Intimacy is a combination of four aspects of a person; the physical, emotional, intellectual, and the spiritual. Most relationships will fall into one or two of these intimate aspects.

Physical Intimacy

Physical intimacy s the easiest one to be involved in, it usually begins with a handshake or a hug. In general the more attracted you are to someone the more touching that will occur.

Emotional Intimacy

We tend to guard ourselves from getting emotionally attached to people too quickly therefore it usually takes more time to develop emotional intimacy with someone. This is when we begin to share our opinions, feelings, fears, and dreams.

Intellectual Intimacy

Just like emotional intimacy, it takes longer to establish than physical intimacy. However, it does so because intellectual intimacy requires a number of different experiences. Conversations based on different types of cultural and political events that allow you to reveal your own personal philosophy of life; is the most common way to create intellectual intimacy.

Spiritual Intimacy

Spiritual intimacy is the rarest and most challenging form of intimacy. Spiritual intimacy has little to do with religious beliefs as couples with identical and different religious beliefs can achieve spiritual intimacy.

Spiritual intimacy is a respect for each other that turns into each person doing everything in their power to make the other person the best version of him/herself.

To understand intimacy we must move beyond physical intimacy and begin to know all four aspects of intimacy.

To know someone in all four or even in more than one intimate level makes each level of intimate knowledge that much better.