What Is Spiritual Intimacy

• “The feeling of freedom that you can connect at any time and in any way about spiritual things or issues is the foundation for a lasting marriage…..the it's feeling of freedom that you can connect at any moment and in any way about spiritual matters or difficulties.” There's no need to tread carefully when it comes to discussing or asking a question. You spend your lives with the assurance that you are spiritually related.” Les and Leslie Parrott's “Becoming Soul Mates” (pp. 164).
• “We make a conscious effort to share some spiritual subject that has to do with a family difficulty, a book we've been reading, a sermon we're working on, a Bible study class, or even political topics….
• The idea is that we don't go a day without talking about the greater spiritual picture of life as a couple.” (From Les and Leslie Parrott's “Becoming Soul Mates,” p. 176).
• Spiritual intimacy is defined as sharing your spirituality with your partner (spiritual disclosure) and listening to your partner's spiritual disclosures in a supportive and non-judgmental manner (spiritual support).
• Social scientists are only now beginning to investigate spiritual closeness. We asked men and wives to answer four questions about their own spiritually intimate behavior and four questions about their spouse's spiritually intimate behavior for our transition to motherhood study. See all 8 items in the gallery below. We averaged a couple's responses regarding the husband to come up with a total score for spiritually closeness. We also added items about the woman together to get a total score on her spiritual intimacy.
• My spiritual side is something I tend to keep private and distinct from my marriage. (Scored backwards)
• When my partner talks about spirituality, I try not to be judgemental or critical.
• When my partner expresses spiritual concerns or challenges, I strive to be sympathetic.
• My partner does not share his or her spiritual beliefs or feelings with me. (Scored backwards)
• When I communicate about my spiritual needs, thoughts, and feelings, my husband actually listens.
• When I tell my partner about my spiritual issues or challenges, he or she is supportive.
• Note that partners can have similar or dissimilar spiritual or religious identities and nonetheless engage in spiritual closeness with one another. Our method of determining spiritual connection does not necessitate spiritual or religious equivalence between spouses. Higher religious mutual involvement, on the other hand, is associated with greater spiritual intimacy.
• Yes, better marital functioning is predicted by more spiritual connectedness between wives and husbands.
• Increased affection, humor, and warmth for one's spouse (self-reported, partner-reported & observed)
• Negativity and hatred toward spouse are reduced (self-reported, partner-reported & observed)
• More contentment with the marriage (self-reported, partner-reported & observed)
• The less critical or angry both acted during videotaped marital exchanges from the time they were pregnant to when their first infant was a year old, the more couples felt each spouse engaged in spiritually intimate behavior. During observed marital interactions, higher spiritual closeness predicted that both wives and husbands would show more warmth, humor, and affection toward the spouse. Furthermore, higher spiritual intimacy predicted spouses' perceptions of their sentiments of love for each other, better communication skills in everyday life at home, and greater happiness with the marriage when they transitioned to motherhood. Because both direct observation of marital interactions and couples' self-reports of marital quality were used, these findings are significant. Longitudinal data was also utilized.
• The benefits of spiritual intimacy that we discovered could not be explained away by stable qualities of the spouses, such as personality traits, money, education, or their efforts to impress researchers. After controlling for stable, positive traits of the spouses, the percentage of husbands and wives who stated both partners had good communication skills did not predict how well each parent treated the other during conflictual discussions.
• To explain these findings, we propose that couples who share a strong spiritual bond are more likely to stay kind and resist the impulse to “go negative” when discussing their primary difficulties. In other words, when couples are dissatisfied with each other, they may need a strong incentive to stay civil and engaged, such as sustaining their spiritual connectedness. When you and your partner engage into painful debates about your core issues, the risk of losing your connection to your soul mate may inspire you to resist the impulse to try to win a battle. As a result, spiritual closeness is identified while one resource that may encourage new parents to keep and defend their marriage as they cope with the pressures of being first-time parents together, according to this study.

What has been discovered previously about Spiritual Disclosure, which is a component of Spiritual Intimacy?

• When two people openly communicate their spiritual journeys, questions, and doubts with one another, this is referred to as spiritual disclosure. Greater use of collaborative approaches to settle conflict has been linked to greater communication about spiritual concerns between college students and their mothers (Brelsford & Mahoney, 2008) or fathers (Brelsford, 2009). Even after controlling for how much the college student and parent talked other sensitive matters with each other (e.g., politics, alcohol or drug usage), and how important religion or spirituality was to each side, these relationships persisted.
• G. M. Brelsford, G. M. Brelsford, G. M. Brels (2010). Spirituality between college students and their fathers. 21, 27-48 in Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion.
• G. M. Brelsford and A. Mahoney (2008). Between older teenagers and their mothers, there occurs a spiritual unveiling. 62-70 in Journal of Family Psychology.

