How well do you communicate with your partner? Can you be open and vulnerable with your feelings? With teachings from tantra, you can practice building trust and honest communication to improve your relationship.
Good communication can strengthen a relationship while the lack of it can destroy it. Tantra is about honesty, trust and openness. This allows us the freedom to be our truest, most innermost selves. It starts first on our own and secondly, with our partner.
Understanding Tantra and Communication
Tantra is a spiritual practice that teaches us honesty and self-acceptance. We practice this within ourselves so that we can extend it with others, especially our loved ones. But it must first start with the self.
Practice: Tantra Eye Gazing Self-Love Exercise
This means, to practice introspection before you work on better communication with your partner. Be honest with yourself:
- What do you really want?
- What wants and needs do you wish to convey to your partner and why?
- What are your own strengths and shortcomings?
If you don’t start with being completely honest with yourself, you will essentially just be hiding. This creates an identity crisis and a division. In tantra we aim to find togetherness rather than divisiveness.
Thus at the heart of Tantra is the elimination of duality…we don’t divide the mind and body, good and evil, matter and spirit, or male and female into opposing camps.
– Urban Tantra, Barbara Carrelas
Building TrusT
It takes time and effort to build trust. Sometimes it’s easy and other times it can be really challenging. Just stay as honest as you can and keep doing what you say you’re going to do. It gets easier with practice!
Here are some tips on how to build trust with you partner:
- Establishing Trust
- Be consistent in showing up for your partner. Be present in their lives in a way that you’d like them to be present in yours. It’s a two-way street.
- Open up when it comes to your feelings. Share your highs and lows in a way that’s comfortable to you. This type of transparent communication fosters a foundation of trust.
- Vulnerability and Honesty
- Be open about your fears, desires, and boundaries. Don’t be afraid to show them who you really are. Also don’t be afraid to let them know your boundaries.
- Active Listening
- Practice listening without judging. Let your partner pour their hearts out (or vent) and only provide feedback when asked. This way, you can truly hear and understand your partner’s needs and feelings.
Deeper Emotional Connection
Enhanced communication leads to a stronger emotional bond and enhanced physical intimacy with your partner. Want better sexual intimacy and satisfaction? Open communication helps with that!
Remember, building trust is always a worthwhile endeavor in any relationship because it improves the overall quality of the relationship.
According to this Michigan State University article, “trust is essential to what makes human communities of all kinds work…without trust there can be no meaningful connection between people.”
Practice building trust and communication with your partner using the tips above and observe the changes in your relationship.