Living Our Humanity, with Hella Zouiten

"Love & Relationships (2/2): Friction, Fun and Deepening the Bond" The Ever-Becoming Self, Part 6

Do you wish to love more freely while remaining fully yourself? Do you also long for more fun, pleasure and joy in your life and in your relationships? “Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” James Baldwin In this second part of Love & Relationships (2/2), I move toward friction, the importance of finding the right “distance” from which we can truly meet another, and the ways shared joy, pleasure, and fun nourish our bonds and bring us back to life. Through reflections and real life illustrations, I explore how relationships deepen when two people can stand firmly in who they are while continuing to move toward one another. Writing about love and relationships, although at times challenging, has been a beautiful journey for me. I hope this piece resonates with you or invites you to reflect on the many forms of love in your life. Written and read by Hella Zouiten. Published in ELLE Egypt. The article: https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-6-love-relationships-2-2-friction-fun-and-deepening-the-bond/ [https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-6-love-relationships-2-2-friction-fun-and-deepening-the-bond/] My website: https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html [https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html]

"Love & Relationships (1/2): Loneliness, Intimacy and the Way Back to the Heart" The Ever-Becoming Self, Part 6

Do you long to show more of who you truly are and deepen the way you relate to others? “To love well is the task in all meaningful relationships, not just romantic bonds.” Bell Hooks. In this first part of Love & Relationships (1/2), I explore loneliness, emotional intimacy and vulnerability. I also touch on trust, discernment, fear, and the courage required to be oneself AND remain present in relationships. I also share a simple practice in opening to another and receiving. Love & Relationships (2/2), coming next week, will include more real life illustrations and dive deeper into friction in relationships, exploring the notion of the “right distance.” It will also make space for lightness, pleasure and fun, and the role they can play in deepening and strengthening our bonds. Written and narrated by Hella Zouiten. Published in ELLE Egypt. The article: https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-6-first-part/ My website: https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html

"The Four Pillars of LOVE" The Ever Becoming Self , Part 5

In search of relationships that feel more alive, more authentic? Wondering how to truly nurture a relationship over time? What if loving fully were not only a feeling, but an art, an ongoing commitment to oneself and to the other… “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” - Carl Gustav Jung In this audio article, I explore the nature of relationships as a space of transformation, where our longing for connection meets our need for freedom. Rooted in both personal experience and my work in body-oriented psychotherapy, this episode looks at how our histories, defenses shape the way we love, relate, and position ourselves in the presence of another. This episode offers a journey through the four pillars of love. Through reflections, lived examples, and references to thinkers such as Erich Fromm and Brené Brown, it invites us to reconsider love as an art. It opens a space for reflection on what allows a relationship to endure and deepen over time. Written and narrated by Hella Zouiten. Published in ELLE Egypt. The article: https://www.elle.eg/part-5-the-four-pillars-of-love/ My website: https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html

"Our Mask, Our Dark Side & Our Shared Humanity" The Ever-Becoming Self, Part 4

Longing for harmony and an authentic way to relate with yourself and others? What if reaching for the life that we yearn for goes through looking into the aspects of ourselves that we have been repressing/rejecting... “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” - C. G. Jung In this audio article, I explore the masks we develop to protect ourselves and how they impact our behavior, relationships, and sense of self. Drawing from Core Energetics (body-oriented psychotherapy), depth psychology, and real life examples, this episode looks at our shadow, and the defenses that once served survival but now limit our capacity for intimacy, creativity, and inner freedom. This episode invites an honest encounter with what we often reject in ourselves—anger, fear, pride, etc—and with the paradox that transformation does not come from perfection or self-improvement, but from integration. By bringing awareness to these inner movements, we begin to reclaim the energy locked in defense and open the way toward a more grounded, authentic way of living. Written and read by Hella Zouiten. Full article on ELLE Egypt: https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-4-our-mask/ [https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-4-our-mask/] My website: https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html [https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html]

"Reconnecting with your body" The Ever Becoming Self, Part 3

Feeling tense, overwhelmed or lacking direction? What if the way back to yourself does not start with more planning and thinking, but with your body... In this audio article, I explore the body as an inner compass. It is an invitation to listen to the body, to notice its signals and start a dialogue that supports moving through the challenge of “big emotions”, anxiety, overwhelm and tension. I also look at the inner critic, this deep seated and often outdated protection, and offer ways that could help soften its grip. This episode also honors relational grounding and various other ways to a more can support embodiement in every day life. Written and read by Hella Zouiten. Full article on ELLE Egypt: https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-3-reconnecting-with-body/ [https://www.elle.eg/the-ever-becoming-self-part-3-reconnecting-with-body/] My website: https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html [https://livingourhumanity.com/en/index.html]