Ethan Nichtern is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, and the author of The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path. He is also the founder of The Interdependence Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to secular Buddhist study and Transformational Activism. Shastri Nichtern has taught meditation and Buddhist studies classes and retreats across the United States since 2002. Today, we talk with Ethan Nichtern about our relationship to relationship and the difference between romance and romantic relationships. Often in relationship we neglect the fact that there is another person involved, we will discuss the value in the practice of being transparent to feel more connected. We talk about how as a society and with social media we have seen the dating and relationship landscape change very quickly. He discusses his overall philosophy on relationships and cultural clichés around what different kinds of relationships are supposed to look like.