Nature Lovers! Share Your Love In Unique Way

Recently Rob and I drove from Colorado to Montana (to the west side of Glacier National Park...almost to Canada) so I could perform the wedding ceremony for two of my dearest friends.  

They are huge nature lovers!  Therefore, I thought I would share this Intimate Adventure that I wrote a couple of years back in honor of them and their love (for each other and for nature). 

Intimate Adventures are sacred ceremonies for couples. They take ordinary life and make them special. Allowing both partners to enjoy the connection they share. With the vision of creating a warm and wonderful spot of couples to journey together Intimate Adventures offers these suggestions of ceremonies for the two of you to enjoy.

Nature Lovers is a way to bring the beauty and power of nature into your relationship. With each falling leave we learn,

 with each rock we find adventure. Our relationship is nature so why do we not invite nature into our relationship. 

Check it out here... Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble

**Pulled from the archives...

How Far Would You Go For Your Partner?

By Janelle Alex, Ph.D.

In February 2011, I was in California at a weeklong seminar. I was to be gone a total of nine days. Rob, my partner and husband, was at home 2300 miles away. Before I left he seemed to be coming down with a nasty cold or some type of flu. Because of my location and my busy schedule it was difficult to call; I usually just texted back and forth with him. When I did speak to him I noticed that this cold/flu "thing" was really taking a toll. On top of that a record-breaking ice storm had hit. My next to last day in California I called home again to talk to him.

My sweet love - a man who never gets sick - was so ill and coughing this strange, high-pitched cough that he could barely talk to me. He and the kids had lost electricity due to the storm so they were staying at my parents'. I hung up from Rob and called my mother's cell. "Mom, does Rob need to go to the hospital?" She informed me that she had tried to get him to go the previous night! She told me that he was so sick he couldn't put his sweatshirt on by himself - she had to help him! I told her to have my father take him to the emergency room immediately. I called Rob's cell again and told him in more than a few choice words that he was going to the hospital right then - no ifs, ands, or buts (maybe I was harsh - but I felt helpless and deeply afraid). Remember, there was an ice storm - inches of ice on the car and extremely treacherous driving conditions. It took over an hour to reach the hospital that is only 10 minutes from my parents' home. My next step was to find a way to get home! Up in the mountains I was an hour's drive from the airport and a seven-hour flight from home - no nonstop flights from my location.

The events that transpired at the airports were challenging to say the least, but I encountered some of the most wonderful people to help me. I was able to make my plane connection with just an hour to spare before they shut down the Houston, TX airport due to snow!! And, I was able to land in Indianapolis on schedule with only two runways open! A close friend picked me up and drove me to the hospital.

The end result was a blood clot in my husband's jugular vein and a developing abscess near his right collarbone. He had to have surgery to drain the abscess and heavy-duty antibiotics. He spent a week in the hospital!! Then, he spent the next month with a picc line in his arm so that he could take powerful antibiotics intravenously at home and six months on blood thinners. The specialists were never able to decide what brought this about. No one knows if the blood clot developed first or the infection - the chicken or the egg?

The point is that we sometimes deal with things in our lives that we never expected. Some of these can pack quite a punch. I am pondering this experience today because I have been thinking about a movie I just watched yesterday. We might not expect great struggle and death defying feats regularly, but others know no different.

In 2005, March of the Penguins was shared with the world. This is a very powerful film. What amazes me the most is not only what these Emperor penguins go through to find a mate and produce offspring, but the loving tenderness they seem to share with one another. These amazing beings of nature travel over 70 miles of ice and snow to return to where they were born. They search through the thousands of penguins until they find a fitting mate. The pair off in cuddled up pairs prior to mating. Once they are blessed with an egg, they must delicately trade it from the mother's feet to the father's feet. In a matter of moments the freezing temperatures, which are on average -72°F, will steal away the life within the egg if they are not successful. The female penguin must return the 70 plus miles to the sea to regain her weight and bring back food for the new little penguin.

As the males protect their precious eggs and wait out the winter for the females' return they huddle together in an effort to stay warm. They take turns being in the center. This grouping of penguins reminds me of the blended spirit Rob and I, as Relationship Guides, talk so often about. These compassionate and loving father's become winter warriors as they blend their energies and spirits to form a mass of continually moving penguin bodies that almost becomes its own being. They go nearly four months without food from when they first started their journey. They are extraordinarily cold and near starving, but they continue to protect and provide for their babies.

