In the article “From Romantic to True Love: Life, Love and Mindful Relationships (Part I)” Carole Bradshaw takes a look at what it means to be in true love as opposed to the first phase of love or ‘falling in love’ in an intimate relationship. She discusses the importance of making the distinction between these two phases, a framework which Gary Chapman, author of couple’s resource “Things I wish I’d known before We got Married”, similarly proposes and also highlights as being key when a couple are considering entering into a marriage. Bradshaw goes on to suggest that while our intimate partnerships afford us the opportunity to go beyond the first phase of love towards experiencing love in a more unconditional and true form, that it is also in these relationships that our quarried vulnerabilities and fears from early childhood experiences re-surface. The relationship then becomes the fertile context within which both individuals have a chance, through practice , self-expansion and perhaps learning new skills, to re-story their attachment issues from the past as they move towards a fuller, more flexible and authentic experience of love.

Resources

(a) Reference Link : From Romantic to True Love: Life, Love and Mindful Relationships (Part I) By Carole Bradshaw

(b) “Things I wish I’d known before We got Married”, by Gary Chapman (2010). Northfield Publishing, IL.