Ben Wilson, LPC

Here are a few ways to develop non-sexual physical intimacy. One, keep sharpening your five senses. We touched on those in posts 272 to 279. We gave exercises to engage your sense of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting. We encourage you to do those and to make up some of your own and have fun with it. 

Second, it is important to stop and pay attention. It can be easy to zoomzoom through life without really taking in all that is going on about you. So Slow Down. I walked around a lake in Denver. Usually, I went quickly and thought more about keeping my heart rate up than taking in the beauty of the water and Rocky Mountain Foothills. One day, I torqued my back while playing golf. The next morning I went for a walk and was moving about as quickly as congress acting on a budget and debt gridlock. Moving at this pace helped me see and hear the frogs and the carp thrashing near the bank. I could feel that wonderful cool, crisp dry air tickle the back of my neck. The lilac bushes pulsed a soothing aroma medicating the pain and easing my limp. The Einstein's coffee tasted just a bit finer as I inhaled the full setting I was blessed to enter. What seemed at first to be a bad deal was just what I needed to charge my soul.

Here are a few questions for you and your spouse to refect on for a bit.  Then share your responses with one another.

What is your non-sexual touch today compared to the first six months of your relationship?  How has this impacted your relationship?

What does non-sexual physical intimacy look like to you?  Share examples with one another of non-sexual physical intimacy you would enjoy.