Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category

It’s a Man Eat Man World

Monday, May 14th, 2012

May must be National Reading Month because I have another great book to tell you about. It’s called Finding True Love in a Man Eat Man World by Craig Nelson.

The very first chapter talks about how gay men successful go about avoiding  love and gives a few archetypes they often play in gay love relationships.

Mr. Miserable focuses on his weaknesses rather than his strengths. For him, the glass is always half empty. Mr. Sabotage is caught in a trap of feeling lonely so he looks for love but when it turns serious he looks for a way out. And he repeats the cycle. Mr. Ugly thinks he’s too ugly to find someone, and ignores all the fine qualities he has. There are others, but you get the picture.

So what’s the key to avoiding becoming one of these gentlemen and to finding what we’re all looking for: someone to love us unconditionally for who we are? Good self-esteem, self-respect, and a solid sense of yourself. These will take you further in attracting a long-term lover than any other qualities you may have. And that goes for the other man, too. Once you know and accept yourself and understand “I’m a real catch” you can avoid any guy who has self-hatred and attract great guys. Real serenity and comfort are incredibly attractive magnets.

Know what you have to give. Know that others are waiting for you to give it. Not in a conceited way, but from a realistic, honest way that comes from self-knowledge and perspective. Once you come at it from that angle, you’ll attract men like flies to honey.

The bottom line: You attract what you are, not what you want.

Think about that for a while.

Create Your Vision Board

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

I am so happy to have discovered another great resource to share with you in my never-ending quest to help my gay male clients find the successful love relationship they, and all gay men, deserve. It’s a fascinating book called Feng Shui Life Mapping by Salvatore Manzi. His website is here.

I particularly like the chapter on Vision Boarding, which is a process in which you create a collage on a feng shui bagua. You may know that in feng shui there are nine baguas, areas of your home that correspond to the nine areas of your life. The one I want to focus on is, of course, the Love and Partnership bagua located at the back, right-hand corner of your home.

A vision board is good because creating clear intention and setting goals is not always enough for everyone. For love and partnership, your vision board could include visual representations like a candlelit dinner table, kissing lips, hands clasped together, etc. The key is to really think about specific images. You can also have verbal affirmations as part of your vision board, like, “I am going on a fabulous vacation with my ideal partner” or whatever inspires/motivates you.

There are three steps to creating a successful vision board:

• give yourself 25 minutes to find the images

• tear the whole page from the book/magazine instead of cutting it out and trying

to crop it perfectly or get the perfect size

• collage for 25 minutes

Don’t strive for perfection. It can be all over the place. In fact, that’s what a collage is supposed to be.

To “activate” your vision board (very important!) do these three things:

• share it with people you love – this is vital because the power of a shared intention makes it manifest faster

• display your feng shui map. Meditate on it. Put it on your phone, or make it the wallpaper for your laptop. Put it by your desk. The key is to have it where you’ll see it.

• put it in the actual love and partnership bagua – the rear, right-hand corner of your home

I love my vision board and I get lots of inspiration and power from it. I know you will too. Salvatore Manzi is all about creating a supportive environment that propels you to your dreams. I couldn’t agree more. Try vision boarding for yourself and let me know how it goes. Better yet, send me a picture of yours, if you’d like to. I’d love to see it!

Don’t Fear the Shadows

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

The path I’ve been talking about in this series of posts is, of course, the path of personal growth. I talk a lot about it because I believe it’s the key to finding bliss – the loving relationship you want. The transformational coach Debbie Ford has a lot say about this topic, too.

Ford writes that sometimes on this path we have to deal with what Carl Jung called the shadow. All the parts of ourselves we’ve tried to hide or deny, or that we think aren’t acceptable to our family, friends, and most important, ourselves. The message we get from this shadow is simple: there is something wrong with me. I’m not okay. I’m not lovable. I’m not deserving. I’m not worthy.

My message to clients is just the opposite. Of course you are worthy and lovable. We all are! The key to overcoming this obstacle on your path is to own and embrace the very things you’re most afraid of. As Debbie Ford asserts, they actually hold our most treasured gifts. And as I truly believe, this includes a sustained, beautiful loving relationship with another gay man. Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. You won’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not or prove you’re good enough. In other words, find the gifts of your shadow and you’ll find the freedom to create the life you’ve always desired.

Read more on defeating your shadows here.

