Awaken to Love | Soulwoman Life Planner 2016 / Fun Quiz

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Forever Love

Forever love: it's the stuff that fairytales are made of, and no great love story is complete without the promise of '...and they lived happily ever after...'

The reality is that it's not easy to make a relationship last a lifetime. In fact, there has been a lot of research about the pressures on long-term relationships and what causes them to fail. Yet it's just as important to take a long, hard look at how couples make long-term relationships a success. So let's explore the surprising secrets that are the key to happy relationships. 

Here are a few of the most important secrets to forever love:

1. It's essential that both partners declare themselves willing to make themselves vulnerable. They have to be willing to open their hearts to the other, and to be curious about how to fulfil each others needs. 
2. In forever love there needs to be shared relational responsibility, so that each partner is pulling their weight to maintain the love in the relationship. 
3. It really is the 'small stuff', the seemingly insignificant acts of kindness and gestures of thoughtfulness that create the most appreciation for each other in a love relationship. It's important to say thank you, and to recognise the time and effort required to generate an income or to complete tiresome household chores. 
4. Regular surprise treats are also important, like gifting your partner with a box of chocolates, or even just making them a nice cup of tea when they're tired. The small things we do for each other form the glue that keeps a couple together. They provide us with security and remind us that the other person is committed, and that's an incredibly important part of feeling safe in a relationship. 
5. Non-verbal communication and physical affection, like a look, a hug, or a caress, is just as important as an intimate conversation, or those all-important words, 'I love you.' It's important to maintain physical closeness and spectacular sex. 
6. Shared activities have a profoundly positive impact on couples, including exercising together on a regular basis, or reliving happy memories and having fun. 
7. Conflict isn't a deal-breaker, unless it's handled poorly. It's important to air those everyday niggles before they build up into something much bigger.

All couples experience stressful times, be it going through financial difficulties or illness, experiencing losses, or simply just trying to balance all the lifestyle factors that come with modern life. The happiest couples pull together in times of hardship. There seems to be a lot of wisdom in the old belief that 'what doesn't break you will make you' in terms of external stressors on a relationship. Being there for each other through difficult times is something that makes relationships stronger. 

Download my guide to intimacy and passion here. 

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More praise for awaken to love

Awaken to Love is one of those rare treasures that you want to return to again and again and again. The author shares generously about her own relationship challenges and her work with clients as a relationship therapist, and provides practical teachings and exercises that can be implemented immediately to transcend pain, heal heartbreak and transform an intimate relationship from a place of disconnection and conflict into a haven of love. This sounds like a big promise, but it is fulfilled in the explanation of how relationship is essentially a spiritual journey.

Relationships aren't meant to be 'perfect'. The author explains how relationships challenge you, shape you and help you grow. The book provides excellent guidance on how to love yourself first, release old patterns and manage intense emotions, as well as how to deal with conflict, practice forgiveness, celebrate passion, and actualise the true meaning of love. 

A highlight is the author's 'Love Illuminations' that introduce each chapter. For example, 

'As challenging as they are, love relationships are part of the moving, breathing, unfolding cycle of life. Just like the seasons, relationships change. If you expect it to be sunny every day, you will be disappointed. If you resist the wind and the rain, you will be frustrated. The very nature of love is dynamic. Nothing can stay alive and vibrant without dying and being reborn occasionally. The challenge is to embrace change because it also holds the gift. Without change there is no growth. Without growth, love dies.'

This book should be required reading for all couples who want to work towards having happy, soulful and fulfilling relationships. ~ Willow Johnson

Pages Related to Forever Love

• 8-Week Passion Plan
• Relationship Problems Advice
• Relationship Help
• How to Save your Relationship

love quotes

From Awaken to Love....

Love Quote of the Day

'Write me of hope and love, and hearts that endured...'

~ Emily Dickinson ~

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