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By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
July 04, 2016
Are you giving love to your partner or others for the joy of giving, or are you giving to get love, attention or approval?
I received the following email, asking for my help:
"Hi, my name is Adam. I am living with my parents and I'm thinking of ... Views: 1113
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
April 04, 2016
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Learn how to resolve conflict when your partner or another person isn't available for mutual conflict resolution.
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Loving relationships create a safe arena in ... Views: 1363
Hey, Beauty Boss!
Your time is valuable. If you’re trying to up-level your boss status, then being attuned to not ONLY how you spend your time, but ALSO who you spend it with is key. Jim Rohn said it best: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I couldn’t ... Views: 660
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
July 18, 2016
If your relationships are challenging, you might want to gain awareness and understanding of the taker-caretaker relationship system.
As we all know, relationships are generally very challenging, and one of the reasons is that we bring into our ... Views: 1124
Kari and Rudy consulted with me because they kept having conflicts over the same issues over and over - primarily money, chores, and child-rearing. They were nearing the decision to separate, believing that they were incompatible.I asked them to pick one of the issues and they picked a recent ... Views: 2351
William grew up with a mother who was depressed much of her life. As the oldest of three children with a father who was not around much, William took on a lot of responsibility for his mother's wellbeing. He grew up as a kind and caring man, believing that he was responsible for another's ... Views: 3228
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Do you have the courage to hang in through the hard times and do the learning and healing we all need to do to create a loving relationship?
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Are you committed to working through the difficult and painful ... Views: 1241
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
October 10, 2016
Do you feel ready to leave your relationship but wonder whether or not this is the right time to call it quits?
Many of my clients struggle with knowing when it's the right time to end a relationship.
Mary asked me:
"I married my first ... Views: 1311
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Are you staying in an abusive relationship because you believe you can change it or not be bothered by it?
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The question of when to leave a relationship comes up over and over with my clients and with the ... Views: 1259
"A woman who I was dating and who I really liked ended our relationship and is dating someone else. I see her all the time at the market and I feel like yelling at her."
"I keep vowing not to, but I keep getting really angry at my husband when he is distant."
"I lost my temper with my ... Views: 2290
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
Hugs can be romantic or disconnecting, depending on your intent in hugging.
Has the romance gone out of your relationship? Has work and/or parenthood left you no time for romance, connection and intimacy?
A major challenge for parents, especially new parents, is ... Views: 1120
Do you find yourself resisting or procrastinating taking loving care of yourself?
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Of course you want to be healthy and fit! Who doesn't? But are you always motivated and willing to do what you need to do to create health and fitness?
Are you ... Views: 992
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Discover that self-love and narcissism are actually opposites!
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It's interesting to me how often people confuse self-love with narcissism – because they are actually opposites in many ways.
Ramona ask a ... Views: 1799
Is there a difference between loving yourself and loving others, or are they one and the same?
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Have you ever been confused about the boundary between loving yourself and also being loving to others?
This is what Rosanna is struggling with. She ... Views: 1595
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Are you shy? Is your shyness getting in the way of your connection with others?
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Have you struggled with being a shy person?
Lily asks:
"I try hard to overcome my shyness and reluctance to stand out, speak ... Views: 1405
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If you are single, do you relate to any of these false beliefs about being in a relationship?
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I have discovered that many of the single people I work with have a number of false beliefs about relationships. If ... Views: 1319
SOUL FREEDOM EXERCISES
Exercises To Do Together
by Al Link and Pala Copeland
SACRAMENTS OF OUR LIVES
Traditionally defined as the outward and visible sign of an inner and invisible grace, a sacrament is something you elevate to the status of holy or sacred. You elevate it to this status by ... Views: 1233
SOUL FREEDOM EXERCISES
Exercises To Do Together
by Al Link and Pala Copeland
PEARLS OF WISDOM
Time for Exercise: five to 15 minutes
Properties Required: none
Steps:
Once per week sit down together and share two or three inspiring thoughts or quotes you have gathered over the ... Views: 1255
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
Do you speak up for your inner child – your feeling self – when someone is judgmental toward you, or they are blaming you or discounting you?
What do you generally do when you are in an interaction with someone and you are feeling anxious, scared or lonely from ... Views: 1089
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Are you able to stand in your truth, or do you let others talk you out of what you know is right for you?
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When the biblical floods hit Colorado on September 12th, I texted my daughter to see if they were okay. ... Views: 1539
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Are you conflict-avoidant? Does conflict terrify you? Discover how to heal this.
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Angela writes:
"I avoid conflict as much as possible because I cannot handle the anxiety it produces in me, as if I am going ... Views: 1321
Have you found it hard to stay open in the face of conflict? Does your wounded self quickly take over, and your conflict resolution skills disappear?
Allison asked me the following question:
"I practice Inner Bonding when I feel I need it. I basically feel connected and when something is ... Views: 964
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
September 12, 2016
Emotional intimacy is essential for sustaining love in a committed relationship. Discover how to create and nourish this deep connection.
Loving coupleThink back to times you felt 'in love.' Aside from chemistry, what was it that drew you to ... Views: 1131
Do you want to be happy in love? If you answered, “Yes”, then you need to know the signs of a good relationship.
Common sense will tell you to find someone you trust and like. But you can learn a whole more with research-based advice that delves deeper.
... Views: 1601
All right, ladies. I trust we all got through Valentine’s Day, right? But let's make this your last February fourteenth when you don’t have a fab date!
