Green Options

Safe sex will soon be greener and more fair. The French Letter Condom Company, based in the UK, will open for business at the end of this month offering Fair Trade latex condoms. The latex used to make the condoms is sourced from rubber producers in India and Sri Lanka who have been working with FairDeal Trading, makers of fine Fair Trade sports equipment,

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Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "do one thing every day that scares you." Until about a month ago, I felt—and I don’t think I’m alone here—that cold showers were pretty scary. I’ve since come to love the refreshing, energy-saving thrill of showering cold. Now, I know that you may never want to try this daring piece of everyday eco-activism. But in case you’re curious, here are the greatest thrills and chills of la douche froide.

The

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Recent headlines have been telling us about a class of chemical detergents or surfactants (nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPE’s) found in many industrial and household cleaners that have been reported to cause male fish to develop female characteristics. This hormone instability is commonly due to foreign “hormone disruptors”. The hormone instability occurs when a foreign chemical is introduced to the body and imitates our natural hormones. The toxins bind to the same sites in our body where [...]

Our feelings are like weather patterns. They are changeable and act on the environment with great power. They inform and distract with their intensity. They reflect the nature of the moment with great accuracy.

Just as our changing weather patterns are shifting and changing the world we live in, our ability to experience and share our feelings in meaningful ways has the power to shift the emotional landscape

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There are days I long to look up and see an opening in the sky that would remind me of the truth about life. I work to see and to believe that life is good and our inclination to love is always one to be trusted. However, sometimes love and trust are not companions — affairs happen, partners are left, love goes unrequieted, and accidents of the heart happen as frequently as they do

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What has happened to the game of love? In spite of all the available technologies to connect us together more and more, people are opting out of the relationship game, preferring to live alone, than to risk another bad relationship outcome. This preference reflects a deep change in our collective human psyche, for it used be that what lovers feared most was loneliness. Now being caught in a static

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"Love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what causes sadness and what brings happiness, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing…I am not aware of any other factor in medicine- not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery- that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death from all causes."

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The reality of life is rarely just what we see. When we are looking at the surface of things, often we believe we understand them and we feel safe to judge them as we believe they are. We frequently fail to see what is underneath. Our ability to judge is often confused with our emotions, many of which are so deeply troubling that we refuse to even acknowledge them.

This is particularly

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Check out Green Couples, Green Weddings, Part 1 for the first part of our green weddings special.

Bridal registries were once a way for a couple to furnish and supply their new home together. Today, more and more couples are either already living together when they get married, or have already furnished a house on their own. Although there are greener choices in registries,

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Wind power is one of the fastest growing alternative energy sources available. What could be cleaner than capturing the power of the moving air and turning it into energy. This is a powerful metaphor on a personal level and in our work to make relationships sustainable.

The air in your relationship flows from the communication that passes between you and your partner. It is the currency of your relationship.

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Building a fire is a strong metaphor for the depth, passion and intensity of physical intimacy. Fire is nature’s energetic equivalent to our sexuality. It is the energy of life, providing light, heat and the ability to transform the physical world. Fire in intimacy is the force of attraction that keeps relationships dynamic and whole. Just as intense heat binds and trans