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Finding the Best Marriage Advice - Trust Your Instincts

It is obvious that many people have lost their way. This is especially obvious when it comes to marriages. Look into many families and you will find misunderstanding, resentment, suppressed anger, and hurt feelings. Husbands and wives argue. Parents and kids yell at each other. Communication is poor or nonexistent. Even worse, families are breaking up and divorces are rampant.

It is clear that people need the right kind of guidance. But if I may be so bold as to say so--it appears that the information and advice they are getting now is somehow lacking. Today there is so much relationship information on the internet, in books, from experts, and in courses. Yet family break ups and divorce are on the rise. Today there is more information and yet more problems. I am not knocking the various sources of information; I am just saying that something must be missing.

Where will we turn to find the kind of knowledge that will help us solve our problems once and for all, instead of just endlessly "working on our relationship?" Where will we find the kind of knowledge that will heal our relationships, restore our marriage, return the hearts of the children to the parents, and build a strong family?

Perhaps you have heard that long ago--when a young couple had marriage issues--a grandmother, a Dutch uncle, or an old and trusted friend would be called in. Often that person had common sense, patience and understanding. They had a mysterious know-how. They had kindness, perhaps a twinkle in their eye. They bore good will: they really and truly wanted the best to happen. They did not experiment with theories or approaches. Their guidance was solidly grounded in common sense, patience, and understanding.

That is what we need today. We need understanding. The question is where did the older and wiser person get their understanding? From a book? No, it came from within. Understanding was the missing ingredient, which tempered everything and showed them how to apply any experience they had gained.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could find understanding to deal with your marriage and family issues? If you had understanding yourself then you could solve your own problems. And if when you got information from external sources, your understanding and common sense would permit you to see which advice is good and which is not. If you had understanding, then you could listen to what others have to say and sift the wheat from the chaff. You would know what to do with your knowledge, and how to apply it with love and proper timing. Sound too good to be true? Keep reading and I will show you the source of understanding, available to you now. I say that we can find this insight and deep understanding within when we learn to relate to our God-given intuition. In the light of intuition, you would begin to see the reason why we squabble. Let me give you a few clues.

For example, you would begin to understand the mystery of the relationship between the sexes. It is an ancient and reoccurring cycle of ambition, rebellion, and failing. Just as in the story of the Garden of Eden, the woman is still used today to entice and support her modern day Adam to be ambitious. When Adam looks to the woman and guile for support, instead of to principle, paradise is lost and the family suffers. She feels used and he feels trapped and betrayed. Without understanding of the real dynamics in the man-woman relationship, people continue to hate and blame each other. Forgiveness is truly the answer. But in order to forgive, we must have insight into the deep dynamics behind all the squabbling we see in families. We simply need to see, really see, where we are failing and why. When you see that we humans are all in the same boat, you could be more forgiving toward your mate instead taking everything personally.

In order to do this, what we need is a very special kind of knowledge called understanding. You cannot get understanding from a book, even a religious book. Understanding comes from intuition-what we know in our heart-when we look within and trust what we know in our heart as our authority, instead of looking to worldly experts. Intuition is first hand and alive. External knowledge applied without understanding is second hand and lifeless. External knowledge is useful when it awakens understanding. Of course you can listen to what others have to say; just remember to run it by your gut instincts to see if it sits right with your intuition.

When it comes to marriage and family relationships, we need to understand why we fight. We need to understand our own inherent pride and see what is wrong with it. With understanding, we can observe our own failings with compassion. We need to understand what other's true needs are. We need to understand that most of the time your loved ones are not being cruel on purpose. They are out of control.

The family is the bedrock of civilization. The relationship between the man and the woman, within the institution of holy matrimony holds the key to happiness, prosperity, and domestic tranquility.

The family is the matrix in which the next generation comes forth, and it is the family which supports, nurtures and maintains the best of what it means to be a human.

Yet everywhere you look in the world--you see families boiling over with intrigue, betrayal, cruelty, suffering, and misery. Each and every couple starts off expecting to be happy. But something goes wrong. We need to understand why.

