Breaking Free from Unskillful Patterns
We’re helpless victims of our conditioning until we become conscious. ~ Ajan Sumato Linda: Some of us come into marriage with an optimistic attitude; and some of us are aware that we…
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The Challenge of Creating the Partnership of Our Dreams
Linda: If you’re finding it challenging to create the relationship of your dreams, it doesn’t mean that you’re a poor student. Rest assured that most others probably don’t find the…
In Service to Each Other
Linda: Consider this story of devotion about a couple that takes time and effort to show how much they cherish each other. Mira: “I know that Ari loves me, and even when…
From Fear to Fearlessness
Fearlessness is not an absence of fear; it is being committed to something bigger than the fear. That something can be another person’s safety, a higher purpose, a calling, or…
6 Ways to Nurture Your Relationship During the Holidays
We’d like to share a piece about our work originally published by Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and written by Portland Helmich interviewing Linda and Charlie Bloom During the…
We Are All Members of the Scar Clan
Of all the virtues we can learn, no trait is more useful, more essential for survival and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform…
Having the Courage to Desire
Linda: The foundation of vision is desire. To even begin such a process, it is necessary to trust that such an outcome is possible for us and that we are worthy…
30 Characteristics of Happy Couples
Linda:When my husband Charlie and I were interviewing the happiest couples we could find, we could clearly see that they were among the group that was keeping passionate romance alive…
Moving Beyond Either/Or Thinking
Linda: Most of us have been brought up to think in either/or terms. We may not even realize how much it is costing us to continue these old patterns that dominate…
It’s Never Too Late to Repair Damaged Trust
There is no statute of limitations regarding hurt feelings or wounded trust. The bad news is that the pain of unfinished business can continue for years; the good news is…
A Story of Recovery from Post Traumatic Stress
Linda: Terrance reported to me that of all the challenges that he experienced in his life, and there have been many, the greatest and the one in which his wife’s support…
Sixty-five Years Together and Still Plenty of Romance
Linda: Many young people fear they will be trapped in a marriage that has become stale, predictable, and boring. The term commitment phobic often refers to a terror of being stuck…
Making a Molehill Out of a Mountain
Do more of what’s working You’ve got to give a little, take a little, Let your poor heart break a little, That’s the story of, that’s the glory of love….
Breakthrough or Breakup
Crisis as Catalyst for Change Linda: A breakdown is a sudden loss of health or ability to function efficiently. A breakdown is a usually unexpected interruption in a relationship that…
Commitment and How To Grow It
15 ways to strengthen commitment Linda: Having the assurance that the commitment in the relationship is strong and sturdy provides a large playing field to struggle with the essential issues…
Recommitment Vows and Honeymoons Part 3
More Honeymoons Are Better Linda: I know a creative, dynamic man named Ken. When he got married, he enjoyed his wedding day so much that he said to his wife,…
Recommitment Vows and Honeymoons Part 2
Co-creating Vows Linda: I love ritual. And of all the various rituals, the marriage ceremony is my favorite. It touches me so deeply when a couple decides to join their…
Recommitment Vows and Honeymoons Part 1
Renewing the original ones and adding new one. Linda: When couples get married, the officiating person at the ceremony often has a set of declarations that he or she offers…
Life-Long Learning
“Doing something new involves repeated failure, or as it’s more politely called, substantial trial and error.” –Craig Comstock, Enlarging Your Comfort Zones Linda: To learn requires being willing to try…
The Best Preparation for Marriage
Great relationships aren’t discovered; they are created. Anyone with sufficient motivation and a willingness to do the work that is required for a successful relationship is capable of achieving this…