Margaret Paul, Ph.D. Relationship Article

November 2003 Issue --> Relationship Article

What Really Creates Emotional Intimacy?

By: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Think back to a time when you felt really close and connected with someone - a time when you felt emotionally intimate with this person. Think about a time when you felt light and playful with someone, or a time when laughter flowed easily, or a time when you felt you could tell your deepest secret and it would be accepted.

We all yearn for that deep connection with someone, yet few people seem to be able to maintain emotional intimacy for very long. We often have it at the very beginning of relationships, before the conflicts start. How can we maintain that wonderful intimacy in a long-term relationship?

The deep and wonderful feeling of intimacy flourishes in an atmosphere of safety. We open up when we feel safe. We take risks when we feel safe. The challenge is - how do we create this safety?

Most of the time people feel safe when they are with someone who is very accepting, caring, and compassionate. The problem is that no one is completely reliable when it comes to these qualities. Most people have bad days when they may be irritable or grumpy. What happens to the safety when the other person’s acceptance and caring goes away?

Our sense of safety needs to come from within as well as without. We need to become the person, especially with ourselves, who is consistently accepting, caring and compassionate. We need to become strong enough within to not take another’s bad day personally. We need to become centered enough within to stand up for ourselves when another gets angry or blaming. We need to become powerful enough within to stay openhearted in the face of fear and conflict.

Creating a safe enough environment for intimacy to flourish means that each person needs to take 100% responsibility for creating safety within themselves as well as safety within the relationship. We do this by practicing acceptance and compassion for ourselves, which will then naturally extend to others.

However, the moment we are triggered into fear - fear of rejection, of domination, of abandonment, of losing ourselves or losing the other - we often do anything but behave in a way that creates inner and relationship safety. We abandon ourselves and become reactive - getting angry, complying, withdrawing, resisting, blaming, defending, explaining, attacking, and so on. None of these behaviors create inner safety, nor do they contribute to relationship safety.

How do we learn to stay connected, openhearted and non-reactive in the face of fear and conflict? The key is to practice staying connected with a source of spiritual guidance (whatever that is for you) during peaceful times, so that when the fear and conflicts arise, you have that source available to you. None of us can stay open by ourselves. David Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., in his book entitled simply “I”, states that “The strength of the ego is such that it can be overcome only by spiritual power.” When our ego - our wounded self - is activated by fear and conflict, we must be able to turn to a source of spiritual power for the strength to not react with our learned defenses.

The more we practice staying connected with our spiritual guidance, the more we create inner and relationship safety. The safer we feel within ourselves and with our partner, the freer we feel to share our joy and pain with each other, which is what leads to connection and intimacy. Meditation and prayer are powerful ways of practicing our spiritual connection, as is the six step Inner Bonding process that I teach.(see our free course at www.innerbonding.com). Without a daily practice of strengthening your spiritual connection, you may find it very difficult to maintain intimacy in the face of the many conflicts that occur in committed relationships.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including Do I Have to Give Up Me to Be Loved by You?, Do I Have to Give Up Me to Be Loved by My Kids?, Healing Your Aloneness : Finding Love and Wholeness Through Your Inner Child,Inner Bonding: Becoming a Loving Adult to Your Inner Child, and Do I Have To Give Up ME to be Loved by GOD? Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: www.innerbonding.com or margaret@innerbonding.com

All data provided on this website is to be used for information purposes only. The information contained on this website and pages within, is not intended to provide specific legal, medical, financial or tax advice, or any other advice, whatsoever, for any individual or company and should not be relied upon in that regard. The services described on this website are only offered in jurisdictions where they may be legally offered. Information provided in our website is not all-inclusive, and is limited to information that is made available to and such information should not be relied upon as all-inclusive or accurate.

Bookmark this page now...

What Really Creates Emotional Intimacy? by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Stumble It!

Other Relationship articles enjoyed by our readers.

You’re More Powerful Than You Think
by Marilyn Graman and Maureen Walsh

Tips for Single & Attached Women on Celebrating the Lovers' Holiday
by Marilyn Graman

The Five Keys to Powerful Partnerships
by Layne and Paul Cutright

Here's a Taste of What You'll Get With Your Subscription...

Each month you'll have access to a new issue of the online magazine that is full of fantastic resources and help from the experts that will give you motivational training, as well as the inspiration, and education that you need to Live the Story of Your Dreams!

Weekly doses of "feel good" and practical self-help tips with The Chronicles eZine…

Live Access to the Top Movers and Shakers in the world twice a month through the Real Life Legends Teleseminar Series...

It's all completely FREE and you can unsubscribe at any time!

	Click Here with questions or comments about this web site. © Copyright 2003-2010 . Healthy Wealthy nWise. All Rights Reserved. 205 W. Liberty St., Ste. 203, Charles Town, WV 25414 304.725.2502
Home \| Affiliates \| Current Issue \| Contact Us Privacy Policy \| Terms of Use \| Subscriber Agreement Questions & Tech Support