Hey Everyone!

Check out this hilarious You Video Tube I did with Relationship Expert Maryanne Comaroto about her new book HINDSIGHT: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers.  We were recording two shows for Just for Women and I must say - recording video is A LOT of fun!

We had so much fun together (if you can’t tell) we decided to create a new internet TV show - The Inner View - where we will discuss important topics in men and women’s empowerment each week. So stay tuned to both shows and thank you for letting us serve you!
Someone please tell me how to embed video into this blog!

Thanks!

Alissa

PART TWO OF A TWO PART SERIES

Author and Relationship Expert Maryanne Comaroto is back to delve a little deeper into what we MUST ask men BEFORE we jump into the sack with them! She says, “We just don’t want to know; we would rather live in a fantasy and be lead on than deal with what is actually going on right in front of our eyes” - touche!

Maryanne details for us highly useful tools and information from her new book HINDSIGHT: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers, such as the SHOMI method of taking a few quiet minutes everyday to really tap into what our bodies and spirits are trying to tell us.

Don’t miss this lively and all important interview with America’s Leading Relationship Expert who is willing to call BS on many of the unconscious and dysfunctional patterns that exist today in the modern world of dating, relationships and sex!  Here is a little teaser:

Maryanne Comaroto: But here is the thing that keeps happening; men keep coming and orbiting into your life, so the other thing I recommend and what this part of the program I think we’re going to talk a little bit more about is here I am going along with my little self-care practice, feeling good about myself, taking myself for walks, bubble baths, sending myself flowers, and all of a sudden I go out and there he is and that goes out the window and next thing I know my underwear are around my ankles, I’m doing, you know, the rumpy pumpy with some guy I just met because I’m sure he’s the one. Now this is not an unusual story. Why does that happen and why is that so dangerous? Well, you know, Alissa we could look at some of the statistics out there. Lets start in college. Date rape is on the rise. Being a single mother is on the rise. The divorce rate, lets keep moving along, is on the rise.

Alissa Kriteman: Not to mention domestic violence…

Maryanne Comaroto: That’s right. On the more dramatic end of the scale, death. Next year, 2009, between two and four thousand women are going to die as a result of domestic abuse, okay. These things are nothing for us to sneeze at. So on the very extreme left, lets call it, you need some skills and tools when you meet someone just for your very safety, okay. Chemistry is going to probably try to talk you into not using those tools and skills. You get close enough to somebody whose had some problems, gets an STD… I know gals who tell me all the time, “Oh my gosh, I have herpes. I can’t tell the guy.” Well how do you think you got it, you know?

 Tune in today! 

In my world, being in a long term committed relationship can sometimes be one of the most challenging adventures I have ever experienced.  Nowhere else have I ever felt so angry, vulnerable, misunderstood, seen, loved and cherished in all of my life.  It’s wild to agree to spend the rest of your life with someone and really COMMIT to making it work.  We live in a world where the divorce rate is still up in the 60 percentile with people walking away from 15-20 year marriages like it was nothing.  I don’t want to be a part of that statistic and the odds are not in my favor since I did not grow up in an environment where a strong, present father and doting, loving mother were the norm.

Turns out there are many ways to learn how to have a great marriage even if that was not your model growing up.  Welcome to Marriage Prep 101.
“What is unconscious has a tendency to repeat itself.”

“The past has a framing tendency.”
Oh yes it does ~ and where better to realize this than in relationship (I write with a laugh). At some point we all realize that the common denominator in all past relationships is US and we had better do something to look INSIDE if want a great life OUTSIDE.  What Drs. Michelle and Patrick Gannon so honestly and generously shared with us hopeful participants at Marriage Prep 101 was that every marriage is a unique blend of personalities, ego, wounds, brilliance and opportunity. By knowing ourselves better, we have a MUCH greater chance of staying in LOVE.
We learned that there are many TYPES of marriages, each having it’s wisdom and challenges, as well as the 7 Keys to a Thriving, Lifelong Marriage.  The bulk of the workshop was spent covering these important keys and opening dialog in areas that are MUCH easier to skip over like money, sex, kids and religion.  One of my favorite exercises was called “Clarifying Expectations” where we each separately answered a list of questions about every topic you can imagine that a couple would need to discuss and yet so easily avoid.  We walked away from that exercise with a game plan for finances that was NOT going to happen had we not really looked at it in this workshop - Thank You Michelle and Patrick!

We also got a chance to look at our Strengths, Challenges, Areas of Change and Goals as a couple.  Looking at what changes we need to make individually as well as together to resolve our relationship challenges gave us a roadmap we could have not created on our own.  One of our goals is “honor each others individual needs and desires while having a solid dedication to our relationship.”  That is a great reference point we can always look back on when we are met with new challenges.
By showing us the components of a what makes a great marriage, Rick and I can be much more prepared with the awareness and skills to create one.  I really enjoyed Marriage Prep 101 and highly recommend it to anyone thinking of getting married, planning a wedding or who are already married - it is never too late to learn how to be a better lover, great partner and overall conscious human being.  Makes me appreciate to NO END that a course like Marriage Prep 101 exists for us to enjoy - take advantage!