My dog ate my homework

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Stop making excusesSometimes on our path towards love we encounter all sorts of excuses why we can’t stay on the path and some of them have little or nothing to do with being gay. These excuses can crop up throughout our day when we least expect it –sometimes we don’t even notice them – and they prevent us from making progress toward the things we want.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, who as you know is one of my favorites, has created a mobile app you can take on the road with you as a weapon of sorts against all those excuses. It’s called The Excuses Begone app, and it’s based on his book by the same name. It features 18 of the most common excuses and the affirmations to defeat them. And, it’s free!

Just go to the iTunes store to download it. It’s an on-the-go way to help create the life you want. Let go of I’m too busy, I’m too tired, It’s too hard and all your other excuses. And get on with getting where you want to go.

Use Your Words

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Another challenge on the road to a lasting relationship is learning the skill of conscious communication. It’s not an inborn gift, but with practice you can become a master of clear communication. According to psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, it’s a simple process:

1. Identify the event that triggered your emotional upset. Be as objective as possible when doing this. Saying “My boyfriend is never on time,” is less useful than saying “He said he’d be here at 7:00 and didn’t show up until 7:30.”

2. Take responsibility for your feelings. Describe your feelings like this: “I feel frustrated,” or “I feel jealous.” Avoid words that reinforce a sense of victimization, such as “I feel neglected” or “I feel rejected.” When you do this, you’re informing the other person, not blaming him.

3. Identify what you need that you’re not receiving. Most of us subconsciously expect our loved ones to know what we need and to spontaneously provide it. I don’t have to tell you that this rarely happens.

4. Ask for what you want. Be specific when doing this. For example, if you want more attention from your partner, don’t just ask him to spend more time with you.

Ask him to go on a walk with you after dinner, or to a movie on Saturday night. But don’t make demands because we all have an inherent impulse to resist demands. And the cool part is that our self-esteem is raised when we’re able to fulfill a request.

Follow these four steps, and you’re much more likely to feel comfortable and at ease – both in your own skin and in a gay relationship – as opposed to going through your days in emotional distress.

Conscious communication and emotional awareness are vital components of the Chopra Center’s Perfect Health program. Learn more here.

Pass the Wire Strippers

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

April showers may bring May flowers, but they can also get in the way of other plans, like picnics and hikes and puddle avoidance. But one good thing about the recent wet weather is that it has inspired me to write a series of blogs about some of the challenging things you may have to get through before true gay love blossoms.

One of these is understanding how your brain is wired when it comes to relationships and realizing how it got that way in the first place. A new book by Marsha Lucas, Ph.D. explains how using the practice of mindfulness meditation can help you reach this understanding, and shows you how to rewire your brain. Naturally, the book is called Rewire Your Brain For Love.

Mindfulness meditation is recognized by top academic institutions for its effectiveness in changing the brain. Dr. Lucas shows you how, in just a few minutes of practice a day, you can change the way you interact with everyone around you, especially those closest to you. You can transform your brain, or rewire it, to support you in all matters of the heart. Keep fear from running the show. Cultivate empathy. Avoid overreacting. There’s lots more – all of it helping you find and create a vibrant, successful gay relationship.

So break out your splicers and start rewiring. And let me know how it goes!

Five Steps to Bliss

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

If your intention is to find bliss, here are five steps you can follow to help you.

 

1 – Acknowledge

Acknowledge your fears, and challenges. Also acknowledge that, like all of us, you’re culturally conditioned to accept what life gives you and that we have no power to change it. Nothing could be further from the truth! But acknowledging the negative in life, allowing it to be with you, gives you the ability to shift it. You can forgive yourself, then change the behavior around it.

 

2 – Imagine

Thinking with awareness is very powerful, especially if you know yourself. Imagine yourself in a healthy relationship with a loving partner can do wonders in manifesting it in your life. Refer to my previous entry about “I am” statements.

 

3 – Believe

What are your dreams and your beliefs about your dreams? Are you willing to change the concept of yourself from ordinary to champion, or from lonely to lover? Really believing in yourself – and what you imagine for your life – is your greatest power. This is one of the core values I teach my clients so it’s one of the steps to finding bliss too. What do you tell yourself when you look in the mirror? Try this simple exercise: Write 5 positive characteristics that describe who you want to be today. See what happens!

 

4 – Feel

This is where the other guy comes in. Allow yourself to feel the emotion of being with a partner. Try another exercise I call Magic Wand, which is a visualization with your eyes closed. Imagine the wand can erase all your fears and uncertainties from the past, and start imagining your ideal man: his skin, hair, clothes, smell, feel, personality, back story, all of it. Continue with imagining your life together, and let the emotions that come up for you wash over you. Stay with the visual for a while. Write down your thoughts and feelings. Put it on the mirror or somewhere else you’ll see it regularly and repeatedly (at least once a day).

