Post about "entertainment"

Couples Challenges – The Series – Successfully Navigating the Lifestyle Aka Swinging

May 16, 2023· Category :Uncategorized· Comments Off

Many couples face a point in their relationship when the feelings of boredom and monotony begin to set in. The couple begins to feel like they’ve lost the spice and spontaneity that once came so easily. Now they have to work for that same excitement which tends to make things seem tedious and stale. This dilemma particularly takes place in the bedroom. Sex has turned into the same thing day in and day out. That is, if sex is still in the picture.

As a response to this “crisis in the bedroom”, many couples begin a discussion of opening their sexual relationship up to include others. As an attempt to spice things up and rekindle a dying flame, the idea that having sex with others seems like a viable option. After all, that would certainly be something new and potentially exciting. This line of reasoning is a very tricky and dangerous direction to follow if not done wisely.

Included are some quick tips I have gathered over the years of working with couples who have presenting in couples counseling with issues of the Lifestyle aka swinging and how to potentially navigate this minefield successfully.

1. Is this really about sex or something else? Have many very frank conversations with your partner about the motivations driving them to take on such a risky venture. Perhaps exploring these motivations with a therapist will help to uncover the true desires and help to ensure the intention is pure. For example, if you are looking to get into the Lifestyle because you are falling out of love with your partner and this is a way to make the relationship tolerable, this is the wrong reason and trouble will follow.

2. Your marriage/relationship always comes first: Under no circumstances should the other party or the Lifestyle in general come before your partner. You must enter into this adventure as a couple and always stay a couple. Do not let anyone or anything separate the two of you or attempt to threaten the marital bond.

3. Both must be willing participants: It is imperative that both partners want to take this road. If one of you is on the fence about it; wait and don’t proceed. Again, talking to a tolerant, open minded therapist could be beneficial in exploring the hesitations and fears and help the communication of those concerns to your partner.

4. Clear and open communication: Venturing into the Lifestyle successfully is going to take the clearest communication you have ever done in your life. You need to be able to discuss your likes and dislikes, your dos and don’t, your fears and concerns just to name a few. And, your partner is going to have to hear you. If you do not feel heard, you will not feel safe and put on the brakes.

5. Make the rules: Write up a contract addressing what is OK and not OK to do. This contract needs to be very detailed and attempt to explore all possible scenarios. Leave nothing uncovered.

6. Get in a Lifestyle chatroom: Talk to other couples who are successfully navigating the Lifestyle. Find out what they are doing to make it work and discuss your concerns and see what they have to say. This may help ease some of your fears and present ideas that the two of you may not have thought of.

7. Practice safe sex: Just like you, your partner needs to know that safety is being honored at all times. There is enough for the two of you to deal with as it is. Don’t add this easy solution into the mix.

8. Create a safety word: Come up with a word or phrase that when said, everything stops. Under all conditions, circumstances and situations, when this word is said, you both stop what you are doing, thank your new friend for their time and leave to join up with your mate at in a safe location. Both of you can say the word at any time and it must be respected. If it isn’t, that will be the end of the Lifestyle.

9. Ask how your partner is feeling: Constantly check-in with your partner about how they are feeling. Your sensitivity to their feelings is what helps to create safety. It shows that they are your priority above the Lifestyle.

Successfully navigating the Lifestyle is extremely difficult to do. Again, take the time to thoroughly explore the motivations to enter the Lifestyle to begin with. Make sure those motivations are honorable and not a threat to the relationship. The Lifestyle can be fun when done correctly and incredibly destructive when not.

If you would like more information on how to successfully navigate the Lifestyle, feel free to contact me through my website or blog by clicking on the links provided below.

