Monday, February 25, 2019

Happiness and Life's Meaning: Have you thought about it?

green sweater
So what is happiness anyway?  And if we find it will we be content or will we quest for more happiness?  The answer is that most of us in the United States have a drive to reach another state of happiness after we reach the very happiness we thought we once defined.  Yet, the defines of happiness continue to morph and shift as we reach different life cycles. Furthermore, for most of us in the U.S. a drive to have more is a part of the happiness equation.  The Difference Between Happiness and Meaning in Life is worth exploring if ready to engage in you inner psyche.  So, the question is not what is happiness but what is your happiness and how does it fit into your community and your life.

Photo by Alessandro Sicari on Unsplash

Read more about Dr. Strayhorn's practice and philosophy...

Saturday, February 16, 2019

What's Your Sign? No, Really, It Might Be Important!

two women kissing while sleeping
So to make things light and mildly fun.  I ran across this association between kissing and one's zodiac sign in the article Your Star Sign's Kissing Style.  All I can say is my eyebrow raised as I could not help but laugh at myself?  For fun, remember your sensual engagements and ask; what type of kisser am I?
After you identify your flow or non-verbal oral affection you might benefit in understanding the science of it all.  Yes, there is a science of kissing.  So the question might be what's in a smooch? Is kissing Science?
woman sitting on ground while boy standing on her back kissing her at daytime

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash

Read more about Dr. Strayhorn's practice and philosophy...

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Blood Red or Pink? Happy Valentine's Day!


Dark and bloody.  That is not the general theme of today's Valentine’s Day.  With parents rushing to get the perfect red and pink clothing and gift baskets, candy, and cards Valentine’s Day represents love.  But this was not always the case. NPR’s piece The Dark Origins of Valentine’s Day gives good insight into the feast of Lupercalia. The brutality savagery of whipped women,  ritualistically lined up for the men to hit them all with the myth that this would make them fertile.  
So what caused this brutal festival to shift into the cherub whimsical lovey dovey holiday of roses and a box of chocolate?  Perhaps The Dark Origins of Valentine’s Day and How it Becomes the Celebration of Love We Know Today sheds light into the transition as literature most significant poetry began to change the narrative of brutality with passion to ultimately bliss.  

So for those of you out there in love, in long term relationships, or searching for love Valentine’s can be an opportunity to reflect on relationships and your expectations on relationships.  For those in non romantic relationships but have loving feeling for your friends,children, relatives Valentine’s Day is a powerful tool to stop and say “I love you!” I provide couples counseling as well as individual therapy for people that want to explore ways to strengthen and enhance relationships. Wouldn't it be nice if Valentine's Day was weekly?

Monday, February 4, 2019

Love, Divorce and Respect; and, the January curse, or myth?

follow me photography
The holiday season has long past and January is over. We are well into 2019 and Valentine’s Day is upon us.  Love romance and hearts. Yet love is just not all about the hormonal tragedies of Romeo and Juliet and Sleeplessness in Seattle. Often what was once so bliss with watching the sunrise during soulmated passionate talks can end in arbitration or the courts - divorce. For the past several years I believed that January was the biggest divorce month.  It makes sense if you think about it.  If nothing else one could believe that a New Years’ resolution could be the severing of an energy drainer or a return to a Selfed uncoupled relationship.

Despite many thinking that January was the main month for divorce the University of Washington is now saying that