To be in relationship is to open to the hidden streams of feeling and intuition in each other, the unconscious shiftings that take us into areas of our individual and joined being that are beyond our imagination. These are soul stirrings that beckon from the other side of what already is.
We see the soul not as a container but as a beacon, sometimes intense, sometimes a whisper, sometimes a demand, sometimes a tease, animated by a desire to bring us even closer by pointing out the way as well as what is in the way.
As a married couple of eighteen years we still have regular, long and intimate conversations, scheduled or spontaneous, during which we listen not just to ourselves and each other but to what is alive between us. We explore and witness that which makes us different from each other, the particularities that make us each who we really are, and marvel at how two distinct points of view co-create a third, the unity that is our relationship.
This is not necessarily pain-free. When inspired by the movements of the soul, love finds some of its deepest courage in seeking out old wounds, unforgotten slights, insecurities and fears, all of that within us that yearns to be loved and to be whole.
When allowed to come to the surface, the unresolved pain is embraced and set free by the love we have evolved over the nineteen years we’ve been together, a love built upon respect for our differences, trust and willingness to go wherever our souls lead us and a determination to provide for our own and each other’s well-being.
We also delight in the soul as a wellspring of joy. We live in the country and very often, even in the winter, we take long walks along our winding road. We both now those moments when one of us catches a glimpse of the other unawares, nothing covering, just pure, unveiled radiance, and are filled with sweet feeling just to know that we are together.
The soul is also a window onto the universe. We attempt to stay conscious of not just the material universe spanning light-years and plunging to unimaginable depths inward. But also of the souls weaving into an unceasing hum the innumerable relationships between all levels of life. That vibrating lattice of being that we do not see but feel is there, cannot put into words but sense as the underlying support of all that is.
That window opened for us just the other evening. Glistening across the fifteen inches of snow that covered the land, the full moon cast its moon shadows in every direction. The landscape was a lacework of dark tracings that resembled the patterns on our handmade Chinese bedspread. The similarities were unmistakable. We stood spellbound in the presence of the Oneness that emanates from All That Is and abides in all that is.
It is an awesome experience to be aware of how we are embedded in this life and in one another and yet remain well-defined as individuals, each seeing in the other themselves and in themselves the other.
We look for those moments in our daily lives when the soul peeks out and we make a point of calling them to each other’s attention. We delight in sharing them because they are part of the magic of being alive, a magic that is expressed in the teeming variety we see around us, what we call the magic of differences, as that variety gives evidence of the Oneness.
It is only through the depth of love that the soul enjoins us to develop that we can eel loved through and through for all that we are and all that we are still to be. It is only through the wisdom of the soul that we can transcend the need to control and open our hearts to the truth and beauty that each of us brings to what we share. And only then can we sincerely say to each other, “I love living with you!”
Judith & Jim are the best-selling authors of four books on relationships.
Their latest is The Smart Couple's Guide to the Wedding of Your Dreams.
For a complimentary 2-chapter excerpt go to
http://www.smartweddingcouples.com
And for the audio/transcript of their latest teleseminar, "What Is Love?"
just go to www.judithandjim.com/
whatislove
