Linda: The heavenly scene was a picture of cooperation and co-creativity. When we are out for ourselves, there is a big price to pay. When we learn to cooperate fully with others, we are all nourished. Our lives are enhanced. We do not feel alone, nor are we encumbered with…

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 any other intention. You may wonder why a book on relationships would be addressing the concept of courage. Anyone who…

Sometimes, only taking action will do… Linda: Marsha’s husband, Larry, was somewhat of a bully. When he didn’t get his way, he would often become critical and judgmental of Marsha, insisting that she comply with his demands. This would upset Marsha because she didn’t feel that Larry was treating her with the respect she deserved. …

40 questions to address to find out. Linda: To establish a great relationship requires emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman, in his brilliant book Emotional Intelligence, tells us what is required to be an emotionally intelligent person. Emotional intelligence is not fixed, and our quotients can change. We can learn to handle relationships smoothly and enjoy them thoroughly, but…

Part 2: The highest level of happiness. Linda: Flow is the ultimate ecstatic experience, the highest level of happiness. A successful marriage operates in flow state a large portion of the time because both partners are meeting challenges with skills. Here is a story of a couple who has discovered what, for them, is an excellent way…

Part 1: Seeking the ecstatic moments together. Linda: Mihalyi Csiksyenkmihalyi, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, is the leading authority on flow state. Flow is happiness, joy, and rapture, the ultimate ecstatic state. In his important book, Flow, he defines flow as enjoyed engagement. There is a feeling of being swept up in the creative process…

“People don’t change.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that sentence, I’d be rich. And it is a sentence, not just grammatically-speaking, but those words sentence the speaker and anyone who has a close relationship with him or her to a future in which substantive life…

Linda: I live in Northern California where we can frequently see the ancient redwood and Sequoias, which are the largest and tallest trees in the world. They grow to a height of more than 250 feet tall and up to 30 feet in diameter. As tall as they are, you…

Linda: It’s hard to admit the awful things we do and say and don’t do and don’t say that cause harm to those we love. All those unskillful choices boomerang back to cause suffering to us as well. If any of these bloopers listed below are ones that you resort…