Cynthia Occelli: Love and Intimacy

When tCG asked me to write an article on love, intimacy and courage, a plethora of ideas flooded my mind. I knew I’d want to talk about the power of our feminine essence in attracting, nurturing and sustaining passionate romance; I’d also have to include a clear breakdown of the myriad of ways women accept less than we’re worth and tolerate far more than we should. It would be vitally important to talk about the abundance of wonderful men in the world and share the insights I’ve gained after interviewing nearly one hundred of them too, and no exploration of romantic love would be complete without a discussion of female sexuality.

This was just the beginning; love and intimacy are multi-faceted and infinitely layered. Every facet connects to and triggers another. Writing a Cosmo article about how to make love work in 10 easy steps would be a grave injustice to real love. Our choices in love shape and direct the trajectory of our entire lives. I shared my views with tCG and (fabulously) she agreed; instead of an article purporting to bottle the ocean, a series of writings penned in the midst of love’s seas would be so much better.

So here we are, I welcome you to this exploration of love, wisdom, magic and common sense. Ladies, you deserve sweet, sticky, passionate romance rife with reciprocal respect, admiration, trust and intimacy. The good news is you can have it. Together we’ll explore how.

This is a good place to mention courage. When I was asked how courage relates to love, I felt overwhelmed. It is far easier to list the ways it does not relate to it. To experience real love requires courage every step of the way. It takes courage to identify and admit who you are, what you want, and what you need to release. It takes courage to dream, to work, to manifest that dream, and to refrain from settling or giving up. Surrendering the ego, letting someone in, and sharing your true self takes courage. Risking pain, loss, endings and heartache takes courage. Living in love’s grace, naked and vulnerable demands courage, too. There is plainly no place for a coward in love.

Each installment in this series will build on the prior one. I welcome your feedback and questions, email me at: LoveTalk@CynthiaOccelli.com.Love is an immense topic, but its starting point is clear: there can be no healthy love of another without first creating and loving a healthy self. Let’s get started.