Get closer to your partner with intention

To be close to someone, we have to see them and let them see us too. Most of us want to be seen as the complex, real people we are. Everyone wants it, but how do we get it? How do you make room in your relationship for your partner to be themselves and for you to be yourself?
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Even though intimacy isn't only found in romantic relationships, it should be a safe place for partners to explore their inner depths. When you both respect and trust each other, you have what you need to open up in deeper ways. This is real closeness. It’s a way of getting to the core of what you think, feel, and experience by peeling away layers of yourself.

Sexual connection can help make a couple feel closer to each other. But the sense of being together won't be complete without emotional or spiritual closeness. Mindfulness is one way to facilitate this.

In fact, you can't be close to someone if you don't practice mindfulness. That is, paying open, nonjudgmental attention to your experience. It helps you be more present, patient, compassionate, and accepting of your partner. You need to feel safe with your partner if you want to share more of who you are.

Being mindful is simply listening with an open heart that is curious. Let go of assumptions and the stories you tell yourself. Mindfulness is a skill that can be learned through practice. 

Following are two exercises you could try to make your relationship more mindful and, hence, more intimate.

 Sharing with purpose

Even though you may talk to your partner quite a bit throughout the day, how often do you do so mindfully and attentively? Set aside regular time for deliberate sharing. To explore this practice:

• Find a quiet, private area where you and your partner can sit. Decide who will speak first, then put all other distractions aside.
• When you've made your choice, give the speaker the freedom to speak honestly and openly about anything. In order to reduce any inclination to respond or fix, the listener should practice listening intently.
• After the speaker is done, the listener is free to ask any more questions or offer words of love and support. Again, the goal is not to fix or solve anything. It's just a way to let your partner know that you want to hear everything they have to say.
• Swap roles. The person listening becomes the speaker, and the person talking becomes the person listening. Let this task take as much time as it needs.

Learning the art of listening is one of ways you can win in your relationship. 

Shared practice of meditation​

Have you and your partner ever meditated together? Research shows that meditating with someone else can make you feel closer to them and more willing to talk about personal things over time. Meditation helps you get rid of the clutter of everyday life and become more aware of what's going on inside you. This can change the things you share with your partner, how you share them, and how you listen to them in return.

Sit face-to-face and set a timer to try this. Close your eyes and meditate in silence or with a guided practice that makes you feel good. After the timer goes off, each person should talk about how they felt during the meditation.

You could also try to connect in other mindful ways. For example, you could try a meditation while holding hands. You could also try matching your breath for a short time. 

Any or all of these will give you a boost towards real emotional intimacy.  Let me know how it goes!