Blog | Relationship Resources for Couples & Individuals

Letters From Esther #19: Routines and Rituals

My monthly newsletter and workshop is meant to inspire you to reflect, act, and develop greater confidence and relational intelligence in all of your relationships. This month's theme is: Routine and Rituals.

The 3 Types of Relationship Fights You Keep Having—And What To Do About Them

Your relationship arguments aren't always about what you think they are. Read more to learn about the three hidden dimensions under most relationship fights and how to break the loop.

Letters from Esther #18: Questions That Meet People Where They Are Now

How Erotic Thinking Helps Emotional Connection

Creativity is where Eroticism lives. No matter how effective our routines have been—or how much we’ve even enjoyed them—if they’re not filled with creativity, they inevitably leave us numb. Read more on how eroticism helps emotional connection.

Letters From Esther #17 - Eroticism Suffered in 2020; Fantasy Thrived

My monthly newsletter is meant to inspire you to reflect, act, and develop greater confidence and relational intelligence in all of your relationships. This month's theme is: Eroticism Suffered in 2020; Fantasy Thrived.

Coping With Loneliness Around The Holidays

Feeling lonely around the holidays can make us feel as if something is wrong with us. Everybody else seems to know how to be happy, how to be together, how to be festive, merry, and bright. But feeling lonely around the winter holidays is extremely common. Read more about coping with loneliness around the holidays and some resources to help you face it.

Letters from Esther #16: Who Was There For You?

My monthly newsletter and workshop series meant to inspire you to reflect, act, and develop greater confidence and relational intelligence in all of your relationships. This month's theme is: Who Was There For You?

The Best Steamy Movie Scenes—And Why You Should Indulge

There is something to be said for the specific elixir of escapism and engagement that a great sex scene can inspire in us, whether we’re watching alone or with a partner, in bed or cozied up on the couch with candles lit. Read more for a collection of steamy movie scenes from Esther and our community, and why you should indulge.

Letters From Esther #45: The Question that Comes Up in All New Adult Friendships

Letters from Esther #44: What does repair look like in relationships?

Letters from Esther #43: “Would you rather be right or be married?”

Letters From Esther #42: My Worst Valentine’s Day

Letters From Esther #41: A Practical New Year’s Resolution? Find Balance.

Looking for a more practical new year’s resolution? Find a balance between structures that ground and motivate us and guilt-free spontaneity which allows us to take risks, explore, and yes, occasionally overindulge in life’s pleasures. Read more on the importance of balancing structure and spontaneity in the new year.

Letters From Esther #40: Contemplating Hope

Letters From Esther #39: Thanksgiving & Belonging

Letters From Esther #38: How I Learned to do What I do

Six Essential Practices to Improve Listening Skills in Relationships

The way we listen shapes a conversation as much as the way we speak or respond. Nothing makes us feel more deeply connected than when we are engaged in a healthy balance of thoughtful speaking and hardcore listening. Read more on my six essential practices to improve listening in your relationships and learn to strike the delicate balance of receiving and reciprocating.

The Other 3 Little Words: I Love You, But—What Are We?

Saying “I love you” has long been the ultimate marker of seriousness in the early months of romantic relationships. In the last few decades, however, the rise of the “situationship” has elongated the dating phase, elevating a different set of “three little words” to the pantheon of important relational dialogue. Read more on why discussing “What are we?” is an important part of creating a shared reality with healthy boundaries and expectations in a relationship.

Our Comfort with Intimacy Has A Lot to do with These 7 Verbs

Love is an active verb. It’s imbued with intention and meaning and contains an implicit call to action. In the language of intimacy, basic fluency comes down to just seven verbs. The experiences that revolve around these shape our beliefs about ourselves and our expectations of others. Read more on the seven verbs of intimacy and how they help us to understand not just how we learned to love and be loved—but how we want to now.

Articles

Letters from Esther #61: The Art of Erotic Communication