 

5 – Act

After all this visualizing and thinking and imagining – it’s time to give it a shot. It’s time to act. Once you believe in yourself, acting is easy (that’s why it’s the last step!). When you act, be courageous and remember that any obstacles are experience and learning lessons from which you can take away something constructive. If you step out of your comfort zone, you’d be surprised what can happen. Let people know you’re single. Tell them you’re looking. Let them know what your visualization looks like. And see what comes back to you. Be grateful for what does (more on gratitude later).

It’s easy to list steps, but it can be tougher to actually follow them. Believe me, I know. That’s why I say, “Get started!” The time is now. Your blissful future awaits.

The Essence of Your Desire

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Dr. Wayne Dyer, Manifest Your DestinyOne of the many books I’ve been reading recently is Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles of Getting Everything You Want by one of my favorite authors – and people – Dr. Wayne Dyer.

The 8th principle is Patiently Detach from the Outcome.

It’s hard to follow, but oh is it worth it.

It addresses how we set specific goals for ourselves, but then start talking from the ego and subsequently get sidetracked. The key to overcoming this is knowing – at your core – that you’re aligned with what you need to be doing at this time in your life, and having infinite patience about the outcome.

For example, if one of your “I am”s is: I am financially secure – then you have to forget about your current situation and really think about what you want, what your end result looks like.

How does this relate to dating hunky men? I’m so glad you asked.

It means to just remember what it feels like to be in a relationship and don’t focus on the how or the what or on how many dates it’ll take to “seal the deal.” No! Think about what it feels like to have the end result. Or, as Dr. Dyer says, think about “the essence of your desire.”

The essence could be feeling miraculous, feeling wonderful, being in love, feeling amazing, whatever.

What does the essence of being in love feel like to you?

Focus on that – and the results will come; it’s inevitable!

The bottom line is: you’ve created a story and it’s become your life. Part of that is thinking that love is not possible for you. That you can’t make it happen and you don’t have that power.

But the truth is you do – we all do. Because we are always connected. We just need to remember that.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Next Tuesday March 27th @ 7p – Single or in a relationship, come join me and other wonderful gay men on for my 3d Workshop “And They Lived Happily Ever After”! Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and some new ones! This is a free workshop at the Gazebo Davies Medical Center.

gay relationships and dating workshop

“I am manifesting.”

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Make I am statements and manifest your futureHere’s a great quote from Neville, a spiritual teacher and philosopher who died in 1972:

Disregard appearances, conditions, in fact all evidence of your senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you are already what you want to be, for in that determined assumption you and your Infinite Being are merged in creative unity, and with your Infinite Being all things are possible.

I used this quote in one of my recent workshops and I like to remind my clients and catches of this because it really makes sense. People in general – myself included – tend to forget that we have this undeniable force and we very strong manifesters. So if we talk about the things we are not [I’m not patient, I’m not attractive, I’m not successful, I’m not lovable, etc.] these things are just going to continue to show up in our life.

So I challenge my clients to shift their perspective. Instead, create “I am”s. Some examples:

I am passionate.

I am happy.

I am determined.

I am successful.

I am in a relationship.

I am going to travel the world.

And so on.

This exercise had a huge impact in the workshop! It did indeed change the way some participants viewed things. It opened some eyes.

Even if you don’t believe these “I am”s in the moment, you can still incorporate them into a daily ritual. Make the statements, and don’t assume they may or may not be true.

Another quote I love, that’s tied to manifestation, is “Everything that has been conceived was once imagined.” Think about how true that actually is, from the invention of the paper clip to the manifestation of a happy life, well-lived.

This concept is so powerful in relationships. If we start imagining that wonderful man in our lives, if we have the power to conceive this, with a little determination we can manifest it.

What are your “I am”s? Make a list of them. Try repeating them out loud, at least once a day. Remember, they can be wide-ranging and they are unique to you. You never have to show them to anyone. But if you’d like to share some of them, I am all ears. (OMG, I just made another “I am” statement. See how easy it is?)

More examples:

I am learning another language.

I am going skiing this winter.

I am taking an art class.

I am a great communicator.

I am worthy of respect.

Whatever it is, whatever appears on this list, it should be there because it fulfills you and makes you happy. Eventually, repetition will lead to belief in these statements and in your own power to manifest them. And the more you manifest the things that fulfill you, the more open you are to finding someone to share all your wonderful “I am”s with, and who will share his with you.

Now get to “I am”ing. I am hoping to hear from you!