This quarter in our classes, Eric and I are studying Personal Assessment. Specifically,we’re examining the cultural impact we hope to have with our lives and work. I couldn’t help but think about the difference Core Values makes in our world! Many people...
What about does self-care have to do with intimacy? This week I feel like I’ve come out of a long, Portland winter hibernation. After months of enjoying the coziness of this chilly season, all of a sudden I want to be outside. All the time! The nicer weather...
When was the last time you and your significant other did something a little wild? A little out-there? When did you throw caution to the wind and head out on an adventure together? Adventure can look very different to different couples. Maybe your adventure is found...
This last week as I was doing another interview for our doctoral studies, I spoke with our mentor, Dr. David Manock. He is an expert in the area of relationships and neurobiology as well as intersubjectivity psychodynamic analysis. That’s a mouthful, right? But it is...
Here at Core Values, we always knew relationships were important–but now there’s a 75-year study to confirm it! Happiness is a goal of almost every person on the planet, a goal many people believe can be achieved by financial freedom, prestige, fame or...
Tough times have a tendency to surprise us, but there is nothing more inevitable.You will face challenges. It’s completely normal and natural! With every mountaintop experience, there will always be a valley. The key is to know your obstacle and prepare accordingly. I...
Today as I finished my book review for “The Prophetic Imagination,” I was able to share some of my insights with my son, Thomas, who happens to relate deeply to the idea of the ‘prophetic.’ To be honest, this was not an easy read for me — but as I read back...
I’d like to introduce you all to Kristen Beireis. She became certified with me using the Core Values Index about a year and half ago and has been incorporating it in her business, which involves helping people like us market ourselves and our business according...
These past few weeks Eric and I have been assessing our community by ASKING others what they see happening that is good, where the needs are and what breaks their hearts for relationships. It’s a cold-call process that’s part of our doctoral study, and it’s been...
Eric and I recently started an adventure: a doctoral program with Bakke Graduate University for Transformational Leadership! These two weeks have been an incredible journey already and it’s an astonishing delight to me how much our current courses relate to our work...
I did not want to bother with the resolution this year. Instead, I am taking time to focus and tune into what I want 2016 to be about. I want it to be about change…BIG change! And so far, so good, because this week…Eric and I start our doctoral work. YES!...
Welcome to 2016! Have you ever noticed how many amazing movies come out this time of year? It seems like Hollywood saves the good stuff for winter! And it makes sense — more people go see movies in the winter, after all. What else are we going to do in this cold...
Well, it’s coming: The New Year. And with it, the obligatory flood of emails, blogs, soundbites, and ‘inspirational’ self-help books to remind you that you’d better make some resolutions. It’s a new year! Fresh start! Make goals! Make them huge, unattainable,...
Hurry and get those last minute deals…pick the perfect gift…make sure and do those end of the year reports…make those cookies…send those cards…and the list goes on and on. As I stated last week, I had a bit of the “Bah-Humbugs,” but this...
Christmastime can be so fun and festive…not to mention full of frustration and seething anger, right? I don’t want to be a scrooge here, but have you ever noticed how this time of the year brings out the worst in people…maybe even in yourself? Well, you...
How can our own wounds, despite being painful, become powerful healing compounds to our relationship? It’s kind of mysterious how this works. Shared pain is actually a way to mobilization. Moving through the pain of the wound together is a way to not only...
Have you ever wondered how a once healthy and vital relationship can hit the skids? We all know it doesn’t happen overnight, but do we know how it begins to erode away? Of course, it can happen in a million different ways, but the most significant one I’ve...
When we feel that guttural urge to resist a suggestion, it often comes with a lot of discomfort. We don’t like the suggestion. We don’t want to do this. We might feel guilty about it, bringing even more resistance. That’s what happens with me when Eric wants me to...
Margin: An extra amount of something (such as time or space) that can be used if it is needed. Do you have this extra time or space in your life? I know I don’t! This is, in fact, one of my greatest challenges. Firstly, I think I have to realize the deficit it...
Whenever you do something out of your comfort zone, especially in relationships, it can be very difficult to deal with the after effects. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been reading “Rising Strong” by Brene Brown, PhD, which deals with this very...
