In our world, Love, Eros (romantic love), and Sexuality, all seem to be confused and fragmented into thier own separate entities. Love one person, have sex with another, be “in love” with a third. Or perhaps two out of three with one person. How many people do you know have all three towards their partner? Any? If you do, does their partner also have all three with them? Pretty uncommon.
What does it take to have them all be together? How do we cultivate this as a way of relationship? The Guide speaks of this in depth in this lecture, found here, and points to this uncommon word: Eros.
The notion of romantic love, the spell that Cupid, aka Eros, brings with his arrow, holds the key. The spell that is cast upon us brings magic to the mystery of the desired other. Who is she? How will he be when he picks me up tonight? Thoughts and feelings swirl about in us, and we become drunk on the mystery of the other. How then does this bring new hope to relationships?
Another question first: What is it that leads us to staleness and tension in our long term relationships? Once the “romance wears off,” is when the tension begins. We start to get more frustrated, or look elsewhere. We become bored with our partner.
The Guide suggests that this boredom comes from our misconception that we “know” our partner. We believe that we have fathomed the mystery of them, and that there is little else to learn or discover in them. Is this really true? Do we ever really know another? Do we ever fully know ourselves?