facilitating personal growth
COACH'S TIPS
Intimacy: When Hearts and Minds Touch
by Carol A. Henry
The process of sharing our lives with one another is called intimacy.
Defining intimacy can be difficult, but one explanation might be:
a series of frequent contacts between two people in close proximity,
who have significant common goals, share personal information, and
care deeply about one another.
Intimacy occurs on many different levels, including social,
(friendship), physical (sexual), intellectual (exchange of ideas),
and emotional (sharing of feelings). Intimacy:
distinguishes friends from mere acquaintances
parenting from caretaking
marriage form a working "partnership
Intimacy is the moment when hearts and minds touch - when we reach past our usual social roles to say, in words and actions, "This is who I really am. This is what I feel, what I hope for, what I dream, what I fear. I want you to accept me. I want to know who you are, who you dream and what you fear."
Intimacy is emotional understanding, a process of knowing another human being with the heart rather than the head; not just intellectual understanding, but empathy. It is characterized by honesty, spontaneity, and an easy sharing of feelings and ideas wihtout fear of censure.
Emotional intimacy can vary from the relatively superficial sharing of activities, through exchanges involving strong feelings, to the euphoria that occurs when feelings are so closely interwoven that time and space are distorted.
Intimacy is one of the highest human needs. Although it isn't necessary for physical survival, intimacy is essential for emotional survival, as this sharing of emotional, intellectual, and physical experiences gives richness and satisfaction to our lives.
If our personal relationships do not fill our need for intimacy, we turn to social organizations, to "causes" or to relationships with "professional intimates," such as hair dressers, counselors, doctors, bartenders, etc.
If a tree that falls in the forest makes no sound when there is no one to hear it, then a life that is not shared has little meaning.
by Carol A. Henry
The process of sharing our lives with one another is called intimacy.
Defining intimacy can be difficult, but one explanation might be:
a series of frequent contacts between two people in close proximity,
who have significant common goals, share personal information, and
care deeply about one another.
Intimacy occurs on many different levels, including social,
(friendship), physical (sexual), intellectual (exchange of ideas),
and emotional (sharing of feelings). Intimacy:
distinguishes friends from mere acquaintances
parenting from caretaking
marriage form a working "partnership
Intimacy is the moment when hearts and minds touch - when we reach past our usual social roles to say, in words and actions, "This is who I really am. This is what I feel, what I hope for, what I dream, what I fear. I want you to accept me. I want to know who you are, who you dream and what you fear."
Intimacy is emotional understanding, a process of knowing another human being with the heart rather than the head; not just intellectual understanding, but empathy. It is characterized by honesty, spontaneity, and an easy sharing of feelings and ideas wihtout fear of censure.
Emotional intimacy can vary from the relatively superficial sharing of activities, through exchanges involving strong feelings, to the euphoria that occurs when feelings are so closely interwoven that time and space are distorted.
Intimacy is one of the highest human needs. Although it isn't necessary for physical survival, intimacy is essential for emotional survival, as this sharing of emotional, intellectual, and physical experiences gives richness and satisfaction to our lives.
If our personal relationships do not fill our need for intimacy, we turn to social organizations, to "causes" or to relationships with "professional intimates," such as hair dressers, counselors, doctors, bartenders, etc.
If a tree that falls in the forest makes no sound when there is no one to hear it, then a life that is not shared has little meaning.
Carol A. Henry • 3401 Bristol Road • Fort Worth TX • 76107
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Carol A. Henry, LPC, LMFT
Carol serves clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where she works with individuals, couples, and families. She has facilitated training workshops for businesses, consciousness groups, as well as area recovery and church groups. Her counseling services include web-enabled video counseling. More information: www.carolahenry.com
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Carol A. Henry