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Hope & Commitment: PRICELESS

Average cost of a divorce: $15,000 to $30,000

Average child support payment for one child: $430

Average alimony support percentage of highest earning spouse: 30% of income for up to 50% of time of marriage

Saving your relationship and working through your shit: PRICELESS

Remember the old commercial?
Well I sure do.

And this topic is near and dear to me in recent times.
But more importantly,
It is a possible reality to many of my couples clients.
Or potential couples clients.

The sad truth is that quiet often people go looking for help.
They sit in my office,
Wrenching their hands together,
Butterflies in their stomach,
Wanting to be heard.
To be understood.
And to be given hope.

They look at their spouse,
And they hope that they too have a sincere desire to heal the wounds of years gone by.
They hope that their partner is feeling at ease and will be open to the possibilities of getting help.

Often, tears are shed in my office by one or both parties as they recognize the pain,
They see the situation of their marriage clearer,
And they feel the tingle of hope spreading its wings inside them.

There they sit.
HOPEFUL.

They share intimacies within this safe container,
Baring their truths of bitterness, of loss of desire, of financial pains, of feeling left behind and under appreciated.

They share their sins.
From adultery to drug usage to porn and anger.

They share their longing.
Their longing to reconnect.
To heal.
To love and be loved.

And so they walk away from me,
Feeling lighter.
Feeling connection and understanding.
Feeling non-judgment.
Feeling as if they can recover.
They feel HOPE.

And then….
It is inevitable my follow up email with all my recommendations and observations comes into their inbox.
It asks them for their,
COMMITMENT.

Many stand up to the plate.
But many steer away in fear.

They lean on objections.
From price to time.
They say they need to wait.
They say they think they can do it on their own.
They say this
And they say that.

But none of it matters.
They CHOOSE to not commit
And thus they choose to remain in their suffering and in the harsh reality that separation most likely will knock soon at their door.

But they feel like they cannot change the outcome.
Because it just is.
So they settle into victim mode.
And they loose HOPE.

How much does it cost to sacrifice your HOPE?
How much is it worth to step into COMMITMENT ?

It is priceless.
Thats what it is.
On both sides it is PRICELESS.

The only question
I ask these souls who choose to say goodbye is,
Are you happy?

At the end of any decision.
You must ask yourself.
Are you happy?

Here you will learn your truth.
Here you will learn about your fear.
Your regrets.
Your desires.
And if you made the right choice.

No one can answer this for any of us.
It is between us and soul.

And it is PRICELESS.

As always,
Stop Existing and Start Living

Now accepting 1+1 Couples Coaching Clients.
No matter where you are in this big world you can get the private coaching to recover the intimacy and connection you desire in your marriage.
Explore Passion Coaching for Couples today.

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The Unspoken Truth About a Sex-Starved Marriage

sexstarvedDo (or did) you and your spouse have significantly different levels of desire for sex? If so, you are not alone. Did you know that 1 in 3 couples has a sexual desire gap? But just because you aren’t alone, it doesn’t mean you should be complacent about a ho-hum sexual relationship. You shouldn’t. It can lead to a miserably angry spouse, infidelity and divorce. If you don’t believe me, watch this TEDx talk on The Sex-Starved Marriage

And although solutions to this sexual divide abound in magazines, self-help books and other pop psychology outlets, there is a little talked about fact underlying the problems associated with this sexual void.

The No’s have veto power.

Here’s the scoop. The spouse with lower sexual drive controls the frequency of sex — if she or he doesn’t want it, it generally doesn’t happen. This is not due to maliciousness or a desire for power and control, it’s just seems unimaginable to be sexual if one is not in the mood.

Furthermore, there is an unspoken and often unconscious expectation that the higher desire spouse must accept the no-sex verdict, not complain about it and remain monogamous. After decades of working with couples, I can attest that this is an unfair and unworkable arrangement.

This is not to say that infidelity is a viable solution to disparate sexual interests. It isn’t. As with all relationship conflicts, being willing to find middle ground is the best way to insure love’s longevity.

But what’s a so-called “low desire spouse” to do?

Believe it or not, although sometimes the causes of low sexual desire are complex and deeply rooted, this is not always true. One of the most common causes for a sexual desire gap is also the simplest to solve. I recommend that the person with low desire adopt the Nike philosophy, and “Just Do It!” Why?

I wish I had a dollar for each time someone in my practice said, “I wasn’t in the mood when I started making love but once we got into it, I really enjoyed myself. It felt great.”

After seeing lots of this in my practice, I started to look around at the literature about sexual desire and discovered that for millions of people, sexual desire doesn’t just happen, you have to make it happen. (Basson, R.) But what does this actually mean?

