Sacred Union: Realizing The Promise Of Spiritual Relationships

Without an open heart, without a heart as deep as a valley, we are not able to surrender to and extend toward another. Without an open heart, we are not able to hear the music of another’s heart. Without an open heart, we are not able to heal both ourselves and our partner. Opening the heart means healing the heart. It also means developing a kind heart. Without these two things, we will be lost in the often-confusing world of feeling and emotion and will not be able to live up to the full potential of true Sacred Union.

Conflict is inevitable. Anyone who doesn’t realize that will never last in a long-term relationship. It is in how we respond and react to conflict that will decide if the union will last or not. Reacting in an extreme way to any kind of conflict only fuels the fire of disharmony. How can we learn to communicate directly from our heart in a non-confronttational way? How do we learn how to really listen to our partner without criticism and judgeent? How can we learn to share our deep thoughts and feelings with the one that we love, and in turn, to really listen and receive their deep thoughts and feelings? This chapter will give the listener guidance on just how to do that.

The image of water is used over and over again in Taoism to denote the qualities of humbleness, flexibility, adaptability, persistence, and acceptance. This is called The Watercourse Way. It is in learning how to be as water ourselves and how to go with the flow in any situation or relationship that will make it much easier to grow and prosper in that relationship. But is often challenging to understand just what the flow is in any situation or relationship. Only by going deep into our own being can we be sure of always knowing and always going with that flow.

Wu Wei, or the art of non-doing, actually means not over doing, not over extending, not forcing things. As regards to relationship, this means being good in what is, rather than what you wish was. It means not forcing yourself, your views, or your timetable on your partner but instead, utilizing the Watercourse Way and allowing what is happening to be enough. This does not mean allowing your partner to be abusive, but rather allowing each partner in the relationship to flower and flourish in their own time and their own way.

Many people end up in relationships out of fear—fear of being alone, fear of being unloved, fear of being left behind, fear of growing old, or of dying without company. But is fear the right thing to base a marriage on? To base a marriage or a serious relationship on anything other than true heart love, respect, and mutual cooperation is to invite disaster. Here we will explore what a true spiritual marriage can be be.

Not all relationships or even spiritual marriages are meant to last a lifetime. How can we become sensitive to when it is time to begin and even end a Sacred Union and how can we do so without pain and suffering? We will explore how to begin and how to end a true Sacred Union in a respectful manner, both to ourselves and our partner, without a lot of drama and antagonism. Then again, it is in how we begin a relationship that will set things up in a good and healthy way.

If we want to have a healthy and harmonious relationship with another, we need to also have a healthy and harmonious relationship with ourselves. If we are not centered, not grounded, not trustworthy, we will not be trusted by another. If we do not know ourselves, in a deep way, we will not be able to know another. By practicing meditation, we will become more grounded and emotionally and spiritually balanced. By beginning and continuing with a regular meditation practice, we will be able to explore our own inner being and our connection with the greater Being, or Source. Guidance will be given on simple meditation techniques and tools for beginning and sustaining an enjoyable and helpful meditation practice.

Qigong practice is a way to access, circulate, and store healing energy or qi within our own bodies and psyches. If we are not healthy in our mind, heart, and energy, this will get in the way of us creating and sustaining true Sacred Union. This chapter will introduce the listener to some simple yet powerful Qigong practices that will help create more energy, a stronger sense of well-being, clearer thought processes, and a more balanced and more harmonious emotional life.