by Joe Beam

“Love is a feeling you feel when you feel you’re feeling a feeling you never felt before.”

Sounds profound, doesn’t it? I quoted it for years until I thought about the first time I received an electric shock.

That was a feeling I’d never felt before, but I’ll guarantee you it wasn’t love!

The problem with the word love is that we use it to apply to so many emotions or situations that we sometimes don’t know what it means. So what is it? What is this thing called love?

Dr. Robert Sternberg at Yale University probably defines it best. He says that love consists of three components: 1) decision/commitment; 2) intimacy; and 3) passion. When all three strongly exist in our feelings for another person, he says that we feel consummate love for that person. What do these components mean?

Decision/Commitment has both a short-term and long-term dimension. The short-term dimension occurs when we consciously decide that we love someone. The long-term dimension occurs when we commit to maintain that love. Interestingly, some evolve into commitment without ever consciously deciding to do so.
Intimacy means closeness, connectedness, warmth, and bondedness. It has to do with understanding each other, accepting each other, and having open and intimate communication with each other.
Passion is physical attraction, sexual desire, and other strong emotional attraction to another person.
These three components of love were recognized in the time of Jesus. Commitment corresponds to agape found in passages like Matthew 5:44. Intimacy corresponds to philia found in passages like Titus 2:4. And Passion corresponds to eros. Dr. Sternberg didn’t find anything new in his research; he simply quantified how these components measure love.

So what does this mean to you?

I constantly hear people say things like, “I’m not sure if I love my husband,” or “I don’t know if my husband loves me.” Well, you can know. Instead of trying to measure an undefined, intangible feeling, try to understand how each of the three components exists in your marriage. The best way to do that is to have a revealing conversation with your spouse. The following exercise isn’t foolproof, but it may give each of you insight into the love in your relationship. You must do the exercise together and you must be completely honest.

1. Each spouse describes/defines what commitment means to him or her.

2. Using the spouse’s definition, each person rates his or her commitment to the other on a scale of one to ten. Be sure to explain the rating chosen.

3. Each person then answers this question: How satisfied am I with the levels of commitment we each have?

4. Each spouse describes/defines what intimacy means to him or her.

5. Using the spouse’s definition, each person rates his or her feelings of intimacy for the other on a scale of one to ten. Be sure to explain the rating chosen.

6. Each person then answers this question: How satisfied am I with the levels of intimacy we each feel?

7. Each spouse describes/defines what passion means to him or her.

8. Using the spouse’s definition, each person rates his or her feelings of passion for the other on a scale of one to ten. Be sure to explain the rating chosen.

9. Each person then answers this question: How satisfied am I with the levels of passion we each feel?

10. Now, together evaluate the love you feel and decide what each of you can do to develop more commitment, intimacy, and passion.

It may take you an evening or two to complete the exercise, but if you do, you’ll likely have a clearer picture of your love for each other.

If you don’t like everything you hear from each other, don’t panic. We’ll show you how to make love grow, no matter what you feel for each other right now. I guess that would sound arrogant except for the fact that at LovePath International we’ve seen it happen with thousands of marriages.

A female teacher is said to be pregnant for one of her male students at a high school, and has reportedly sparked controversy in eastern Jamaica with some parents calling for immediate disciplinary action to be taken.

Reports reaching THE STAR are that residents of the community in which the school is located have been calling for the school to relieve the teacher of her post since it was recently revealed who is the father of her child.

It is said, however, that so far there has not been any move at the institution to charge the teacher for professional misconduct or to take any other disciplinary action.

This lack of action from the school is said to have also prompted some of the parents to carry their complaints further to the board of the school, encouraging them to carry out an investigation into the matter, and to bring the guilty parties to book, so that the tarnished image of the school can be repaired.

THE STAR learnt that word of the pregnancy had spread like wildfire after the student father declared that it was his child. It is said that previously rumours had been spreading of the possibility.

The student and the teacher are said to have been friends for a period of time and were spotted in very close intimate positions by other students.

“The Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association need to get to the bottom of this. It is not looking good for the profession or the school,” a concerned resident told THE STAR.

The resident further said; “I think when these things take place the teachers and the students involved should be removed, and send a message to others who might have the minds to do such things.”

BECAUSE MI WAA KNOW HOW SHERNETTE A KEEP PARTY AND SHE DEH A JAIL…IS HOW DIS A GUH HAPPEN?

A MEAN DI BABY DEM CYAA GO BACK BUT WHAT A PIECE A CELEBRATATION HEE

Met, dis nuh normal ah bloodclat di gyal sheresse aka sher ah nyam off di yute cocky like ah di last meal. di ppl dem sey a longtime she a freak n a swipe but a now she get ketch.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150658165853996

http://jmgspankingnewmusic.com/?p=170

Police probe murder of 16-year-old mother and child

Monday, March 12, 2012
CASTRIES, St Lucia, (CMC) – Police are investigation three murders including that of a 16-year-old mother and her 18 month-old daughter.

Police said that the bodies of Krisselle Fanis and her baby, Keisha, were discovered at their home here on Monday morning with multiple stab wounds, while her 24-year-old boyfriend, Nelson Remy remains in a critical condition at hospital with stab wounds.

Police said they are working on the theory that the boyfriend may have stabbed the teenager and her baby and turned the knife on himself, after drinking poison.

Meanwhile, police are probing the death of 30-year-old Terrel Reynolds, also known as Terrel James, who was shot over the weekend.

Police said that Reynolds was near the Castries market when he was approached by an individual who fired several shots at him, hitting him about the body. He was taken to the Victoria Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police said that one person is assisting their investigations.