Announcing the Love TV Show

We’re excited to present the first episode of the LOVE TV Show, our new provocative look into current events and trends that broaden the conversation about love, sex and intimacy.

Is it possible to fall in love by just asking 36 questions?  Well Dr. Arthur Aaron thinks so!   His 1997 study from the State University of New York has bubbled up recently in a New York Times article on modern dating. This week we explore the 36 Questions that when posed to a pair of strangers are the stuff of cupid’s arrow.

More importantly, perhaps, might we have more power over who we love? Could these seemingly simple queries help existing couples or could they be used for platonic relationships as a bonding exercise? Check out the questions below, broken into two sets, and share your own conclusions in our comments.

      Set I

  1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
  2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?
  3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?
  4. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?
  5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?
  6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?
  7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?
  8. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.
  9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
  10. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?
  11. Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.
  12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?Set II
  13. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?
  14. Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?
  15. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?
  16. What do you value most in a friendship?
  17. What is your most treasured memory?
  18. What is your most terrible memory?
  19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?
  20. What does friendship mean to you?
  21. What roles do love and affection play in your life?
  22. Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items.
  23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?
  24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

    Set III
  25. Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling … “
  26. Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share … “
  27. If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.
  28. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.
  29. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.
  30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?
  31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already.
  32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?
  33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?
  34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?
  35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?
  36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.

For more information and background on the study, check out

http://www.businessinsider.com/questions-psychologist-says-can-make-you-fall-in-love-2015-1

And if you’d like to check out the original, see below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/fashion/modern-love-to-fall-in-love-with-anyone-do-this.html?mwrsm=Email

 

This Kiss Proves Love Has No Boundries

Have you ever joked that someone is acting “like a girl”? Or that they “look like a lesbian”? Or avoided making eye contact with someone you think is disabled? A new movement called “Love Has No Labels” explores the snap judgments we make in a beautiful PSA, which they launched Tuesday.

In the video, the audience sees skeletons kissing, hugging, and dancing with each other. The first couple seems totally in love; you assume one of the figures is a guy, because of his height difference, with his girlfriend. But when the couple emerges from behind the X-ray screen, they’re both women, and the crowd nervously laughs at its preconceived notions.

The “Love Has No Labels” website explains that while most Americans agree everyone should be treated in a respectful and fair manner, many of us report sometimes feeling discriminated against and accidentally discriminating ourselves. The “Love Has No Labels” project hopes to reduce unintentional discrimination, or implicit bias, by calling attention to the subconscious judgments we make every day.

“To end bias, we need to become aware of it,” the project states. “And then we need to do everything within our power to stop it. In ourselves, others, and institutions. The world will be a better place for it.”


Curated by Lesley

Original Article

 

How to Turn Her On With a Sensual Massage

You know that feeling you get at the end of a long week where your whole body is just exhausted? What if we told you there was a way to fix that AND get intimate with your partner? Sensual massage is a great idea for couples looking to unwind while also getting a little sexy. In these 7 easy steps, you’ll get rid of her knots while getting her in the mood for love!

Step 1: Set the scene
Set the scene for her full body sensual massage by finding just the right spot and putting sexy music on the sound system.

Step 2: Warm things up
Light some candles and warm a bottle of massage oil in a bowl of hot water. Make sure your hands are warm, too!

Step 3: Begin the massage
Invite her to lie face down. Straddle her, rub a few drops of oil between your hands, and begin massaging her shoulders. Use the flat of your hand, fingers pressed together, to give even strokes.

Tip
If her shoulders are tight, loosen them by rubbing them with one of your elbows.

Step 4: Move back down
Move down to her feet, giving each one a good rub before working back up her legs to her thighs.

Tip
Lightly trace a triangle on each inner thigh, from a few inches below her pubic bone to the inside of her knee. This is an erogenous zone.

Step 5: Stroke her bottom
Stroke her butt, using your thumb to gently massage the sacrum, the area just above the crease of her buttocks — a spot that will really turn her on.

Step 6: Turn her over
Turn her over, pour a few drops of oil on her stomach, and gently stroke her belly, moving up toward her breasts.

Step 7: Give her a happy ending
Now that you’ve turned her on, give her a happy ending. With any luck, she’ll return the favor.

