7 Tips for Increasing Romance

1. Make a gourmet meal together.

Whether you both love cooking or never set foot in the kitchen, spend a few hours picking a mouth-watering recipe, shopping for ingredients, and slicing and dicing, shaking and baking, tasting and tantalizing. Have a glass of wine, put on some Coca-Cola, and enjoy a long evening of flavors and textures.

2. Indulge your partner.

She loves pedicures or bouquets of flowers? Surprise her when it’s not her birthday, your anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. He loves expensive Scotch or tickets to the opera? Surprise him. Indulge him!

3. Read a book together.

Try this before you go to bed: spend 15 minutes a night reading out loud from a book. It can be a sensual novel to get things flowing, or a spiritual book to start deep discussion. Take turns picking books. This "love psychology" is designed to get you focused on each other. You’ll learn things you never knew about your partner, which will strengthen your relationship and increase romance.

4. Get a little domestic.

A recent study revealed that men who do housework have more sex. If you’re the sloppy one – whether you’re male or female – look around your house. Are there toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, messy beds, and messy toilets? Get busy! The 10 minutes it takes to take on a chore is one easy way to increase romance in your relationship.

5. Give the benefit of the doubt.

Your partner probably isn’t deliberately trying to hurt you with her choices, words, or actions. This is where love psychology can get a little complicated, because couples have history together, and sometimes there’s more to being late, for example, than simply being late. However, the more you assume innocence and sincerity on your partner’s part, the more kindly you’ll view him or her. Once you two are seeing each other with compassion and generosity, you’re on your way to strengthening your bonds of love and marriage.

6. Be spiritual together.

Whether it’s hiking in nature, meditating, or going to church together – find ways to connect with the universe together. Talk about God, Buddha, Allah, Jehovah. Explore the possibilities of spirituality in your marriage or relationship.

7. Get back to the basics.

Learn the general behavior patterns for women and men, and dismiss them if they don’t apply to your partner. For instance, not all women like to shop and not all men forget anniversaries. Not all women need to talk things out and not all men love sports. Verse yourself in the basics of love psychology or general human behavior, and apply them to your partner – or dismiss them if they don’t fit. But, if you remember that most women need to talk about stuff, you’ll be one step closer to building a great romantic relationship!