Upon the females' return the precarious exchange of baby penguin from one parent's feet to the other parent's feet takes place again - just in reverse this time. Now, the males must make the huge journey to return to the sea and eat before they surrender to death due to lack of food. The mother penguins remain with their babies protecting them and feeding them. It will be a couple more months before the females leave the baby penguins alone and return as well. Eventually, the little penguins are big enough to make their own journey to the sea and the cycle continues.

Throughout this dangerous journey every year some, both adults and babies, succumb to the cold or the lack of food. Sadly, some of the babies don't live long enough to even meet their mothers. To live life, to continue existence they must risk it all time and time again.

I ask you - would you travel over 70 miles in devastatingly cold temperatures to find a mate and create new life? Would you be willing to entrust this tenuous new life with your partner? Okay, this scenario might be extreme. I mean, after all, you aren't a penguin - right?

Instead, I ask you to consider:
• How far you would go for your partner?
• Even more importantly, do you consider the little things you do for each other?
• Do you appreciate him/her?
• Are you grateful for the little things let alone the big things?
• Would you drop everything and be there if your partner really needed you to?

Maybe you won't have to worry about a major event, a frightening event or miles and miles of snow and ice, but think about how important it is to be there for your partner everyday. Sometimes we just need to stop and listen - really listen to what he/she is saying. We don't necessarily need to do anything other than just being present, perhaps giving a hug or offering a shoulder.

Loving another and blending your spirit with another is a beautiful experience. And, it can help you weather any storm.

Janelle Alex Ph.D., Spiritual Teacher, Director at Sacred Garden Spiritual Center and Co-Founder of Sexy Challenges.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janelle_Alex,_Ph.D.

Loving and Lasting: How to Stay Tuned In and Turned On - Released on Amazon

We are excited to tell you that a new book has been released on Amazon and we are co-authors!  

Do you want a more meaningful and fulfilling marriage—one where you feel deeply connected emotionally, spiritually, and physically? Seriously, do you? 

Do you want to reignite the passion, eroticism, and romance you and your sweetheart shared when you met? 

In Loving and Lasting you’ll find the best advice from 20 of my favorite love experts. So get that fire extinguisher ready—these experts are ready to share it all—what really works to quickly get you tuned in and turned on in your marriage! 

You’ll learn how to:
• Rediscover intimacy, sexual excitement, and physical pleasure
• Fall in love again with your spouse
• Communicate better and release negativity
• Find out what really turns you on—and excites your spouse
• Recover from past infidelities
• Create an erotic, romantic relationship

Ready for a more vibrant, connected, and sexually satisfying marriage? Then start reading!

Check it out here!

How to Not Lose Touch with Your Sweetie

It is so easy to lose touch with your beloved partner.  In these modern times, it has become easier and easier to tune in to the television, your computer, your phone or your iPad.  This means you are tuning out from your sweetheart and your intimate relationship.  It may not seem so at first, but eventually, even being turned on by your lover will wane and become second to today’s media and digital gadgets and other things you fill your life with.  It is vital to stay tuned in to your relationship and to your partner so that you stay turned on by them too!  Only then can you work towards experiencing a long-lasting committed relationship filled with love and trust.   

Relationships are actually spiritual paths for each of us.  Your romantic intimate relationship is the most profound of all.  It will offer you a mirror for your deepest emotions, expressions, neurotic patterns (we ALL have them), love, compassion, and humor to be reflected back to you in some fashion.  

So, how can you reignite intimacy and sensual pleasure in your relationship?  And, if you still have it, how can you take it to the next level?

A Quick Note About Sensuality vs. Sexuality

More often than not if someone says to you, “That was a sensual delight.”  Your mind will instantly think “sex”.  But, sensual pleasure is really about gratifying the senses – all of them – not just the five physical ones.  You don’t have to involve physical lovemaking to experience your sensuality.  Delighting in the sight of your lover, hearing his/her laugh, smelling a special cologne, holding hands or sharing a massage, or tasting his/her lips are sensual experiences.  Connecting to your own soul, your lover’s soul, and your spirituality is also very sensual. 

Know YOU – Get Connected to Your Own Soul

Getting in touch with yourself, with your soul is the first step in reigniting or upleveling your intimate and sensual pleasure in life and in your relationship.  If you aren’t aware of your spirituality, simply focus on getting in touch with YOU.  Whatever or whoever you are to you. 

