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When to leave your relationship

This will not set well with traditional Christians but gee whiz! Since we are imperfect and undoubtedly make mistakes in life, we ought to be able to reverse any decisions made in the past that are causing havoc in our present life if possible. Lives are destroyed all the time when a couple has decided to hang in there and not divorce, “as our parents did.”
Get a grip on reality and do a Ben Franklin close on your current relationship to see if you should even be trying to salvage it. In case you’re not familiar with what a Ben Franklin close is, draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and on the left, list the pros and on the right, list the cons of your relationship – see what the score is in the end

Stopping the behavior doesn't stop the control by terror

In the State of Washington, a court mandated Domestic Violence Perpetrator is required to attend six months of weekly sessions and six months of monthly for a total of 30 visits to the treatment facility. In most cases, are the perpetrators simply attending and not realizing any intrinsic change? Do they graduate at the end of the year regardless of progress?
Folks! We may be stopping some of the behavior but know this – most likely, the physical violence is transitioning into a more subtle less visible kind of abuse. A person can be terrorized without physical violence and get away with it because being a jerk is not illegal.
There are women in this country – in the world for that matter, who have been reduced to mere property and their souls have been amputated, leaving them with little to no self respect. And so, the current system is in dire need of change and soon if we are to rid ourselves of the home grown terrorism that tears at the core of our communities. It is disgusting to think about how the children will be starting life at a disadvantage simply because of home violence.

Reason for writing this book

I received some feedback on the book and find that some have missed the point. And that is, with matters of the heart, it is complex and can’t be resolved with unprofessional intervention, family, or friends who want only to join in on the folly. Marriage is the union of two people and it’s a sexual union. That’s what makes it so complex – because human sexuality is beyond any buddy buddy relationship outside the home.
When Domestic Violence happens, understand that it is not a disease rather, a behavior based on one gender’s perceived superiority over the other – it’s about unequal power and control in the relationship. In the case of Tuan Dao? He was a broken person. He was well liked outside his home. In fact, there lies the contradiction. How could he be such a loved person outside the home and a crazed, jealous husband within the walls of matrimony?
It’s obvious to me…His ideas of parental and husband roles were distorted and in the end…it was the shame and disappointment that drove him to murder his own children. It was not rational. It was a power play and a final attempt to control his own environment. This is proof enough for me to believe he suffered from a childhood attachment disorder.
I didn’t write that book as a work of literary art folks. It is a story; a gruesome story of how relationships can end up fatal. Take care all.
 
Mike

Power and Control

Okay, so what’s the big deal about “Power and Control” issues? Should power and control be judged by the motives of the person who is seeking it out? Is it possible that an inner need to have this power and control be a sure sign there is a lack of it and makes one feel inadequate without it? And what about how a person feels when confronted by another who is trying to overpower them? Is this a trigger for the person who already has a pathology of unregulated anger?
What ever the case is, it should be said simply, “Too much of any one thing can be considered unhealthy.” That includes ice-cream, beer, candy, soda pop, and of course, power and control. If it’s true, “life is not fair” and we are always compromising about something, then the power and control needs a person feels should be explored to hopefully discover what those irrational needs are so the irrationality can be extinguished in favor of a more comfortable and happy relationship with your spouse.

Interviewing a potential spouse?

I heard this last weekend – “Maybe those hard questions should be asked of the potential mate, how was your relationship with your father?” Was this question directed to a female? Probably was and to address it, I would say that it’s not likely possible to cover all the bases when screening our potential mate. It would be good information though, to know and understand the immediate family relationship as experienced by a potential life partner.
But since we most likely are not led by our logical side when it comes to embarking on a relationship, any issues arising out of the clouds of love, passion, and  otherwise healthy relationships, will have to be dealt with when they pop up. Oh well, such is life…right back to where I think the beginning of understanding is – COMMUNICATION.
This is that thing we use to get a message across to a receiver and hopefully, the receiver gets the same message I am sending. Any thoughts?

The Struggle for Control

The scenario is, I was arrested and the charges against me were Assault IV/Domestic Violence. It has never happened before – or should I say, the Police have never been called before. Okay, let’s say, I don’t get physically abusive in my home but this one time, I lost control of myself…oh, did I say control? Yes, it really is about control and the relinquishing of that control to you intimate partner. How can I do that? I was raised to be in charge of my family. In fact, nobody ever told me but I think it meant, “I am the superior gender of the two”
That was my assumption all these years? So when I attend Domestic Violence treatment and it takes me weeks – maybe months to admit that I am a power and control seeker. I’ll know it’s my problem because it’s the denial that supports the premise that I seek control. It’s what I was taught. Maybe not directly but I learned it nonetheless. This is how I know it’s my problem. I can’t admit in an open forum that I am not necessarily the superior gender. I can’t say that my partner and I really have a partnership and in any sense of the word, we are not collaborators. And so, it will take me maybe longer than the court has mandated, to rebuild my relationship if there is a relationship left.
This was just an example of what I sometimes witness…