Blog Posts by Intent.com

"Tantra" means "instrument of the body." It sounds exotic, but it is actually very simple. Tantra teaches us to use all five of our senses consciously, because our senses are how we are connected with the physical world. And of course, it is with our five senses that we connect with each other, too. If you're looking to up the romance quotient in your relationship, here are a few tips from ancient India. And for good measure, let's use the romantic rose in each example. Red roses were said to be the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red signifies desire!

Touch ("Sparsa" in Sanskrit)
The skin marks the visible limits of the body, it is where we make contact with the world. Our skin is our largest organ, and 16% of our body weight. With touch we experience much of our environment: temperature, clothes, sheets, shower, etc. Wake up the sense of touch with massage. Use different materials and textures, such as a feather, a velvet hat, baby powder, a silk scarf, or rose

OK. The financial panic seems to be over. No major investment bank has followed Lehman Brothers into that good night. AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are totally, hopelessly bankrupt, but Uncle Sam is fully committed to keeping the zombies shuffling. And while some (many?) of America's banks are surely running on fumes, there's no doubt that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will cover deposits to the statutory maximum -- maybe much further.

If you're like me and just about everybody I know, you lost a hefty chunk of your savings in the past year and have been too shell-shocked to revisit the scene of the crime. But duck-and-cover is not an adequate investment strategy for the long term. Some day you'll have to get back in the saddle. And the sooner you do, the more likely you'll be able to meet your savings goals - whether it is college for the kids, a house in a better neighborhood or retirement before you're too old to enjoy it. Here's a few tips (ten of them, because

For different reasons, significant numbers of kids are choosing a vegetarian diet. As I recently discussed on Good Morning America and GMA Health (watch them here), a vegetarian diet can be an extremely healthy nutrition plan for a child as well as an adult. I wanted to follow-up those pieces with more tips for parents of vegetarian kids.

How do we develop eating occasions for vegetarian kids? Paying attention to a) nutrient balance (carb, pro, fats) b) providing variety c) including vegetables …I will start with C first.

Vegeta - rian…say it with your child…veg-e-ta-rian…parents often struggle with getting their kids to eat vegetables. If your child chooses to be a vegetarian, its worth it to discuss the old "what's in a name" and have them commit to eating a rainbow of vegetables during their week.

Tip #1 Dip them in hummus, peanut or almond butter, or a yogurt (or tofu) -based dip and they will get protein as well

Tip #2 Try great-tasting products like Dr Praegers

Lots of weight loss products promise miracles. One in particular that I recall says a magic pill lets you lose weight while you sleep. Now, groundbreaking new studies are revealing that you don't even need a mystical (and questionable) potion to lose weight while sleeping; what women in particular need is sleep itself for effortless weight loss. (Do you know of an easier way to lose weight than indulging in lots of restful sleep?) There's one caveat though: women need to sleep enough hours to reap the rewards; skimp on sleep and the converse occurs-you're more likely to put on pounds.

Counting Zzzzzz's

Are women really more prone to put on pounds when they don't get enough sleep? Absolutely, says Sanjay Patel, M.D., the lead investigator of the study that revealed the link. To come to this unexpected conclusion, Dr. Patel and his team conducted the largest study of its kind. Starting in 1986, they began to track the sleep habits of almost 70,000 middle-aged women; at the

Apple cider vinegar is my favorite new DIY household product. Just as how baking soda has a huge range of uses from personal self-care to household cleaning, apple cider vinegar can do pretty much anything--for your skin, your hair, your house, and even your pets.

I learned about apple cider vinegar when I was researching ways to get rid of the fleas that had unfortunately begun cropping up in my apartment from my roommates' two cats. Apple cider vinegar, apparently, when rubbed on the pet and added to the pet's water, can greatly help repel the fleas from the animal.

Why should we all start using more apple cider vinegar? First of all, apple cider vinegar is a completely natural product: apple juice is fermented to hard apple cider, which is fermented a second time to apple cider vinegar. In integrating this natural product into our homes, we instantly decrease the consumption of unnatural chemicals in our daily lives.

Here are many other benefits of apple cider vinegar

How we achieve happiness can be different for each one of us. Our passions, expectations, life experiences, and even our personalities all contribute to the level of happiness we experience in our lives. Some find happiness in their careers while others prefer the bliss found in their marriages or other intimate relationships.

No matter how you define happiness for yourself, there are certain universal and time-proven strategies to bring, and sustain, more happiness into your life. The following 14 timeless ways to live a happy life can be adapted and even customized to fit your needs. Over time, these strategies will become positive and life-changing habits that will begin to bring more happiness, joy and peace into your life.

1. Notice What's Right
Some of us see the glass as being half-full, while others see the glass as half-empty. The next time you are caught in traffic, begin thinking how nice it is to have a few moments to reflect on the day, focus on a problem you have been

There's a lot of advice out there about getting good sleep -- and it's very important. We quickly adjust to being sleep-deprived, and don't notice that we aren't functioning at a normal level, but lack of sleep really affects us. If you're feeling blue or listless, try going to sleep thirty minutes earlier for a week. It can really help.

Here are tips that have helped me get good sleep:

Good habits for good sleep:

1. Exercise most days, even if it's just to take a walk.

2. No caffeine after 6:00 p.m.

3. An hour before bedtime, avoid doing any kind of work that takes alert thinking. Addressing envelopes-okay. Analyzing an article-nope.

4. Adjust your bedroom temperature to be slightly chilly.

5. Keep your bedroom dark. Studies show that even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle. We have about six devices in our room that glow bright green; it's like sleeping in a mad scientist's lab. I have to put a pillow over the cable

Everyone wonders whether or not there is one great secret for truly successful living. There is. And it is not a secret. It has been quietly, steadily telling itself right in front of us all along. We just couldn't hear it over the clatter and chatter of our own secret demands. Listen quietly for a moment. Everything can change right now. Learning to hear this supreme secret is no more difficult than choosing whether to swim against a current or to let it carry you safely to the shore. Let it speak its wisdom to that secret part of you that can not only hear what it is saying but that is, in reality, its very voice. Listen to it now. It is saying, "Want What Life Wants." Think about it. Locked within these four simple words is the secret of an uncompromising power for effortless living; a new kind of power that never fails to place you on the winning side of any situation. Why? Because when you want what Life wants, your wish is for Life itself.

"What if I don't like what life brings