The easiest and quickest way to reconnect with your soul is by first recognizing those things in your life that simply light you up inside.  They feel like they are the wind in your sails.  These things can be anything: drumming; singing; teaching; hiking; swimming; dancing; laughing; making love; cooking; gardening; cycling; etc.  There is no right or wrong.  Only you have the answer to what makes you feel this way.  The second step is to make sure you have some of these unique-to-you things in your life daily, weekly, monthly.  Bring them in to your life as often as you can.

You will be happier and this happiness will feed into your relationship.  Share these joys with your lover.

Know Your Sweetheart – Connect to His/Her Soul

This will take your relationship to a deeper level.  Once you (re)connect with your soul – yourself, it is vital that you connect with your sweetheart in a similar way.  What makes him/her light up?  How can you support that and bring more of that into your lives?  If both of you do this and then share it together, you will discover a beautiful aspect of your relationship that you may not have been aware of before.   

Communicate

Communication is key to every single aspect of your relationship.  Yet, not everyone communicates in the same way.  You may be able to talk about your joys, your sorrows, what happened at work today, what the dog did to irritate you, what your best friend posted on your Facebook wall and what is upsetting you in your relationship.  But, your lover may not be able to easily talk about these things.  We can express our feelings through ways other than verbal communication.  It may come through singing, painting, or drawing.  Of course, one of the biggest ways to communicate is through body language.  Be fully present and truly pay attention to your lover.  Listen – deeply – to what he/she may say.  Observe his/her actions or reactions.  There are clues and often, clear messages even if the two of you communicate very differently.

Share Laughter and Play Together      

Don’t take life or yourself too seriously.  Yes, of course, there are very serious aspects, but letting go and goofing around, laughing and being playful is a huge key to happiness and feeling joyful.  This will deepen the closeness between the two of you, which will ultimately help you enhance your sensuality overall. 

Laugh at the dinner table.  Laugh while brushing your teeth.  Laugh throughout your day anywhere and everywhere that you can.  And, for God’s sake, laugh in the bedroom!

Share inside jokes with each other.  Maybe they will relate to a funny bedroom experience or something completely different, but they will be your little secret.  People will envy your closeness.  Allow yourselves to be like two young lovebirds giggling and whispering.

Sharing more laughter with each other and deepening your intimate bond will open a doorway for the two of you to experience powerful, playful passion all day long.  You will be able to feel it pretty much everyday.  Draw upon it when something gets you down or something causes you stress. 

Continue to Learn and Grow Together

Continually seek new things to learn.  You can take classes together or pick up a new hobby together.  Yet, be bold enough to have new experiences individually, too.  By honoring and respecting your lover’s individuality you are helping the two of you grow.  You need to honor and respect YOU, your lover, and your relationship.  You are teammates, but you don’t need to stay attached at the hip all the time either. 

Step outside your comfort zone.  Oh boy, this is a big one!  You can’t grow and sustain a beautiful relationship if you refuse to step outside of your comfort zone.  If you allow fear (fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of looking like an idiot, fear of???) to keep you within in the boundaries of what you know already, then you prevent yourself from the potentiality of amazing new experiences and from continued growth.  Staying in your comfort zone without learning to step outside of it (even just a tiny baby step) will cause your life to become stagnate.  Hmmm…what will that do your relationship? 

Imagine a beautiful flowing stream always moving and changing when the need arises.  Hear the gentle trickle and smell the fresh air. Now imagine a stagnant pool of water with debris piled up in it.  No pleasant sounds of moving water and a nasty stench to boot.  Would you prefer to continue gently flowing into the unknown or stay stagnate and backed-up? 

Put It All Together

Get in touch with you.  Truly know your own soul.  Dive deep into whom your partner/lover/spouse is and whom he/she becomes as you continue your path together.  Communicate on numerous levels.  Talk to your lover, but be aware of your other forms of communication – body language, eye contact, and much more.  Be playful and bring more laughter into your lives.  Intentionally and willingly step outside of your comfort zone so that you continue to learn and experience new things. 

These are simple ways to not only reignite your passion for your relationship, but for your life.  When passion and deep intimacy is sustained in your romantic relationship, your relationship will be stronger and more beautiful than you may ever have imagined. 