Did You Know?
Massage soothes people by lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

The Scientifically Proven Best Way To Kiss

I think we can all agree that when it comes to love and romance, it definitely takes two to tango. Sometimes, from the moment you lock eyes with that guy you’ve been crushing on, it can be hard to think about anything else except when you’ll have the perfect fairytale. But according to Buzzfeed’s video, a staggering 59% of students “have said their initial attraction ended after the first kiss.”:

Even though it sounds crazy (and a bit ridiculous, to be honest) that a kiss was the be-all end-all for some, it sort of makes sense. No matter how head over heels we are for someone, having anot so satisfactory kiss would put a damper on things. But if you’ve been wondering what tips and tricks will send sparks everytime, learning how to kiss the right way (according to science!) is the first step.

Girls, not only is eye contact a major difference between a dud and a success, employing tactics that’ll make it last will work in your favor. After all, “Your lips have one of the largest concentration of nerves than anywhere else on the body. These nerves send millions of signals to both you and your partners brains, releasing a rush of feel good hormones…This hormonal and chemical exchange will help you and your partner decide to pursue something more.”

So get ready to pucker up and put your skills to the test.


Original Article

 

Using Siri Can Get You A Date

I always wondered if Siri could help you get a date…I guess she can!

As crazy as this video may seem, it isn’t fake. Haha, we really had no idea who the people were that we were approaching. We just used a little bit of magic to get their phone number :).


 

Curated by Erbe
Original Source

How to Become a Tantrika

By extending and expanding the body’s capacity for pleasure, we celebrate the sacred in others and ourselves. Erotic feeling is a vehicle for exploring ecstatic states and deepening intimacy. Tantra invites us to transform sexual experience by seeing ourselves and our partners differently – releasing cynicism and judgment, and honouring the spirit within.


 

Curated by Erbe
Original Source

Ways to Spark Your Sex Life

When love is new, everything is exciting, including making love. It’s partly why that first few months of married bliss is called the “honeymoon stage”—everything is great, wonderful, and thrilling. However, over time and throughout the years, you may feel a little less energetic about getting intimate with your better half. Here’s how to boost sexual energy.


Curated by Erbe
Original SOurce

The Secret to Intimacy

Love can be broken down into three categories; passion, intimacy and commitment. But what comes first and what leads to what? If you can’t choose to be intimate with someone, how can you make sure it sticks around? This week we meet real couples and investigate the secret behind intimacy.

3 Ways to Prevent a Sex-Starved Marriage

Is the key to your sexual success in your marriage center around communication? Do you and your spouse actively act out your needs and desires? We take a look at underlying issues that can help you communicate your wildest desires to get the passionate sex life you and your partner crave.


 

Do (or did) you and your spouse have significantly different levels of desire for sex? If so, you are not alone. Did you know that 1 in 3 couples has a sexual desire gap? But just because you aren’t alone, it doesn’t mean you should be complacent about a ho-hum sexual relationship. You shouldn’t. It can lead to a miserably angry spouse, infidelity and divorce. If you don’t believe me, watch this TEDx talk on The Sex-Starved Marriage

And although solutions to this sexual divide abound in magazines, self-help books and other pop psychology outlets, there is a little talked about fact underlying the problems associated with this sexual void.

The No’s have veto power.

Here’s the scoop. The spouse with lower sexual drive controls the frequency of sex — if she or he doesn’t want it, it generally doesn’t happen. This is not due to maliciousness or a desire for power and control, it’s just seems unimaginable to be sexual if one is not in the mood.

Furthermore, there is an unspoken and often unconscious expectation that the higher desire spouse must accept the no-sex verdict, not complain about it and remain monogamous. After decades of working with couples, I can attest that this is an unfair and unworkable arrangement.

This is not to say that infidelity is a viable solution to disparate sexual interests. It isn’t. As with all relationship conflicts, being willing to find middle ground is the best way to insure love’s longevity.

The Secret to Desire in a Long-Term Relationship

In long-term relationships, we often expect our beloved to be both best friend and erotic partner. But as Esther Perel argues, good and committed sex draws on two conflicting needs: our need for security and our need for surprise. So how do you sustain desire? With wit and eloquence, Perel lets us in on the mystery of erotic intelligence.


Curated by Erbe
Original Source

Who You Really Need to Marry

Have you made a loving commitment to yourself?


Tracy McMillan is a television writer (Mad Men, United States of Tara) and relationship author who wrote the book Why You’re Not Married…Yet, based on her viral 2011 Huffington Post blog.

Who You Really Need to Marry

In her TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen talk, McMillan answers the question: “Who is the one person you need to marry in order to have a successful relationship? (Yourself)”