Greetings!

I am so pleased to deliver the Institute's first newsletter to you. Each month we will feature an informative article about intimacy and relationships, 2-3 news articles that we hope will be of interest to you, and let you know about upcoming workshops.

Freud said that humans needed success in two areas to be happy, love and work. If you are unhappy in one area, you will just be unhappy. We believe that you can have a satisfying and full love relationship in your life, though it may mean some self-reflection and honesty on the part of both parties. But when love works, it's hard to beat for happiness.

A sack of emotional junk isn?t attractive. If you come from a place of insecurity and need, you risk turning your lover, or potential lover, off. Of course, everyone has times when they need support. That's not what I'm talking about. If you are struggling with, say, depression or the past effects of abuse, it can be very healing to have a partner who is able to hold you steady while you gain internal balance.

But whatever your struggles, you can make 2007 the year you take care of yourself. Instead of fretting about what your partner is thinking or doing, focus on you. What do you need to empty out of that sack of junk? What do you need to improve? How can you make yourself into a person worthy of love and respect? Try

• Figuring out what you need before you speak
• Taking responsibility for your feelings
• Separating affection from sex
• Overcoming inhibitions to make yourself into a better lover

New Hope for Male Contraceptive? A protein found in the tail of male sperm may be the key to a new male contraceptive, according to an online report of Developmental Biology. The protein produces the energy that enables sperm to swim. The contraceptive would destroy or alter this protein, making the sperm stand still and unable to reach the female egg. According to scientists at the Unversity of Virginia, there is renewed interest in male contraception.

Another definition for institute is a place of education. Although we are admittedly a small place, we want to establish ourselves as educators. In the future, I will be producing CDs and ebooks on the topic of sexual health that will be available online. And, I am excited to share that I have been asked to teach the graduate level course on human sexual function at Chapman University this spring.

We do have our first workshop up on the website for registration, Celebrating Women's Sexual Self- Esteem. Sign-ups are already underway. Also, If you have an idea for a workshop, please let us know. What about a workshop for men explaining women?s sexuality, and vice versa? Or we could have a representative from a sexual toy company come tell you about various toys, and we would be there to answer questions. What do you think? Send us an email if you have an idea or opinion. We are here to serve our community!