The kind of knowledge I have in mind is found within. It is intuition. Some call it their highest instincts, some call it a gut level knowing. Some describe it as what they know in their heart. Even common sense is a basic form of this intuitive understanding. It is just what we need.

Look at it this way. Let's say a delicate situation arose between you and your mate, or between you and your child. Suppose that out of disinterested love of what is right, you really and truly yearned with all your heart to know what to do. Let us suppose that you passed up on the quick angry response. You did not reach for a slogan, verse, or memorized one-size-fits-all fact to misapply. You heard but did not mindlessly follow the advice of other misguided souls or strangers. Instead, you waited and looked into your heart for wordless intuition.

Then whatever you did or did not say, or did or did not do, would be based in intuition, love, and common sense. It would spring from a deep and limitless source. It would be rooted in rightness, love and principle. Its motivation would be selfless love, not expediency.

Your mate and your child would see the face of love: they would sense your quiet searching for what is right instead of seeking to win or impatiently looking for a quick fix. The mere fact that they become aware of the presence of love already begins to restore right relationships.

Our families suffer for lack of this kind of knowledge. The one who is most to blame is the husband. It is his job to be the leader, the Moses, the David of the family. It is his job to be a man of impeccable honor, courage, patience, understanding, kindness, forbearance, and graciousness and wisdom. Father is supposed to have understanding, and everything he does should be tinged with love and understanding. There is no way that he can be the man he needs to be unless he finds an invisible bond with the Creator Within. He must be so grounded in principle and faith, that there is no wavering, no failing, and no room for a lack of commitment to what is right.

He must be stronger than the world. But if he is woman centered, if women are the ground of his being and if his wife is his boss (or she lets him be the boss), then he will not be grounded in good. Instead he will be a beast man, violent or wimpy, grounded in the woman, and beyond her in the serpent of old who tempted man through Eve.

My heart goes out to the decent women everywhere. They are tempted to take charge because of the weakness of the man. They are tempted by his weakness to support and console his prideful ego. Men require it of women. And when she gains power because of his nothingness and growing weakness, she is then called upon to nag him to get him to function.

When he greedily goes for her love offerings, first with excitement then with resentment, he becomes enslaved. And when he is enslaved by the temptation that he wanted from her, he is full of rage. The weak angry man goes off to another woman or to the bottle. The man who takes on her nature marries his work, money or becomes a seducer.

All the while, the children are suffering. Men need to have a thorough knowledge of their own weakness. They need to see just why they must not fail. They need to see why they must be principled and honorable.

Women need to see that the Adam and Eve story is recreated over and over again. They need to see that, yes, most men are weak and failures. But she must learn not to resent them for it. She must see her own role in tempting him and rising to the occasion of his need to gain power over him. She must see why she must not support him in his wrong, on the one hand, but must also not give him such a hard time that he doesn't have the space to find himself.

When you resent your husband, that resentment blocks understanding. In other words, when you become resentful or angry, you are disconnected from love. And love is what intuition has in it. Now you know what understanding is the missing factor. It has love in it. It is missing when couples resent each other; and it is missing when we try to apply external knowledge egotistically.

Perhaps a good starting point would be to just realize that your husband is just a man, and judging and nagging him will only stand in the way of his finding himself.

Men, you must see that you must not look to your wife to support your ego. Look within. You must look to no one except your Creator for the strength, wisdom and understanding that you do not now have but will need if you are to be the kind of husband and father that your family needs.

Husbands and wives: regardless of what your situation is, begin right now to be more forgiving. Drop your grudges. If others are wrong, see their wrong, but don't hate them for it. Let go of judgment. Make it unimportant. You yourself become wrong through resentments and holding grudges. When you let go of judgment and blame, you will then be free to see what the real truth is. Do you see how intuition leads to understanding, and understanding to love?

Roland Trujillo M.S., life coach and author, is Director of the Center For Common Sense Counseling and host of the popular Coach Roland internet radio show on Blogtalk Radio. Coach Roland offers solutions and tools for dealing with stress, letting go of baggage from the past, and healing relationships. Roland knows that resentment underlies many of our stress and relationships issues. Roland says: "Love is the answer, but to find love we must let go of resentment." Find out more by visiting http://www.rolandtrujillo.com. For marriage issues, visit http://www.commonsensecouples.blogspot.com. You will find free resources and valuable information. Coach Roland has been helping people for 20 years. Perhaps his common sense approach can help you too.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roland_Trujillo

 

My Wife Cheated on Me - Now What?

