How to Successfully Increase Communication in Intimate Relationships

On this episode I have Michael Muscari who is an entrepreneur, master NLP practioner and is currently obtaining his Reology certificate.

Michael has participated on several retreats with Jake and Hannah Eagle who are the founders of Reology – a practice aimed at improving communication and intimacy between human beings.

Throughout the podcast, Michael and I discuss various topics around communication and relationships. This podcast will provide you with valuable insights into communication that can be applied at work, your family, friends and in intimate relationships.

Through a heightened awareness to how we interpret our day to day events and the way we communicate with others, we can begin shifting our lives into a richer and healthier place. This is one of my favourite podcasts to date which you can notice by the long notable section.

Mike and Krystal run one-on-one workshops to help improve communication amongst couples. Mike can be found on Facebook @ Michael Muscari.

Notable Sections in the Podcast 

3:10 – A 7 day personal growth retreat - Mike’s first Reology lab experience

7:45 – How to communicate more effectively with others

8:00 – Making meaning of our lives & making meaning of reality 

10:20 – How Mike and Krystal effectively manage disagreements in their relationship – a concrete example

12:45 – Effective communication begins by talking about yourself, how you feel instead of projecting how you feel onto someone

13:00 – Mindfulness practice for speaking 

20:20 – The importance of having boundaries and agreements

21:20 – How much time do you guys spend on your agreements and what’s important for each other?

22:45 – "I want a partner who will motivate me, someone who will fuel me."

24:00 – Dating at first should be fun little adventure interviews. Essentially you’re getting to know whether you want to commit being in a more serious relationship with them. Once you know it’s going to be more serious, then you can start making these agreements.

26:40 – How do you bring up agreements and boundaries in your current relationship, that is starting to get a little more serious but you haven’t created any boundaries yet? How can you do this in a way that is light hearted and won’t scare your partner away?

29:30 – How much time do you spend on defining your boundaries?

29:35 – "Usually right up front everyone is working really hard on boundaries. As time goes by, we forget and we need reminders, we need constant work on these things."

29:45 – Making agreements and boundaries isn’t a one time deal. Mike and Krystal review their agreements once a month. Open communication is key to a happy relationship.

31:00 – How Mike and Krystal deal with disconnection

32:45 – “The longer that we go without talking about what’s bothering us, the more fuel that problem gets, the more internal it gets, the bigger that problem becomes.”

34:45 – Ask for what you want. We can’t expect others to be mind readers. We have to ask for what we want.

37:45 – “Most problems reside in the past or the future. Very few exist in the moment. Most problems are stories we’re telling ourselves.”

38:05 – How do you find your ideal partner? 

Like what you heard? Check out more at Your Next Chapter on the iTunes store or at www.filipsierpinski.com.