What is a spiritual love? How does spirituality come into play in relationships?

• Spiritual love can refer to a love rooted in a spiritual connection that helps us find meaning and purpose in our lives.
• These spiritual loves can serve different purposes: some are meant to walk with us through life, while others are meant to teach us lessons.
• Sometimes their purpose isn’t obvious right away; that said, our spirituality can help us better understand our relationships.
• In fact, our spirituality has a heavy influence on all of our relationships, whether we set aside time for engaging in spiritual practices or not.
• Ultimately, spirituality connects us to something bigger than ourselves, and furthers or stunts our relationships with others based on our spiritual connection.

Spiritual Purposes in Relationships: Life Blessings and Life Lessons

What is a spiritual love? As with many questions about our spirituality, there isn’t one definition or example of a spiritual love. That said, spiritual love can refer to a love that is rooted in or supported by a deep spiritual connection that helps us find meaning in life. Sometimes these spiritual loves are meant to last, and sometimes they’re meant to merely guide us in the right direction and then leave us to it. Dr. Alise Holland explains: “People come into our lives for either life blessings or life lessons. When partners are connected to their spirituality, then they can identify the purpose of a relationship.”

1. Life blessings: What exactly does Holland mean when she says people come into our lives to serve as life blessings? They complement and further our efforts in building a meaningful life. “For instance, individuals may come together to raise children or create something for humanity.”
2. Life lessons: Others enter our lives to teach us important life lessons that support healthy growth and development. “When one or the other partner has life lessons to work on that the soul needs to learn that involve healing childhood emotional issues such as abandonment, rejection, or personal power issues, then he or she attracts the perfect soulmate to help him or her grow spiritually.”

So, how can we determine a partner’s purpose? Sometimes, their purpose isn’t revealed until later in the relationship. That said, as Holland prefaced, when we take the time to connect to our spiritual selves—to meditate, spend time in nature, surrender to art, worship our religion, or tap into our spirituality in another way—the answers become clear.

What If a Relationship Lacks Spiritual Connection?

Remember, spirituality is connecting to something bigger than ourselves. It’s practicing peace and purpose, which might involve asking ourselves questions like, “How can I find fulfillment?” and, “How can I live the best life possible?” While some people connect to their spiritual selves by turning to their religion, and others find it in nature or art, our spirituality often has a heavy influence on every area of life. Therefore, our spirituality or lack thereof can have an impact on our relationships. Holland explains:

“A lack of spirituality can harm relationships because individuals may not understand who they are fully. Therefore, if they are not aware of their life purpose, then they may select partners who are not in support of their life purpose. For instance, individuals who are working toward entrepreneurship need to make sure that they are connecting with others who are community helpers and have a heart to serve and a passion to be a beacon of light for others. If they do not select a partner who has a complementary or shared interest, then there will be conflict regarding their choices resulting in communication breakdown and other negativity that will impede the progress of the relationship, as well as impact their lives.”

Maintaining the Quality and Longevity of Your Relationships

We’ve answered two important questions: “What is spiritual love?” and, “How does spirituality come into play in relationships?” To recap, spiritual love simply refers to a love rooted and supported by a spiritual connection. Furthermore, our spirituality can help us understand why someone has entered our life, whether it’s to assist our efforts in creating a meaningful life or to teach us an important lesson that supports our growth. Finally, if a relationship lacks spiritual connection—whether it’s one-sided or two-sided—the relationship might suffer. Therefore, it’s important to tune into our spiritual selves in order to maintain the quality and longevity of our relationships.

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