“Humility is often misunderstood. It’s not a matter of having low self-confidence. One of the Latin roots of humility means ‘from the earth.’ It’s about being grounded—recognizing that we’re flawed and fallible. Confidence is a measure of how much you believe in yourself. Evidence shows that’s distinct from how much you believe in your methods…

Think about a person in your life who you trust and who feels accessible to you. If you have a difficult, confusing, or uncomfortable topic to address, this is a person who you turn to, to discuss the topic. Now consider these questions in relation to your interactions with that person:

Have these thoughts ever gone through your mind or have you heard others say them?  “I know I’m struggling with finances right now, but my intuition told me I should buy it.” “I like this guru. My gut tells me to trust him.” “I just know that group of people is causing trouble and should not be trusted.” What is intuition?

I was recently interviewed for the Creative Brain Podcast on the topics of sexual shame, mindful sex, and new ways to communicate responsibly. Haley is a former student and intern of mine, and it was a delight when she and her co-host Rachel interviewed me for their The Creative Brain Podcast! We dove into a lot of the topics in my book…

The San Diego Public Library did a cool thing during our COVID-19 shutdown…they asked local authors to record a short video reading from their books, and added them to their website. I chose a passage from my book, From Madness to Mindfulness: Reinventing Sex for Women, that I thought would be relevant during our difficult times.

I’ve been thinking a lot about communication recently. Initially, I was reflecting on how couples are communicating (or not communicating) during our global pandemic while sheltering-in-place. I know many couples have been struggling.

Let’s talk about sex baby. Cleo sat down with intimacy expert, sex coach, and author of From Madness to Mindfulness: Reinventing Sex for Women, Jennifer Gunsaullus, Ph.D., (aka Dr. Jenn) to discover how women can empower themselves to do exactly that. The trick is to give yourself permission to feel more worthy of love and great sex. Here’s how.

Horny? Stressed? Grieving? Afraid? Lonely? I had a lovely chat with writer Ashley Laderer a couple of weeks ago about what’s going on in people’s sex lives right now during the COVID-19 outbreak. We talked about folks who may have some extra time on their hands because of social/physical distancing and how they could still explore their sexual expression alone and with others.

Paul* messaged me with a sex question on March 13 through Facebook. His wife was out of town for work in the health field addressing coronavirus, although in an office setting. He said that they were “Skyperbating” for now, but he wanted to know if it was safe to have sex with her when she returned home. We talked about the potential risks, and that yes, it will increase his risk of contracting COVID-19.

How did we end up here? In 2nd grade, it was such a joy to hand out Valentine’s to all the kids in the class, and receive cute cards and candy hearts in return.And now?

“Valentine’s Day is stupid.” “It’s just a consumeristic, made-up holiday to get people to feel bad and spend money.” “It’s pathetic if you need to be reminded once a year to show love to your partner.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

What is a “conscious” relationship? Frankly, it seems to be a made-up term, and one that has different meanings depending on who’s writing about it. Nonetheless, I like to use this concept in my personal and professional work.

Here’s my definition: A conscious relationship is one in which both parties strive to be present, kind, communicative, expressed, responsible, connected, and loving. This is the kind of relationship where you both own your shit, don’t brush difficult topics under the rug, and continually devote time, energy, and resources to the health and growth of your relationship.

“Notice where you’re resisting. See if you can soften in those areas,” the yoga teacher instructed.

We were in half-pigeon pose, during the last five minutes of a “Hot Power Yoga” class. For those uninitiated to yoga, what you most need to know about half-pigeon is that any hip tightness or injuries in that area of one’s body can be deeply painful in this position. And it’s a good position to practice surrendering – physically and emotionally surrendering.

As I tuned in to the areas in my groin, thighs, butt, and hips that were fighting the pose, I also reflected on the term “soften.” Soften. When can I soften?