The human sexual response cycle is thought to have four stages:

Stage 1: Desire, which is defined as having a sexy thought or sexual fantasy that often occurs out of the blue or in response to a trigger such as seeing an attractive person, smelling a aromatic perfume, or watching a hot movie. Desire then prompts us to become sexually active.

Stage 2: Arousal is the excitement we feel, the physiological changes in our bodies once we’re physically stimulated

Stage 3: Orgasm

Stage 4: Resolution, when our bodies return to the resting state.

But for almost half the population, stages one and two are actually reversed. They don’t feel sexual desire until they’ve been physically aroused, until they’ve been touched. But once they’ve been stimulated, they feel plenty of desire. They’re hot to trot. For these folks, arousal leads to desire, not the other way around.

If this sounds like you, it behooves you to do a little experimenting. Stop waiting for the fireworks to happen before you become sexual. Be receptive to your partner’s advances even if you’re not totally in the mood. Why? Two reasons.

You might just find that once you’re into it, you’re really into it. Plus, notice the changes in your spouse. She or he will be much nicer to be around. But don’t take my word for it. Try it. At least watch this new TEDx Talk on The Sex-Starved Marriage.


Michele Weiner-Davis is the Author of the best selling Divorce Busting, Divorce Remedy, and the Sex-Starved Marriage, and creator of the Divorce Busting Center. She is the Founder of DivorceBusting “Like” her on Facebook, and get her latest videos on YouTube.

 

ORIGINAL POST @ Huffingtonpost

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Sarah Pipalini laid by 10,000 Men!

Three nuns were driving down the road one afternoon. One was beautiful, young and new to the convent life. She enjoyed modern culture but knew that her life calling was one of service. She loved the Lord and wanted to do his work. The other was a middle aged woman, she had seen much suffering and many blessings manifest. She too devoted her life to service and the work of God. The oldest nun had been with the church for her entire life. She had been raised by the Sisters.  She was a woman who decided to dedicate her life to serving all other living beings, and to not be part of mainstream society but instead live her life in prayer and contemplation. 

 
The 3 Sisters were chatting away as they drove to their destination when without any warning were struck by a truck who had run a red light. The car spun around and hit a lamp post which centered itself in the middle of their car. Sadly these three blessed women now found themselves standing at the gates of heaven before St. Peter himself. Relieved that they had arrived and knowing that they were saved they greeted him with smiles and joy. St. Peter, said welcome Sisters. I have fantastic news for you. the Lord is so happy with all the service, unconditional love and sacrifice that you have made in your life that he has decided to let you go back and experience life again, however this time you may choose who you want to be. the nuns became excited at the thought.
 
St. Peter looked at the youngest sister and asked, “Sweet sister, whom would you like to incarnate as?”
 
“Britney Spears.” she replied.
 
Poof! She was now living  life as the pop star.
 
He then turned to the middle aged Sister, “And whom do you choose?”
 
 
Smiling St. Peter said of course, the sexiest woman ever. As you wish Sister and within a second she was was Marilyn.
 
He then turned to the wise eldest Sister and asked her the same question. Without hesitation she said, “Sarah Pipalini.”
St. Peter looked bewildered. He did not know who this was. He looked in his book but she was not there. then he decided to call on head of records. 
 
“I need you to find me Sarah Pipalini right away.”
 
Unfortunately, there was no record of her. He turned to the Sister and said that he was sorry. The old nun stuck her hand in her pocket, dug around some, and then pulled out a folded, very old and weathered paper clipping. Opening it carefully, she said, “No, no. You see right here, Sarah Pipalini.” St. Peter took the clipping and read it. 
Sweet Sister, this says, Sahara Pipeline Laid by 10,000 Men.”
 
This joke shares a depth of the sickness of humanity as well as the wisdom of the spirit. We wonder why so many young people in society become extremely promiscuous, or why when a couple divorces that one or both parties hunt for what appears like empty sex to extremes. We look into the eyes of our beloved on the day that  we are uniting in marriage and we speak our vows of love and unconditional support and then find ourselves years down the road desiring intimacy, passion, connection and the feeling of excitement that only comes to us when we make love for the first time with a new partner. This desire in many cases leads us to temptation, which in many traditional beliefs is evil. We have raised a society where desire is wrong. We have locked our sexuality up in the towers of our internal being where we do not dare share it or speak of it, because this would be looked down upon by the heavens. We  enforce many of our religious leaders to abstain for years or an entire lifetime, assuming that through this sacrifice they will be more elevated, closer to God and able to guide their sheep in the ways of the Lord. Should one fall prey to desire and become human again we practically burn them at the stake. We anger at their inability to not lust after our youth yet we torment them each day with our sexy tales of loss of control.
 
