Gentling the Inner Critic As you left their voice behind The stars began to burn Through. . . . —Mary Oliver, “The Journey”   Our inner critic is the part of us that has given up on us. It hurls “can’ts” and “shoulds” at us: You can’t go. You can’t make it alone. You should [...]

Sign up to receive hand-picked advice on life, love, and relationships from psychotherapist, teacher, and bestselling author David Richo. With over 50 years of experience as a psychotherapist, David Richo is a leading relationship expert whose work has touched hundreds of thousands of hearts and lives. Blending Western psychology and Eastern spirituality, he offers a [...]

Relationships as a Spiritual Practice A Q&A with David Richo, author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships What does it mean to be an “adult” in relationships? Firstly, what does it mean to be an “adult?” To be an adult is to learn to play for ourselves the roles the functional family was [...]

The Unruly Givens of Life Excerpt from Five True Things For all that has been: Thanks! For all that shall be: Yes! —Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings In the early 1940s, on the night of her graduation party, a high school girl named Doris Van Kappelhoff was involved in a serious car accident. She had planned to [...]

Exploring Healthy Communication An excerpt from Triggers Building Trust Partners in romantic relationships naturally trigger one another. This follows from the fact that our choice of a partner has so much to do with transference from our past. We often unconsciously choose a partner who reminds us of the parent with whom we have unfinished [...]

From Compliance to Choice All experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer . . . than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But . . . it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their [...]

by Lindsay Michko   Whether you’re single, in relationship, or “it’s complicated,” February 14th is a day of super-charged emotions: the bliss of being in love, the pangs of loneliness, the bittersweet imperfections of relationship, and everything in between. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, the following titles are sure to heighten your [...]