Your Place Aura Mine?

I'm a man who respects science and tries to live rationally, and I'm dating this truly great woman who, unfortunately, is into astrology, energy healing, past lives, and other ridiculousness. I try to be open-minded, and I've been telling myself, "Hey, people can be different and still be together." However, she recently told me she'd seen a giant space worm out of the corner of her eye. It was 4 feet tall. Come on.

--Reasonoid

Yes, "people can be different and still be together." In one case, headphones made this possible -- for a sweet guy who cheers up by listening to death metal but fell in love with a woman whose favorite music video scene has the von Trapp children skipping around the Swiss Alps in drapes. Unfortunately, there's no nifty audio technology to block out the lack of respect you feel for your girlfriend when you hear about her getting pony rides from a space slug or refusing to eat chicken when the moon's in Aquarius. A lack of respect for your partner's beliefs (as opposed to finding them merely odd or infuriating) is the starting line for contempt -- the amped-up form of disgust -- which marriage researcher John Gottman finds is the single best predictor that a relationship will tank. So, in vetting partners, yes, it's good to keep an open mind. However, as the saying goes, just "not so open that your brains fall out" -- and you come to hear, "Hey, honey, the kids and I will be home a little late. They're running an hour and two ritual slaughters behind at the primary care shaman."