For example, one may have friends who are fun to be with, share social encounters, dinners, gossiping about others, going to the movies, or sharing the challenges of one’s job. One may have a close relationship with another, which involves sharing of financial resources, sexual exchange, and perhaps raising a family. There are a myriad of reasons why we come together with others, but in most cases, we are not having enlightened relationships.

When the common interest is gone, the relationship doesn’t endure. When the relationship ends, often one will encounter feelings of betrayal, hurt, and resentment. I would define an enlightened relationship as one that transcends the immediate commonality of interest where the qualities of love, joy, and gratitude are present.

An enlightened relationship can still include all the attributes of the other kinds of relationships enumerated in the previous paragraph. But there are some very specific additional characteristics unique to enlightened relationships. First there is a deep level of compassion and care each person shares with the other. Second, there is a spontaneous lifting of energy or enthusiasm when you engage with the other person.

A human being is a complex of many different aspects and each aspect generates its own level of need. We have our emotions, which seek to express and feel close to another. We have our need to survive which needs to align itself with others who are supporting us or helping us to earn a living in a give and take level of exchange. We have our mind, which wants to share with others conversation and ideas. And beyond that, we have what you could call our energetic body or our soul. I believe that it is one’s soul energy that activates all the other levels and it is this aspect that most of us are most deficient in sharing and experiencing with others because it is so elusive and nondescript.

So how does one share their soul with another? The first step is in the acknowledgement that you have a soul and it is very real. Although the soul is not part of the material world, it’s aspects can be very directly experienced and I would venture to say that if you have gotten this far in reading this article, you have had some experience validating the existence of your soul, even if you didn’t recognize it as such.

Our soul manifests our energy field. This is the field of energy around your body that some call the life force or the auric field. This field is constantly changing it parameters based on your experience at a given moment. When you feel threatened or fearful, the field collapses and is tightly held and protected within the confines of the physical body. When you feel relaxed, loved and safe, the field expands even

beyond the perimeters of your body and can fill an entire room or even more. This energetic field is a direct expression of your soul. If you ever walked into a room and experienced “good vibes” you were experiencing the interaction of your field as it tuned into the energy field in the room. Or perhaps you attended a musical event where the room was filled with enthusiasm and harmony. As the audience left the event, you could look in their eyes and feel the commonality of the experience they all just shared. Or you may have attended a spiritual event where you felt a special energy surround the entire group as their souls commingled. I believe this is what Jesus referred to as the “holy spirit” or “when two or more are gathered, I am also present.”

One of the key elements of an enlightened relationship is the sharing of this soul energy, but this cannot be accomplished out of will power. It has to be a spontaneous occurrence where your soul field and the field of another meld. I would postulate that the souls have actually integrated themselves into oneness for a brief moment, which translates into the physical level experiences of joy and love.

If you would like to have this kind of relationship with another, there are specific things you can do to encourage it. First you must believe it is possible and visualize it. Second, think about those people in your immediate life and see if you can sense them as energy fields in addition to their physical bodies, with emotions and minds. Third, extend care, which goes beyond the limits of the exchange level of the pre-existing relationship. If you work for someone, do things above and beyond the call of duty. The same goes for personal relationships and friends. Don’t worry about reciprocation and detach yourself from the results. Over a period of time, you might experience a shift where you suddenly find yourself in the experience of an enlightened relationship as others acknowledge your “random acts of kindness” from their own levels of soul, and spontaneously extend back to you their joy and gratitude. Don’t expect that everyone will get it. Perhaps after a period, you may find certain others totally unresponsive and adopt an attitude that you‘re a sucker for being so giving. This is where discernment will tell you that you are throwing pearls before swine and it’s time to move your “random acts of kindness” elsewhere. It’s a bit like fishing. Eventually you’ll connect on a soul level with someone who is worthy and the Universe will celebrate the experience of communion taking place on the Earth plane. And once you have that experience with another, it is then possible to go into the lower areas of exchange of intellect, emotion, sex, and finances and find that they are much more successful because you've already met in spirit.

Wynn Free expresses himself through writing, poetry and songs. You can read more of his material on his website www.wynnfree.com. If you would like to receive his writings, feel free to send him your email address at wwdcp@poetic.com