A Brief History of Home Entertainment

May 2, 2023· Category :Uncategorized· No Comments

The concept of home entertainment and indoor recreational activities changed when home electronics invaded our lives. One can say that access to numerous electronic products at home has revolutionized the idea of what constitutes a complete home entertainment. Nowadays, anyone can have immediate access to every kind of electronic entertainment via different media within the comforts of their homes. They can have their choice of entertainment which may range from the latest DVD players, radios to the wireless internet connection which offers them the convenience of mobility. Advancement in technology has gifted us with loads of home entertainment options ranging from radio, television, CD, DVD players, home theatre system, games consoles and so on.Music has always been one of the most preferred leisure activities. It found its way into our home through the long playing discs and the gramophone. Of course with the coming of radio a decade later made music a more widespread home entertainment. Before the advent of the CD or DVD player, the radio was the most popular home entertainment system available. Though there were some juke boxes available in the local pubs or salons where one could listen to a song of their choice at home there was only the radio. With radio, the choice of listening was however quite limited as people had to listen to the songs that the radio channels would play, even though some of the stations would at times play the selected numbers based on listeners’ requests. But there were no complaints as there wasn’t anything better for decades to come.Initially, when television had not yet become an everyday part of our lives, the visual entertainment strictly meant those theatres which had large screens to view a movie. Things changed dramatically with the invention of the television in the initial phase of the 1950s. The television was a complete wonder in the days when it was discovered. People did not have to restrict themselves anymore to music as their only entertainment at home. They could actually watch a full length movie in the comfort of their own home.Not only movies, this small wonder box started entertaining people with more and more new ideas, programs and techniques. Television has been considered as one of the pioneers in the history of home visual entertainment. Of course it provided more than just entertainment. With news and special documentaries, TV soon became the most important source of amusement. The long playing discs were also a part of home entertainment which was an early discovery. While radios, LPs and television made a permanent place in everyone’s home, the quality of sound in those times essentially required tremendous development.Good sound systems and speakers stared to develop in the mid 1970s. Various technologies were discovered to enhance the quality of sound. And with the music genres like rock, pop and discos coming into being, there was a specific and urgent requirement for good quality sound systems. Thus the electronic giants did not stop producing recorders and put more emphasis on amplifying and equalizing the sound to give it a new dimension.Good quality sound systems were specially designed and created for homes which produced outstanding music. Woofers and subwoofers along with various amplifiers equalizers and multi channel audio were being used to produce crisp stereophonic sounds.However, this concept took a back seat when CD and DVD players came into existence. During the end of the ’70s and early ’80s some of the electronic giants worked in collaboration to develop the world’s first Compact Disc system. Experts proved that this CD player was quite compact and lightweight with its unique durability. For music lovers it was truly a boon. At the same time this CD system opened a new window in the audio equipment industry.Compact discs were more durable than any other long playing discs or tapes. Thus the CDs removed all other music disc and tapes from the market and held prominent position. The 80s and early 90s saw a vast improvement in the technology of compact disc systems. It became very popular with people because of the crystal clear sound it produced and was affordable. These CDs not only stored music, it was versatile enough to store movies, data, pictures or even software.Along with CDs a much improved device which actually revolutionized and changed the entire system of home entertainment is the DVD or digital versatile discs. These discs are powerful and large enough to hold two movies in one. It stores data digitally and is more durable. The scratch proof technology of the DVD players also makes the DVDs last a long time. Both music and movie buffs felt delighted when the DVD player came into the market. Recent survey statistics reveal that the DVD player is the most successful product of home entertainment. It was introduced in the year 1997 and has reached great heights of success ever since.Nowadays, people can have the same effect of a movie theatre in their homes. With the latest DVD players, LCD screens and the sound systems with woofers, sub woofers and multi channel audio systems, anyone can have a fantastic home entertainment system with high quality sound and spectacular visual effects. The plasma and LCD screens are high resolution televisions which started to develop in the latter half of the 1990s and these sleek televisions enabled the viewers to experience digital sound and vision with fantastic picture quality and various advanced features.With the invention of DVDs and a major development in the visual media such as Plasma and Liquid Crystal Display or LCD in the late 90s gave home entertainment its latest technical dimension. With it, the meaning of home entertainment changed significantly with more and more people installing the home theatre systems with newest gadgets and technologies.