New Hope in all my life and as far as I know you can not get there from here.”
Like the old man you have got to know where you are to get to where you want to be. The first step for improving communication skills is to see what level you are at. There are five basic levels of communication. Good communication involves all five levels but the ultimate goal is get to level five.
Level One Communication
This is communication like “how are you, fine, have a good day.” It is surface talk, safe and polite conversations we expect from others and which we give to them. We hardly think about what we are saying on this level. We are simply acknowledging the other persons presence.
That is a positive step in communication. Some couples we counsel are not even at this level. They are devoid of common courtesies like “good morning, have a nice day, see you later.”
At our house we have an unwritten rule about level one communication. Regardless how we happen to feel about each other at the moment we greet each other with a “good morning dear, did you sleep well last night” every morning. Then at night as we roll over to go to sleep we say, “see you in morning dear, love you.”
That is level one communication. It simply acknowledges the other person but it does not go as deep as we would like.
It is the type of communication we use in public places. At the time of this writing my mother is in the hospital recovering from by-pass heart surgery. She was expected to be in the intensive care unit for a night and a day. She has been there for over 12 weeks and there is still no end in sight. I love my mother and pray that she will make a full recovery.
However, when someone asks me in a public place how I am doing I say “fine, thank you.” But I do not tell them I am concerned about my mothers health, or that my dad is tiring out from making the one hour trip to and from the hospital everyday, or that I feel guilty at times for not being there for them as often as I would like. I do not feel free to share those things at this level of communication nor is anyone else expecting more.
Unfortunately some people rarely get beyond this level of communication. They are like two lonely ships passing in the dark, each one going towards their own destination without noticing each other.
Visit focusedonmarriage.com focusedonmarriage.com to register for a FREE ebook 5 Steps to Loving Communication in 21 Days or Less and for counseling and marriage conference information. Also see focusedonmarriage.blogspot.com/ focusedonmarriage.blogspot.com/ for marriage articles. John Neufeld is a marriage conference speaker, counselor and writer with over 25 years experience.

14 Nov
If you want to meet someone special, you have to get out of the house. But you can go out every single night of the week and come home empty– if your beliefs aren’t in line with what you want to attract.
What qualities do you want in a significant other? Do you even know? More important, do you believe you’re worthy of attracting a person who has them? If you believe you are, you’ll likely end up with a partner who thrills you. But, if you believe, deep down, that people who go out with you are doing you a favor, you’ll draw people who are only too glad to prove you right.
The Law of Attraction states that, “Like attracts like.” If you continually end up in disappointing romances, your beliefs are clearly not doing you any favors. The good news is that you can change them. When you change your beliefs, you change your destiny.
How do you get The Law of Attraction to do your bidding? Affirmation is a highly effective method. Instead of telling yourself, for instance, “Monogamous relationships don’t last,” write an affirmation like this:
“I am happily enjoying a lasting, passionate, monogamous relationship.”
The key is to write the affirmation in present tense. It’s not, “I will enjoy a….” Write, “I am enjoying,” instead. Make it positive. Don’t affirm, “I no longer date control freaks.” Summon The Law to your aid by announcing, “I am happily dating a gorgeous person who loves me, trusts me, and supports my dreams.”
The more you use your affirmation, the sooner it will seep into your subconscious. Once your subconscious mind accepts a belief, it’ll act on it.
Before you know it, you’ll find yourself attracting better, more suitable lovers. Soon enough, you will find yourself in a satisfying romance without the usual attendant drama. After it’s under way, continue using your affirmation. Use The Law of Attraction to avoid the pitfalls that can sabotage a relationship.
In the meantime, know what you want and affirm that you have it. Then get out of the house.
Terry MacDonald is the happily married author of “How to Attract and Marry the Man of Your Dreams.” Sign up for free dating tips at marrysmart.com marrysmart.com She is currently planning a trip for singles. Check out her blog at happygirlmusing.blogspot.com happygirlmusing.blogspot.com