This question is coming up more and more. I am very sorry to hear this. It is much more common nowadays than before. Many, if not most, women are now in the workforce. There are a lot of temptations out there. Also, many people have a different view of marriage today than people did years ago. Today we have been shown on television, movies, and in music, and we have even been taught and counseled that marriage is about having our needs met.

Actually, marriage is a framework for raising a family and in which to learn how not to be selfish.

I've written some articles and posts about the issue of unfaithful husbands. So I guess it's time to talk to men about the issue of unfaithful wives. I've been talking to people about relationships for 20 years on the radio, written a a couple of books and more than a few articles and blog posts, and my wife and I just celebrated our silver wedding anniversary, so I've got as much right as the next guy to write about this topic.

So here is my response. First the short answer.

If you just found out, stay calm. Do not do anything rash. Go about your business, do your duty, go to work, be there for your kids. You've heard the old expression "stand back and count to ten." Well, stand back and maybe let a few weeks go by. As time passes the initial anger will diminish. Watch out for resentment. Let reason rule.

It takes a real man to stay the course and respond with calm reason instead of anger. There is value in being able to talk it out. Most communities have government, nonprofit, church, or volunteer organizations focusing on men's issues, marriage or anger management. Avail yourself of any that are helpful. There are also resources available on the internet.

Long term you don't want to become dependent on external support, but right now reading, talking it out, and getting good feedback from someone knowledgeable with understanding are very helpful.

If it happened a few months or years ago, and it is still sticking in your craw, it means that you are still resentful. Watch out for resentment. Stand back and when you see it rising, observe it from the neutral zone and let it pass.

Now the longer answer.

The advice I have given to women in this circumstance (where a spouse has been unfaithful) is just as fitting for men. Basically, the woman has to deal with resentment and judgment. If she can let go of these, then she will be spiritually and emotionally safe. It is resentment that hurts us more than what the other person did to us.

Resentment ruins everything. But if you can let go of the resentment, you will be okay. Moreover, when the mind is clear and not clouded with resentment and bitterness, you will be able to see what is reasonable and wise to do. Remember, resentment robs us of joy and many other things.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of letting go of resentment.

In circumstances of an unfaithful spouse, the woman's main spiritual issues are letting go of resentment and judgment. The man faces a much bigger challenge because of what husband and father represent. You see, husband or father has a very special role. He holds a station in life. He holds the office of husband and if there are kids, the office of father.

In the eyes of children, father stands in for God. Can you see why it is so devastating when a father fails?

Husband or father is supposed to be like the George Washington or Moses of the family. He stands for what is right. He cannot have any vices. He must be principled, honorable, wise, patient, long suffering, and kind.

He has to be as steady as the ticking of a grandfather clock in a thunderstorm. If others become upset, he remains calm and reasonable. If others fail him, he does not fail them.

Most dads are a little weak. They say the right things, but say them too weakly. He must not be there to win a popularity contest. He has to stand for what is right and persist even in the face of rebellion. But he must not be angry. He must always have a twinkle in his eye.

Many men clam up, but are angry and resentful underneath. When they do finally speak up, their message is tainted and ruined by the pent up anger. Feeling guilty, he may clam up again or sit on the sidelines while the family goes to ruin.

A man simply cannot avoid his duty without harming the family. That is why he must learn to stand for what is right with patience and firmness and kindness.

He has to be there for his wife and children. They need a very special love from him: emotionless agape love. A man cannot have this love if he is selfish or unprincipled. Nor can he have this love for them if he is a womanizer or tries to make his wife into his mother. He must not look for ego support from the world. He must look within and find a bond with what he knows in his heart.

He will then not need love. He will give love. He must love principle more than anything, even his wife.

However if you think about it for a moment, you will see that this is the man she can trust. She knows he will always be there for her and she knows he will never be unfaithful (because he does not need the love of a woman, a drug, or some worldly support). This is the man she can respect and perhaps even love.

