Are you struggling in a relationship that does not feel supportive and loving? All loving relationships have the same key ingredients, so learn what it takes to love and feel loved. 

1. You know how to come together as well as be separate.

• To merge as well as to separate.  That means, when you are together, the walls come down and when you go your separate ways, you feel like a whole, complete person.
• Most of us can either do one or the other.
• To be together – to be alone – in a relationship we need to be able to move seamlessly between these two places. 

2. You support your partner’s dreams even though they are different than your own.

• It is our ego that requires our partner to be like us.  What difference does it really make if someone’s dreams are different than ours?
• Remember – it works both ways:  If you are supportive and loving, those feelings naturally come back to you.
• It takes real generosity of spirit to selflessly be there for another. 

3. There is vulnerability – You share your innermost thoughts and fears.

• Without vulnerability there is nothing that touches your soul. 
• Vulnerability makes you soft rather than hard; it opens your heart.
• It is an honor to share hidden thoughts and feelings with your partner. 

4. You walk away rather than attack, wound or criticize.

• When you know another’s “secrets”, you have the power to wound at the deepest level.
• There is nothing worse than to betray this level of confidence. 
• When you use intimate thoughts and feelings shared in moments of togetherness as a weapon, you are committing the ultimate act of betrayal. 

5. You love like there’s no tomorrow – knowing you can’t spoil someone with too much loving.

•       Love like a child, “un abandoned,” with no thought of what you will get back.
•       When you love with an open heart, you are always okay, regardless of what happens.
•       Love is your true nature.  When you love, you are in sync with who you truly are. 

In a national competition, Chandra Alexander, MSW, was selected by THE OPRAH MAGAZINE as the Life Coach to deliver a series of coaching sessions to the grand prize winner of their prestigious Toyota Moving Forward contest. She also spent five years on NBC/TV “DAYTIME” giving a weekly “Reality Check”. Chandra has been living and teaching authenticity for the last 30 years and is the founder of Coaching for Authenticity, a place to explore and discover the essence of who you really are