The way we live our days is the way we live our lives, and it can be very easy to let stress, life, and our daily schedules and habits create distance between ourselves and those we love most. Your marriage is the central relationship of your adult life, and it is important that you find a way to maintain and develop intimacy, to be sure you have your partner by your side even when things get rough. If you have noticed a distance developing in your marriage, all is not lost. There are many ways that you can work with your spouse to renew your relationship, become closer, and re-spark…

The honeymoon period of a relationship is that ooey gooey blissed-out moment where you both are in an other-worldly trance, basking in the glow of love, and wondering how you ever lived without one another. There’s no denying it, the honeymoon phase feels good. The tingles on the skin, butterflies in the stomach and heart fluttering in the chest—damn good. The googly eyes, tingly sighs, and jell-o knees—so so good. But, my friend, I’m sorry to break the bad news: The honeymoon phase must end eventually. You need to come down off that high and back to real life—and that’s a good thing. You can’t drive drunk. Just like you…

It’s Spring — and the wedding season is upon us! Happily engaged couples have found their true love, and are eager to enjoy a lifetime of intimacy. Yet, once the honeymoon stage is over, many couples find that intimacy eludes them. While intimacy is essential to a happy marriage, many of us find it difficult to define and conceptualize. Intimacy means different things to different people, and it’s not a term we use very often. What is intimacy? Intimacy is defined as: a close, familiar, affectionate and loving personal relationship; detailed knowledge or deep understanding of something; the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar with someone. Marital intimacy encompasses…

Young or old, single or coupled, each of us is faced with the great challenge of learning to love. At the heart of our entire journey to intimacy lie what I call our Core Gifts, the parts of ourselves which are most sensitive to the joys, pains and nuances of intimacy. Understanding our unique Core Gifts gives us a key to understanding our entire relationship lives–and ourselves- in a much deeper way. Two simple questions will help you discover your own Core Gifts. As I describe in my upcoming book Deeper Dating, our Core Gifts are our points of greatest sensitivity in our lives and our relationships. We find them in the things that inspire, soothe and…

Back before smartphones, date night was about 2 people spending quality time alone together. Now, thanks to the endless stream of messaging and social media updates available at our fingertips, even the most intimate dinner can be interrupted by literally every single person you’ve ever met. And new research published in the academic journal No Shit, Sherlock shows this phenomenon can put strain on your relationship. It’s known as “phubbing” — a portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbing,” with the extra “P” added when it’s toward your partner. According to 2 separate surveys of 453 adults conducted by researchers at Baylor University, ignoring your partner in favor of your phone will…