What does spiritual intimacy feel like?

When people who share a spiritual bond gather together, they feel free to be themselves.

They don't have to put on a show or split themselves into bubbles. There's no need to be defensive about who you are or what you're doing because they're totally aware of your situation.

In fact, you don't feel obligated to fill in all those lulls or spaces in a conversation, which is another indication of your connection.

Is he actually your twin flame, or is it just a coincidence? Take my fun new quiz to eliminate the guessing. Here's a link to my new twin flame quiz.

What are the four types of intimacy?

When we think about closeness, we frequently conjure up images of sex. The two are frequently used interchangeably. Intercourse is the closest we can go to another individual in terms of physical proximity. There are at least four sorts of intimacy in a romantic relationship that don't involve sex or touch at all, but are just as powerful.

In truth, long-term relationships frequently necessitate more than just chemistry in the bedroom. “The relationship can start to drift apart or remain at a very superficial level” without sorts of intimacy other than physical, says marriage therapist Hilda De La Torre, M.A., MFT.

The four sorts of intimacy you should cultivate to develop a more holistic connection and closeness with your mate are listed below:

How does a couple develop spiritual intimacy?

This event taught us that spiritual oneness is less mysterious and more practical than most people believe. It entails becoming enthralled with God's little things and making time to share them. While sitting on the deck watching your kids play in the wading pool or sliding down the slide with your two-year-old in your arms, spiritual connection can happen. It can be in profound prayer and meditation before you fall asleep embracing each other at night.

Here are some helpful hints for individuals who are having problems getting started:

• Look for sanctity in the ordinary, and remember to share it with others.
• Tell your spouse about a book you read at least once a week that inspires you.

We have formed a spiritual oneness that is almost intoxicating. We now believe we have a better understanding of the Genesis chapter where it says that the two will become one flesh. Tom and I believe we have matured into one flesh, and you can too.

Commit to something higher.

The innovative thought that your purpose is to support each other on your path to ultimate progress, to become your highest self, raises a spiritual partnership above an ordinary relationship. Make it obvious that you're striving for spiritual growth, not just physical stability or emotional support.

This means you're helping each other on your path to becoming a more “enlightened” person. Your relationship's day-to-day functioning will be determined by the goals you set for it. Expect long-term satisfaction if your objective is a radical evolution of your body, mind, and spirit; expect fulfillment beyond your dreams if your goal is a radical evolution of your body, mind, and spirit.

How do you recognize a spiritual person?

The first evidence of a spiritual person is their lack of fear. When you have a fear or a chronic worry, that fear takes over your life and you are unable to be in the present moment. Fear of public speaking, fear of heights, and fear of bugs are the three most common fears among Americans. Many people, however, are terrified of death, rejection, loneliness, failure, illness, or making poor judgments. Spiritual people understand how to yield to forces beyond their control. In this way, they are similar to children in that they know how to ignore their minds and live fearlessly.

How do you know if two souls are connected?

When two people feel they are connected on a soul level in a substantial or unusual way, they are said to have made a soul connection. It's the feeling that your connection is bigger than the earth plane, that something bigger brought you together or is at work than the practical specifics of your relationship, such being coworkers or lovers. You might have a sense that you've known each other in a previous life or that your souls decided to meet now before this one.

Tess Whitehurst, spiritual teacher and bestselling author, tells mbg, “When I hear the word'soul mate,' it often appears to connote exclusivity.” Whitehurst, who has been in a love relationship for 20 years with the same spouse, believes the contrary is true: “We have multiple soul mates.” We're all connected on a soul level since we're all part of a common humanity or spiritual consciousness.

How do you know whether you've found your soul mate? Let's take a look at different forms of soul connections, keeping in mind that there may be some overlap. In a variety of ways, someone could be your soul mate.

What the Bible says about intimacy?

Wisdom. 5:18 (Proverbs) Allow your fountain to be blessed, and delight in your youth's wife. 19 Let her breasts satisfy you at all times, as a loving hind and a lovely doe; be exhilarated by her love at all times.