SimplyNumbers

Eckhart Tolle on being present in relationship

Hafiz: From The Large Jug, Drink

From the Large Jug, Drink

From the large jug, drink the wine of Unity, So that from your heart you can wash away the futility of life's grief.

But like this large jug, still keep the heart expansive. Why would you want to keep the heart captive, like an unopened bottle of wine?

With your mouth full of wine, you are selfless And will never boast of your own abilities again.

Introduction to Sofia Diaz

Sofia Diaz, teacher, yoga practitioner, and lineage holder of the South Indian temple arts, lives and teaches about devotion as a way of life and as a spiritual practice. Although much of her focus is on the feminine, she does ask and helps others to wonder what is the role of devotion within their lives, regardless of gender. Her focus helps others to feel into their bodies, through practices that apply to the western world.

“Devotion is to breathe..” ~ Sofia Diaz

She has over 25 years of intensive study, teaching and daily practice. She is a founding member and part of the faculty of iEvolve, which is is a global network committed to fostering the practice of a World Spirituality. She also holds a Bachelors Degree in dance from Mills College in Oakland, California, and a Master in religious studies from the University of Colorado. She has most recently taught courses at Kripalu, Naropa University and the University of Colorado, and teaches throughout North America.

She has also written extensively about yoga, love, breath and movement and her articles have appeared in dozens of academic and popular journals.

You can listen to her talk with Marc Gafni about love, waiting and devotion in this interview.

Healing betrayal

In this series of YouTube videos, Marc Gafni talks about love and betrayal. He talks about how betrayal is painful, because we are all trying to transcend separation and loneliness, so that we can have intimacy.

Shamanism and universal love

White Cranes, on the Houston Examiner site, discusses Shamanism and how it relates to our lives today. She has been studying and teaching shamanic practices for over 20 years.

Romantic Love Affects Your Brain Like a Drug

Exploring the love drug, joy and sex

Valerie Frankel, of Oprah.com, has posted an article titled ‘Exploring the love drug, joy and sex’. It’s primarily about understanding and enjoying the initial feelings that come with falling in love. It seems like we’ll need these emotions and feelings forever. The author talks about how she feels she is limerent, which is describes an involuntary state, cognitive or emotional, of deeply intense romantic desire for someone else.

Ms. Frankel interviews Dorothy Tennov, Ph.D and Helen Fischer Ph.D on the subject of limerence and love. They both feel that the feeling of limerence will last between 2 to 3 years, but they also state that it can last for longer periods of time. The experts discuss how relationships flow into different stages in which our feelings change and fluctuate. And, Fischer says, "My point is that relationships can be fluid. You can flow from one stage to another if you're able to put energy and attention into the relationship," she says.

Indeed, I can see in my own relationships that limerence can be part of a give-and-take within the relationship. Usually, as I get to know a woman it is a powerful initial feeling, especially when I was younger. But, I feel that a solid, healthy and growing relationship trades its limerent feelings for more fully developed relationship bonds. It’s about knowing and fully honoring the other person, and owning and taking responsibility for the shadow traits and characteristics that you have placed on that person.

The more you can truly honor the other person for who he or she really is, then the more you can develop a real and lasting relationship with them. Working with a tool like the Enneagram can be of great benefit here, because it helps us to understand the motivations behind our desires and actions. Other relationship tools, like Relationship Discussion groups, can serve as important guides in your relationships as well.

Love and the Brain

ABC recently aired a Nightline series, “Secrets of Your Mind: Why We Do What We Do” which was on the brain and love. Overall, the series will explore various topics as they relate to the brain, through the use of case studies. It will explore both the hidden mystery and the hard science of brain and important research.

The focus of the show on love was on how various couples managed the challenges and opportunities around relationship and love in their marriages. The three couples had their own particular issues, but they were a reflection of how we all deal with difficulties in our relationships.

Host, Cynthia McFadden talks with experts, such as Dr. Helen Fischer in the love episode, and various interviewees. In the show on love, McFadden interviewed a couple who were maintaining their marriage after the husband experienced a traumatic brain injury, and another couple in which the husband has a debilitating brain condition which causes him to be literally paralyzed when he experiences too many emotions, and a third couple that took a 2200 motorcycle mile road trip to explore their love together.

Numerology, Intimacy and Sexuality - part 2

When having any kind of intimate conversation with your partner, it is important to try not to bring intolerance, blame or fault into your conversation. Your conversation should be about what works, and what can work better. You may use your Outer and Destiny Numbers to support the discussion, as these numbers generally reflect your attitudes toward intimacy, bonding, tolerance, family life. All of these things have a profound impact on the way you hold and express yourself, and your sexuality,

Your relationship discussion process can best support the two of you when it is based around constructive talk on how each of you can help to strengthen, mature and build your relationship. For instance, while looking at your partner's Soul Number, one of the first questions you might want to ask is: “What holds you back from achieving your passion?” or “What do you want in your life?” Helping each other to answer these questions builds trust, and deepens intimacy.

Now if you are married, you may think you know the answers. But, there is no harm in asking. Maybe you will learn something new, and the goal here is to deepen and find ways to help your partner grow, achieve, and become stronger by helping him\her to actively pursue interests.

Be aware of pitfalls that derail real and honest conversation. Your Maturity Number shows some of your potential strengths and weaknesses as you mature in life. Some of us may never fully utilize its full power. It can help you to both be vigilant of potential hazards in your relationship. For instance, if you both have a Maturity Number 8, then money may be a big issue in your relationship and you can center your talks on that issue.

Relationships, Health and Love

There are quite a few researches studying the power that love has in our lives. Harry Reis, PhD is one of them. He primarily studies human behaviors within the context of relationships. A focus of his is on the study of the impact that behavior and thought have on relationships and our physical and mental health.

He is also co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Human Relationships. The book, which is a research reference manual, tries to give a thorough examination of all kinds of relationships across many disciplines.

In an essay on WebMD he identifies ways that love helps our health.

• Fewer visits to the doctor
• Less depression
• Less substance abuse
• Lower blood pressure
• Less anxiety
• Helps with pain
• Better stress management
• Fewer colds
• Faster healing
• Longer life
• Happier life