Now, gentlemen, most wives are aware of their husband's weaknesses before they get married, but she hopes that he will become the noble knight she needs. And once within the confines of marriage, the nobly inclined man will become aware of his failing her in some mysterious way.

He will search his heart and out of true love for her and the children, he will see what they need from him. He will learn to be less selfish, and eventually one day, unselfish. He will begin to fail less, and one day not fail at all.

She will see his nobility, his heart felt efforts, and his love of principle. With this man, there is hope.

Of course, there are some women who will not take kindly to his new inner authority, and she will most likely resent him even when he is right. If she is a permanent hater, then she will make his life as miserable as possible. If he remains noble, she will probably go off to find someone else. If this happens, so be it.

Before you jump to any conclusions, let me say this: you cannot know what is in your wife's heart until you straighten up and fly right. First you must become right. Only then might your noble love draw forth the good in her.

Many women have been so used and unloved that they cannot imagine or believe that a man can be noble. She may test him and give him a hard time for years (or decades). If he is tested and not found wanting, he will win her heart. They will become very good friends and live happily ever after.

As I said, most men are weak (or weak and violent). Their weakness literally tempts the wife and kids to rebel. So if you have been weak or selfish, before looking at other's wrong, first look at your own. See your part in what has gone wrong and repent of it.

Many wives had a father who was not there for her. She resented him and went out in the world looking for love. What she got was use and abuse at the hands of boyfriends. Since all men failed her, she expects that he husband will too (though a good woman will hope her husband won't fail her).

Perhaps you can see why the man needs to have the wisdom of Solomon and perfect self control. All men have failed, but that is not an excuse for more failing. You must find the way to fail less.. I cannot say what to do in any particular circumstance. There are just too many particular situations. But I can speak in general terms.

Generally divorce is not a good thing. Sometimes a separation may be of some help, so that both sides can find themselves and get their bearings, but maybe not.

Please note that my comments are directed to the typical situation where both are good people, not perfect of course, but decent. If your spouse is extremely disturbed, violent or criminal, you will need to protect the children and get professional help and assistance from the authorities.. If there is a divorce, it is best not to begin the process yourself. If your wife divorces you, you will then not be guilty for having begun it.

If you have only been married for a short time, things might be worked out, but if there is not true marriage, then going your separate ways may be best.

But when there are children, everything changes. Now the man is both husband and father.

I recently heard a man tell about his father who he loved deeply. His mom was not a nice lady and she made a lot of trouble. He stayed there for the children and was a good father to them. He suffered for decades, but never hated his wife and never complained. The children loved him dearly.

You see, the children were aware of his suffering. They saw his sacrifice and nobility. And they loved him all the more. It didn't matter what mom did. Father was there for them.

But if he had walked out on her and them, what would be foremost in their minds would not be what mom did, but what he did. He quit on them.

Dear Sir, I know that infidelity is a severe test. But just as there can be no courage without danger, so likewise there can be no character without a test of that character. A final word. Sometimes we do the right thing by simply not doing the wrong thing. Someone can tempt you to do something wrong or foolish. Just don't do it and you are safe. Always do what you know is right in your heart.

Roland Trujillo writes and speaks about healing relationships. Roland says: "Love is the answer, but to find love we must let go of resentment." For marriage issues, visit http://www.commonsensecouples.blogspot.com. You will find free resources and valuable information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roland_Trujillo

 

How to Recover After Being Cheated On

So many people write to me and tell me that being cheated on stole something very precious away from them. They worry that they will never feel "normal" or "right" again because their ability to trust and go into a relationship with their whole heart has been seriously compromised.  They feel that something is wrong with them, that they're not enough, and that they're now sentenced to a life where suspicion, doubt, and fear will reign. I understand these feelings as I went through every one of them myself after I found out my husband cheated.  But, I'm also just fine (and much stronger) today.  Although it may not feel like it right now, it's not only possible to recover from an affair but to emerge stronger, wiser, and actually at peace.  I'll explain what I mean by this in the following article.