Dr. Janelle Alex, Ph.D. - Spiritual Teacher

Rob Alex, M.Sc. - Author or Sexy Challenges/Sacred Sensual Teacher

Copyright 2013

Sex After Mid-Life...5 Reasons It Can Be Super Exciting and Hot

Sex After Mid-Life

5 Reasons It Can Be Super Exciting and Hot!

American culture teaches us to believe that we are only sexy in our 20s, 30s and maybe – if you are lucky, 40s.  We are taught that having an active and exciting sex life is something that we will no longer have once we hit middle age and beyond.  Well, screw that (pun intended)! 

I am going to share with you 5 reasons why sex after middle age can be even hotter, sexier, spicier, and more exciting than when you were younger.  Yes, sometimes there are medical conditions that can affect your sex life, but you can seek help for those.  You can find natural methods to assist with physical conditions as well as finding assistance within in western medicine.  It can be freaking amazing and here’s why. 

1.    Experience!  - Okay, you have gone through your teens and 20s trying to figure out what the heck all the fuss was about.  Hopefully, you enjoyed a lot of wonderful lovemaking during those years and had a loving committed partner for part (if not most) of that time.  Then, you moved into your 30s and 40s and hopefully, still had wonderful sex around having kids and a career.  Well, guess what?  All these years gave you a lot of experience.  You had the opportunity to figure out what you do and don’t like when it comes to gettin’ busy.  Boy, oh boy, that can come in handy now!

2.    No Kiddos! – Most likely, if you had children, they are grown or at least not little anymore.  So, now you don’t have to worry about little ones bursting into your bedroom and there is a very good chance that you can get back to making love in any room in the house.  Plus, you aren’t as apt to be stressed and worn out due to running them to this practice and that event and trying to help get their homework done.  Yay!  Stress level has dropped!

3.    More Time!  - By now you are hopefully more established in your career and don’t need to spend so many hours working.  As mentioned above, you aren’t as likely to be running kids everywhere.  There is time for the two of you again.  Time to date (whether or not you are already in a relationship or looking for a new one).  The more time you spend together the more likely you are to bond on a deeper level and then….yep – rip each other’s clothes off and spend some naked time together!

4.    Extra Money! – In those earlier years, your finances may have been a bit tighter.  Now you are, hopefully, better off financially and have more disposable income to spend on dates, romantic excursions, clothes/shoes that make you feel sexy, and even more adult toys/lubes.  *Ah, reflect back to “experience”: you know what you like or you are more willing to find out now – so, spend some money on high quality sex toys and enjoy hotter, new, different, intimate play with your lover.

5.    Sexy & Healthy! – The more pleasurable sex (particularly in a committed relationship) you enjoy the more oxytocin that is released into the body.  This is the “feel good” hormone.  It eases pain and just makes you happier in general.  And, even more exciting is the fact that as oxytocin is released in the body more oxytocin receptors are created!  Woo Hoo!  That means the more sex you have the better and better you can feel.  Of course, on top of all that is the fact that making love is a spiritual connection even if you never intend for it to be.  Therefore, not only does your physical body become healthier and happier, but so does your soul.  How can you beat that?

So, for those who have told you that having a great sex life past middle age is practically hopeless, you now have five reasons why they are wrong.  Experience!  No kiddos!  More time!  Extra money!  Sexy & healthy – physically and spiritually!  We typically live so much longer nowadays.  Take the time to enjoy this second half of your life and fill it with playful experiences – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Honor your life and your sweetie’s by engaging in more powerful, playful passion.

Janelle Alex, Ph.D. © 2013  

Co-Founder of Sexy Challenges

www.sexychallenges.com

Get busy. Get spiritual. Laugh your ass off!

Locked Up in Wyoming! A Little Play During Vacation Days!

Oh no!  Rob got himself locked up right after we enter Wyoming last week!  What to do? What to do?  Well, our youngest son was able to escape through the hole in the cell wall just over Rob's right shoulder...there was a slide for little guys :)  Daddy/Rob, was left to find his own means of escape.  

Ah, ha!  The keys :)

Shoo....Rob escaped and made it to safety.

Well, crap.  Momma/Janelle and our little guy got locked up in Cheyenne.  They even got thrown in with a jailbird...if you look in the back corner.  

Wait!  Janelle has an idea....if Boeg will just climb under the cell door, he will be able to help them escape and make it back to the safety of home.  Momma hugs him and says, "You can do it son!"

Shoo!!  The Alex family is out of trouble and safe and sound....watch out for those crazy jails cells at the visitor's center when you enter Wyoming and at the Cheyenne Gunslings ;) 

In all honesty, we had a blast during our vacation day trips!