1. Week 4: The Powerful Practice of Giving What You Want to Receive
As we move into Week 4 of our Open-Hearted Relationships Challenge, we are going to practice something truly transformative — giving what you want to receive. Let’s explain that phrase a little more: the difficulties in a relationship often come when we’re not getting what we want to get. For example, it might hurt to not […]
3. How to Become Whole as a Person — and Why That’s So Important for a Relationship
By Chloe Babauta If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my few years of serial monogamy, it’s the extent to which romantic relationships can either enrich or ruin my quality of life. A few years ago, I was in a dead-serious, toxic, codependent relationship. We said “I love you†to each other much too quickly, […]
2. Mindful Listening Quick Tips
Some mindful listening tips, for those doing the Mindful Relationships Challenge: Mindfully watch your urge to talk instead of listen … and don’t act on the urge. Make it a challenge to really listen to the other person, to keep your attention on what they’re saying. As you listen, try to empathize with them, to […]
1. Week 3: Praise & Gratitude Practice in Open-Hearted Relationships
In Week 3 of our Mindful Relationships Challenge, our practice this week will be a heart-opening practice for almost any relationship. In the first two weeks, we started noticing the feelings and narratives that come up for us in relationships … and we started practicing keeping our heart open in the middle of the stress […]
3. Be the Person Others Want to Be Around
When we have relationship problems, our tendency is often to blame it on the other person — they’re being frustrating, they won’t listen, they are inconsiderate. But often it helps to take a look at ourselves, too: what is our contribution to the problem? Are we the best spouse, parent, friend, co-worker we can be? […]
2. Coping with Conflict
Dealing with conflicts is one of the most difficult parts of a relationship. How can mindfulness help? Well, it can help you to see what’s going on: When you’re feeling angry or resentful When you feel you’ve been wronged or attacked When you’re feeling defensive When the other person seems to be feeling any of […]
1. Week 2: Keeping Yourself Open in the Middle of Relationship Stress
As we move into Week 2 of our Mindful Relationships Challenge, we’ll be working on something that is truly transformative: staying open in the middle of stress. Trust me, if you devote yourself to this practice, it can shift your relationship in powerful ways. But before we can do that, it’s important to review what […]
3. On Mindfulness & Focusing on the Other Person
Two of the most important concepts we’ll be working with in the Mindful Relationships Challenge are 1) mindfulness as a tool to improve relationships, and 2) focusing on the other person. Let’s take a look at each of these ideas briefly. Mindfulness in Relationships How does mindfulness help? Well, when I first started making changes, […]