Your Recovery Starts With Asking For Or Giving Yourself What You Need To Heal: You can really divide folks who were cheated on into two categories - those who ultimately decide that they want to save their marriage or their relationship - and those who don't.

For those who want to save their relationship, you will need many things from your partner or spouse to heal.  You'll need for them to be remorseful and responsible.  You will need for them to be willing to work with you to determine what went wrong and to improve and safeguard the marriage so that no one is worrying that this will happen again.  You will need for them to be accountable so that they're not defensive when you ask where they've been and who they were with.  They have nothing to hide and these requests don't offend them.  You will need for them to give you reassurance and affection when you need it and space and solitude when you need that.  You will both need to focus on improving all aspects of your marriage so that you can restore the trust, affection, and commitment.

For those of you who don't want to save your relationship, you'll have to provide much of what I listed above for yourself.  However, by no means is this impossible just because you're flying solo.  It's so important to be kind to yourself, but to also be honest about any places where you may have left the relationship vulnerable and what you can learn and take away from this to improve your situation down the road.

Knowing That The Cheating Isn't Your Fault And Not About You: Whether you ultimately decide to stay in the relationship or not, you'll have to work hard not to take this personally and allow it to ruin your self esteem. You must understand that this cheating likely has less to do with you than you think.

People cheat because of how they feel about themselves, not about you - and sometimes, not even about the other person.  They're trying to fix what is broken within themselves, in the desperate hopes to fix their self esteem, reassure themselves that they're still desirable, and to try to ignite some sort of excitement in their life as a response to aging.  You can not prevent what is going on inside them.  And, you weren't present when they made the decision to cheat.  They own this - not you.  Do not take this onto your own shoulders because it wasn't your fault.

Yes, you are the innocent victim in this and it certainly hurts, but please don't allow it to make you doubt yourself or sabotage future relationships or your ability to trust.

Knowing That You Can Handle Whatever Comes: I often find that people get stuck and unable to recover because of the trust issue. They are just so afraid to be vulnerable again because this hurts so much that they don't think that they could survive a repeat.  I understand this.  But, this is a catch 22.  Because if you aren't able to go into a relationship with trust and an open heart, then you're doomed before you even start.  You may as well not even bother, frankly.  You're only giving a little piece of you, so you're only going to get a tiny bit of what the relationship could be in return.  You deserve better than this.

Often at the core of trusting your partner is trusting yourself.  So long as you have both done the work necessary to heal, so long as you've worked through your problems and you partner has shown themselves to now be remorseful and trustworthy, you have to make a conscious decision that you are strong enough to handle whatever comes your way.  You have to know that you are enough and that they are lucky to have you.  If they don't see this or forget it, then that's going to be their problem, not yours.

Restoring Your Self Esteem: A huge part of recovering from being cheating on is restoring your self esteem.  As I said, you'll start to wonder how you could've been so stupid and why you apparently weren't pretty or interesting enough to hold your partner's interest.  I hope that this article has shown you that the cheating is due to their shortcomings rather than yours.

With that said though, you will need to take responsibility for healing your self esteem.  Beyond understanding that this wasn't your fault, there are other things that you can do to heal.  Being cheated upon brings out all of our insecurities that have always bothered us (and were always lurking under the surface) to the forefront.  Use this as an opportunity to tackle these things once and for all.

As an example, deep in the back of my mind, it always worried me that I had put my career on hold to care for my children.  I never really felt like a totally equal partner. The affair was the wake up call I needed to go back to school.  I also addressed insecurities that I had about my appearance.  I lost some weight and fixed my teeth.  These things made me feel proactive and went a long way toward making me realize that I was in fact good enough and could now handle whatever came my way.

Surviving The Affair is a blog I put together to share my story. I know that this is a very difficult time, and that forgiveness can be elusive, but working through it can truly be worth the effort. Although I never would've believed this two years ago, I did eventually truly get over the affair. My marriage is stronger than ever. It took a lot of work, and I had to play the game to win, but it was worth it. Our bond and intimacy is much stronger and because of all the work I did on myself, my self esteem is at an all time high. I know longer worry my husband will cheat again. You can check it out at http://surviving-the-affair.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Lersch

 
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