Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

How to Live Life on Life's Terms [I invite you to sit back, relax and take in the extraordinary information that our  Guest Blogger, Human Behaviour and Social Change Expert, Kristy Riggal, has written.] Relationships have evolved a lot since the 50’s and 60’s. Divorce rates are skyrocketing, as is the epidemic of anxiety and depression. I have dedicated the better part of the last 7 years + of my life to understand the why, through field research and my education. Here is a morsel of what I know to be true and factual. https://unsplash.com/@tylernixcreative Did you know the first 10 years of your childhood development set you up for your adulthood and how you show up in your adult relationships? There are actually 5 peak waves that shape and mould you before the age of 18/19 years of age. The child brain doesn’t fully develop and is largely ‘unconscious’ until around the age of 8-10 and continues to develop into your 20’s. Those first 10 years are crucial, as a child relies solely

 A Deeper Dive [I invite you to sit quietly, read and contemplate this resonant article by Guest Blogger Kate Jiggins] At this point in my life, I have two “jobs.” Job number one is a people helper. A listener. A psychotherapist. I have been sitting with people – witnessing their stories – for close to 20-years. Yikes! Sometimes it feels like I am just out of graduate school. Like a new puppy. Wide eyed. Enthusiastic. Image credit Canva My other “job”? I write. I tell stories about real life. Real people. Real struggles. Real triumph. Real inspiration. Stories that connect, support – hopefully inspire people to push themselves - explore what’s on the other side of that unhelpful conditioning. Limiting beliefs. Crappy stories. Those re-runs that keep us stuck.  Overtime, in my personal work, and my time with couples, I am beginning to see – more importantly understand - the power of story. Mine. Yours. Theirs. Others. It’s true, we all have unique stories. However, the big question is

Finding Acceptance and Purpose  https://unsplash.com/@mscheid I invite you to read our inspiring article on the formative relationship between parent and child by Guest Blogger: Maria C. Palmer I was a recent college graduate, who like many  twenty -somethings had no clue what path my life would take. I was floundering. My feet were planted in two worlds     I was creating a new life in the land of dreams in Los Angeles, CA, all while keeping secret my life back home in Pittsburgh, P.A., where my father was unexpectedly incarcerated. I found acceptance and purpose in a charity started by a drinking, smoking, swearing, gambling Catholic nun, who was much too fashionable to be caught dead in a habit. Get On The Bus brought children to visit their mothers and fathers in California state prisons. As Sister Suzanne passionately reminded anybody who would listen, “ This program has nothing to do with the parents, and it is all about the children. Children are the silent victims of crime. Th

  Reviving a Lost Art Image credit Jill Wellington courtesy of Pexels  [I invite you to read this thought-provoking article on self-reflection by guest blogger Janice Melmed] I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed lately. There has been so much going on in my life and I have felt pulled in so many directions at once. Distracted and not fully present, I reversed my car into a lamp post and jarred to a stop. I drove carefully home and I finally pressed pause on the chaos. I sat down and for a few moments I tuned into my body and I asked myself what I needed. Never mind what everyone else who I was giving my energy to needed, what did I need? I was surprised when the answer came back as gentle loving kindness. I decided to explore that a little deeper and to really understand what it was I was craving. Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing, and once I was still, I allowed my senses to explore the words.   Gentleness brought images to mind of soft pastel colours, the sounds of tink