To do that, you’re going to have to make some changes. Put simply, stagnation is never good. When you refuse to change or embrace new ... Views: 1808
By Margaret Paul Ph.D.
February 22, 2016
Have you been in love with a narcissist? Are you now going through pain and confusion as a result of the relationship ending?
Have you been in a relationship with a narcissist? Many people are very vulnerable to getting into a relationship with a ... Views: 1507
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Do you have mostly one-way or two-way conversations? What kind of conversationalist are you?
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What happens in your conversations with people? The kind of conversation you have with someone says a lot about both ... Views: 1564
Discover what a boundary is and what it isn't.
Merilee wrote the following question to me in one of my relationship webinars:
"Hi Dr. Paul -- One of my biggest struggles is being open to giving and receiving love, but also setting boundaries. I want to be loving, not ... Views: 1549
Helplessness is a very difficult feeling. It can even feel like life or death to those of us who were left to cry for hours as babies, with no one coming to help us. Because we were so helpless over ourselves as babies and small children, it can trigger feelings of panic. It's hard to remember, ... Views: 3078
Do you try to control during conflict, or are you conflict avoidant? Neither works well to resolve conflict. Discover what does work!
Leslie asks:
"When I approach my partner to address an issue, he only sees me as controlling and creating 'controversy'. He can barely stand ... Views: 1426
A circle of love is the result of people being together with open hearts, and is the most wonderful experience in life.
Have you ever experienced a circle of love?
A circle of love occurs when two or more people are together with completely open hearts - open with their essence, with each ... Views: 1539
One of the sad truths in our society is how empty many people feel, and the devastation their emptiness causes others through their resulting addictive behavior.We have all heard about the sexual acting-out of Anthony Weiner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton and John Edwards. We ... Views: 2741
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Is being duped something you avoid at all costs, or are you willing to be duped in order to keep your heart open?
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No one likes being duped. It feels awful to realize that someone has pulled the wool over our ... Views: 1420
By Margaret Paul, Ph. D.
February 01, 2016
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You CAN heal a fear of being excluded and rejected!
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Many of us grew up experiencing, in one way or another, the pain of ... Views: 1361
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Are you aware of the vast difference between expressing gratitude from your ego wounded self or from your loving adult self?
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"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all ... Views: 1384
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
May 23, 2016
When you do not allow yourself to express yourself with laughter and tears, physical pain, due to stress and a lack of passion for life, may be the result.
Ron grew up in a household where laughter and tears were never expressed. Anger was the main ... Views: 1216
If I had known earlier what I have just learned from reading excerpts, in Newsweek, taken from Elizabeth Edwards' recently released book, I would have gone out and put money on the absolute inevitability of her husband's infidelity. I am quite certain that John Edwards had no choice in the ...If ... Views: 3368
"What's the matter with you?" "How could you do that?""Explain yourself, young lady/young man.""Why are you dressed like that?""Why are you late again?""What did you do to your hair!"How often did you hear some variation of this when ... Views: 2965
We are born with the need to touch and be touched, skin-to-skin. If you were not held and touched with love as you were growing up, then this might be a very deep need for you. But even if you were held and touched with love, you still need it today. It is a basic need.But not all touch meets ... Views: 2476
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Do you often feel unappreciated?
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"I'm a very nice person. I'm a good guy and I do nice things for people, but they never seem to appreciate me, and I feel angry about that," said Martin in one of our first ... Views: 1659
There is one sure fire medicine which cures all pain and opens the way for your greater good. It allows you to sleep well at night, wake up refreshed and filled with enthusiasm for your daily tasks. This medicine is abundantly available, has no side effects and can be taken in large or small ... Views: 6343
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Do you know what triggers you and why?
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Have you ever found yourself suddenly feeling angry or scared or shut down when a moment ago you were feeling fine?
People or situations can trigger us into rage, ... Views: 1695
TONE OUR LANGUAGE
By Barbara Stepp, NLP, DHE® Master Trainer, Clinical Hypnotherapist
IN OUR PREVIOUS newsletters, we talked about our language, the words we think and speak. We said that words create our reality. If we don't say it, we don't get to do it or we don't have to do it. What ... Views: 3621
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We want to be able to trust others to be honest and reliable. Yet are you honest and reliable with yourself? Do you trust your own inner knowing? You will not be able to trust others until you are trustworthy with ... Views: 1406
Is there something you've always wanted to do but have never done? What’s stopping you?
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” –Chinese Proverb
How often do you say to yourself, "I wish I had…..?"
... Views: 1327
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How do you know if you are love addicted? Discover the answer in this article.
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Our culture seems to promote love addiction to such an extent that it seems like a healthy way to relate. While it is very common, ... Views: 1631
Your spiritual guidance is always here for you, but you need to know how to access it. Connecting with Spirit is simple, but not always easy.
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What if you knew that you are never alone - that you are always being guided by a personal source of ... Views: 1147
In your daily life, are you guided by fear or by love? What are the fears that block being loving to yourself and others?
How often is the question, "What is loving to myself and others - what is in my highest good and the highest good of another?" the question that guides your actions? Is ... Views: 1439
Anger is the natural emotion we humans experience in response to a perceived threat, frustration, assault or obstruction to our humanity and who we are.
Anger can basically fall into 2 categories:
- 1. Our native response to not being taken care of properly or our needs being met (which is ... Views: 2165
Have you recently ended a relationship or are you recently divorced? Are you thinking about dating again?
Many times, putting yourself back into the dating scene is a good idea. But how can you know when it is time to start a new relationship?
Here are some questions to ponder:
1. Are you ... Views: 2844