For years I’ve been supporting women to be happier and to live more fulfilling lives, and I’ve only recently come to understand just how important sex and sensuality is to living a truly happy and complete life, and to being our true selves.

To discuss the importance of sex and sensuality and how we can embrace it in our lives, I am joined by Beth Liebling, luxury boutique owner, host of the radio show Love and Laughter with Beth on ESPN Houston, and the author of Love and Laughter: Sexy, Meaningful Fun For Everyone (which you can get at Amazon here).

The subtitle of her book is a nod to the importance of being able to laugh about and find humor in sex and sexuality. Sometimes sex is intense and grandiose love-making, heartfelt in every way, slow and tender. Sometimes it’s raunchy and “dirty” and hard and fast. In the middle is where we recognize the significance, the meaning, the joy, the pleasure, the intimacy, and the humor, and this approaches a truly divine connection with another person. Sometimes we want these other extremes, and that’s perfectly fine, but we should be able to experience a wide variety, shifting from one to another according to our needs and desires.

Sadly, many women don’t enjoy a healthy, pleasurable sex life, and according to Beth, this commonly stems from their childhood. Women often see two paths before them when they’re young: They can be a good girl, or they can be a slut. In addition, they’re told to love, and that women should be loving, but that this should really only be from their heart and not from their bodies, because once they start enjoying love with their bodies they’re labeled sluts.

When Beth works with women she emphasizes the distinction between sensuality and sexuality, and she stresses the importance of getting in touch with one’s own sensuality before working on their sexuality. She also addresses the sensitive topic of how parents can talk to their children about touching themselves.

We hire coaches for our golf game but we don’t think about hiring coaches for intimacy and sexuality, and many of us would truly benefit from exactly that kind of coaching! There’s so much more to sex than anatomy and biology, and we have a lot to learn, and this learning can be very pleasurable. Part of this learning is learning about our own needs. Sometimes women engage in sex when what they’re really craving is emotional intimacy, and getting in touch with what we truly need and desire is an important part of a fulfilling life of sexuality and sensuality.

Beth explains why she prefers the term “romantic props” to “sex toys,” and what each phrase implies about our sex lives. Her mission with her store, Darling Way, is to put fun and laughter and beauty back in sex and intimacy. She fosters a sense of community with her customers, and encourages conversation and connection.

You can learn more about Beth and her boutique at https://darlingway.com, and about her online course, From Good Girl to Sexy Siren: The Secrets to Being a Great Lover here.

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May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life.

Bye for now!