Intimacy

Susie and I spent last week in the Vital Health seminar in Spain. The purpose of this seminar was to examine our world from a health perspective. Many people did a five-day juice fast and while we did do four hours of process work per day we also had time to visit a wide range of therapists and body workers or just go for a relaxing lunch and down time.
One of the subjects that came up was the topic of intimacy and we went around the room sharing honestly what we believed about intimacy. Most of the responses were negative: intimacy is dangerous, it hurts, it is unattainable and will not last etc. It was quite a surprise to hear people’s fears of intimacy and their desire to keep it at a distance. However in doing so people give up one of their best tools to end their problems and end their suffering.
At the heart of every problem lies some level of separation. Separation cannot occur without creating dysfunction and issues in every area of our lives including disease and illness. It certainly also robs us of all good things like love, joy and compassion, for these cannot exist in a state of separation.
It also seems clear that every place of separation is a place of lost intimacy so to restore the intimacy is to solve the problem. Intimacy heals everything and our willingness to move in that direction starts the healing process. If we believe that intimacy is a negative thing then we throw away the most effective tool we have to transform our lives.
As with everything, we have to be vigilant to when we are trying to take something, which often has lurked under our apparent giving.What got us into trouble in the past was not the intimacy but the taking we had tried to cloak with apparent intimacy. Intimacy is the willingness to lower all our defences and get close to others. This applies not only with our partners but also with everyone we meet, with the world around us; it is our willingness to connect as deeply as possible while holding nothing back. It is to be fearless. Tomorrow is Easter Friday, the beginning of a time when we remember the hope of overcoming our suffering, transcending our beliefs and reaching a higher and lighter place. It is not about the crucifixion, which is described
in the Course as the last senseless sacrifice; we could all learn from this so we could give up our sacrifice and judgement and free ourselves.
Have a wonderful Easter and be intimate with all you share this time with.
with love
Sue and Jeff