Embracing the Many Facets of Love

Romantic love is a delicious form of love. Night after night, movie and television producers show us colorful examples of romantic love. For a lot of people, the sensation of butterflies in the stomach during early infatuation deepens into a committed, loving relationship that stays intact during the natural ebb and flow of life. Sustaining a healthy partnership for a lifetime is an admirable and beautiful accomplishment.

However, as we know from the high divorce rates these days, not all loving, committed relationships survive the intense demands of living in today’s world. As a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist who specializes in stress management…

People trust me with
the stresses they feel
in their relationships
long after the butterflies
have left the building.

Unfortunately, hurt and resentment can transform light and airy butterfly feelings into dark, heavy sensations that may contribute to stress-related physical challenges. When this becomes an issue for my clients, I offer referrals to some of my licensed Marriage and Family Therapist associates. Sometimes I team up and work in conjunction with these associates on behalf of my clients to address their individual stress issues.

Some of the tools I offer teach people how to go inward and increase self-awareness. In doing so, my clients learn how to reduce their stress responses by exploring their thoughts, feelings, and physical tensions.

When they get past
their habitual patterns
and connect with
their inner WISDOM,
clients find they are
more at ease with themselves.

Getting comfortable in their own skins is one of the wonderful benefits of increasing emotional awareness. Then, after they have established an emotional connection with themselves, they are better equipped to work on their relationships.

Because, let’s face it, to be truly emotionally intimate with another, we must first have an emotional connection with ourselves. For this reason, emotional intimacy begins from the inside out.

Directly expressing wants and needs is another tool I offer clients via my Assertiveness Training. Replacing passivity or aggressiveness with clear communications creates healthy bridges to others.

Authenticity comes from knowing ourselves underneath the protective armor, and then, from this rich place of self-awareness, sharing “who we are” with safe others. The term “safe others” refers to people with whom we’ve established a strong foundation of trust. With the trust in place, we have a safe container for sharing our strengths as well as our vulnerabilities. This approach to emotional intimacy encourages soulful connections with a variety of loved ones—including a mate, dear friends, and family members.

In this way,
the gift of heartfelt
emotional intimacy
comes when we risk knowing
and being known
by others.

In closing, how about letting February be an opportunity to let ALL of your loved ones (including “fur babies”) know how important they are to you? Whether you’re married, widowed, cohabiting, divorced, or single today, consider honoring the various facets of LOVE in your life.

Start from the inside out. Allow self-awareness and loving self-care to merge and serve as your foundation. This solid base can then be the inner springboard for your outgoing love. As a result, you will be creating a balanced experience of giving and receiving…loving and being loved.

For 2022
let’s actively practice
MINDFULNESS
as individuals, partners,
family members, community members,
and importantly “world members.”
Let’s continue to cultivate abundance
by embracing the many,
many facets of LOVE,
COMPASSION &
CONNECTEDNESS.

– Trina Swerdlow

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