We live in a world where a person who has been intimate with more then 10 people is considered to be a whore, a tramp, a slut. Yet we secretly long for the experience ourselves. Jealousy speaks out as judgement. We gossip to our friends and neighbors about what others are doing and do not even stop to realize that our words are potentially more harmful then being penetrated by a rapist. We lounge in our judgments and then sneak inside the safety of our homes to catch up on the newest porn videos on the web. We tease and joke about sex, never seriously giving it the respect that it deserves, yet we tell our children that they need to be responsible and wait till they get married. We deliberately go out drinking in hopes of getting lucky, but discover one of two things: 1) we never find someone to hook up with and wonder what is wrong with us?  2) we hook up, get our orgasmic release and then see everything that is wrong with the person we are with. If we are men, we speak grandly about our sexual adventures, often making them out to be better and more then they really are. If we are women, we try to not speak to much of our desires or adventures, as to not be seen as a whore. If we have been intimate with more then what we feel society approves of we reduce the number as to fit in with our peers, not realizing that they have done the same.
 
“In our society sex is wounded by a deep-seated masochism, which finds distorted satisfaction in the suppression of desire. This masochism is a symptomatic and destructive form of surrender. Instead of giving in to our passions, allowing emotion to course through our bodies and psyches, and generously offering ourselves to intimacy, we surrender our joy in life to any authority we can find, and we find many authorities willing to condemn us for our longings and pleasures.”– Thomas Moore, The Soul of Sex
 
So according to traditional belief, desire is the root of this evil called sexuality.
Desire is to blame for all the wrong doing. The taking and the raping. Desire is the reason why we cheat on our lovers. Desire is the reason why we break our covenants. Desire is not to be followed, it is a force from Satan. Yet, if there is no desire, there is no happiness. Period. There is also not much else left in the world. No matter what age or gender you are, you cannot even move a finger without first having a desire. And desire is always in wanting to receive something.
Want to argue this fact with me?
You work because you have a desire for money, success, peace of mind, prosperity or a new back patio.
You eat because you have a desire to stay alive, or to experience the pleasure of eating something new or delicious.
You compete in sports to fulfill a desire to experience  the thrill and victory of achievement.
You go on holiday to fulfill the desire to relax and break up your routine or create a memorable experience.
You enter into romantic relationships because you desire to experience love.
You watch TV and go to the movies to fulfill your desire to be entertained and experience enjoyment.
You pray because you desire help or healing.
You go to church because you desire to be saved and to live in heaven.
And we engage in sex to fulfill our desire for sexual pleasure. And if we have experienced soulful sex, then we often engage in sex to manifest our dreams, connect at a soul level, to heal, and to communicate with God.
 
I believe that even a blind person could see clearly that desire is the key to happiness!
 
Its very simple, because God (the Light) is infinite, every kind of joy, happiness and blessing is contained within the Creator. The only thing required to activate all this happiness is DESIRE. When a desire is fulfilled, happiness is expressed in that moment.
 
Why do we condemn such beauty? Creativity, Happiness and Power? — Fear
 
And lack of spiritual understanding.
 
But if we listen and surrender to this fear and refuse to expand our knowledge, then we will end up with only a fraction of self-possession purchased at the cost of our very life’s bliss and purpose. We will in all actuality find ourselves living a life of desperation, with a scarcity mentality over-loaded with more worry and ultimately secretly desiring but still denying all of God’s beauty.
 
“Knowledge without transformation is not wisdom.” — Paulo Coelho, Brida
 
Sex is a direct connect to life. To God. Ancient Tantric or Taoist practices as well as those practiced in Egypt and other parts of the world knew of the true power of creation that ONLY stemmed from the union of lovers. At the heart of sex is bedded a most profound affirmation of life, providing us with reason for living, for being optimistic, and for having energetic passion. Sex keeps us connected to our deepest essence, and links us to our inception. It also gifts us with the ability to realize our full potential and touch spiritual enlightenment.
 
Through our many soul phases we advance in our understanding of this beautiful gift from the heavens. We learn to devour the moments of rapture and to open ourselves in total trust to our lovers yes, but even more so to ourselves. We dance in the joy of being truly seen, we stop setting up limitations of our inner sexual muses and nymphs and in turn open the gateways to pleasure. In a society where love is open and unconditional, sex is respected and the parties involved honor one another from a soul level first. They honor and have the wisdom to do this through subtle energy connections, then through the reverence and adornment of the physical, they know that sharing true love in their sexing means that they respect each other and themselves through permissions and boundary setting. They laugh at their humanness and welcome the inner child to come out and play. They understand that sexual union is an alchemical act and they cherish not abuse the power of it.
 
The great healing of our world and of humanity will gain great strides when men and women make the conscious decision to LIVE their earthly reality instead of their doctrines and ideals.
 
Will you bask in your sexing and manifest a future of happiness that the Creator will be proud of?
Or will you continue to succumb to societal illusions?