{"id":151054,"date":"2010-12-01T08:25:15","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T06:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espirited.com\/a-good-relationship-is-not-always-champagne-and-roses\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T23:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:33:12","slug":"a-good-relationship-is-not-always-champagne-and-roses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espirited.com\/en\/a-good-relationship-is-not-always-champagne-and-roses\/","title":{"rendered":"Honesty as a Spiritual Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A good relationship is not always champagne and roses. <\/em><\/p>\n

It is a birthing process, often bloody and painful… A ‘spiritual relationship’ is not necessarily a relationship where two people are constantly smiling. For me, ‘spiritual’ means, above all, ‘authentic’… And so we create relationships for shared work. Real work can only happen in the presence of uncompromising honesty. We all long for it, but we are afraid to communicate honestly with others for fear that they will abandon us when they see who we truly are.” <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The lesson for a fulfilling relationship here is called ‘uncompromising honesty.’ I\u2019ve realized that whenever I get confused by too much theory regarding love and how to love ‘correctly,’ what helps me is to ask myself: ‘If I were totally honest with myself and expressed my feelings completely openly, would it match the way I am acting right now?’ And if I find a discrepancy between the two, I already know the answer to what I must do to feel better.<\/p>\n

Honesty is the answer<\/strong>. It is the spiritual answer. For me, ‘spiritual’ means, above all, being ‘authentic.’<\/p>\n

If this is the lesson that ‘The Lessons of Love’ brought to you today, the message is clear. Simply be yourself; be authentic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“A good relationship is not always champagne and roses. It is a birthing process, often bloody and painful… A ‘spiritual relationship’ is not necessarily a relationship where two people are constantly smiling. For me, ‘spiritual’ means, above all, ‘authentic’… And so we create relationships for shared work. Real work can only happen in the presence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[655,705,649],"class_list":["post-151054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-intelligence","tag-the-lessons-of-love","tag-maryann-williamson","tag-relationships"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t