We recently participated in a weekend symposium focused on the intersections of imagination, neuroscience, art, and psychedelics at the UC San Diego Imaginarium. Viewing our couples’ therapy work from this perspective was exciting and inspiring, and it reaffirmed something we have always known: The couples that stay vibrant, resilient, and deeply connected are the ones that remain curious about each other and creative and imaginative about their relationship. They don’t just love one another. They are present and mindful, and they imagine and play together.

In the everyday rhythm of life, it’s easy for relationships to fall into grooves. Routines provide comfort, predictability, and efficiency, but they can also calcify patterns of thinking. Partners begin to assume they already “know” how the other thinks or feels. Differences that once felt intriguing become sources of frustration. Humor fades, innovation shrinks, and the relationship becomes mundane. This is where

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