Tag : The Soulmate Experience book

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A Love Story: The Romance Behind the Romance Novelist

Nina Ceves is the indie published author of several romance novels. Find out more at www.ninaceves.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ninacevesromancenovels.

How did you meet, and how did you know this relationship was special?

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding. He was in the wedding band. The rest is history! Our love story. I remember sitting with my friends, and feeling as though someone were looking at me. You know that feeling? I turned, and saw him. At that point, I did not know he was in the band. I thought he must be someone's boyfriend. I looked away. I felt so flustered, I actually got up, went to the bar for a glass of water, and went outside. He followed me. I made a joke. He laughed. I was only twenty-two years old with no interest in falling in love, and it happened right then. When I went home that night, I couldn't make sense of it. But, I didn't want to. I just knew. And every moment of that summer, as we first got to know one another, I could see what an incredibly special person he is.

Do you feel that you're connected on a soul level?

one month standYes. It is something inexplicable. I feel that my love for my husband will last forever, that our souls are timeless and so our love is timeless. In one of my novels, One Month Stand, the character Theo describes how he felt, the moment he met Ever, who is the woman he has fallen in love with:

"From the moment I met you, I felt there was a magnet within me, undiscovered until you walked up to me, asking if I wanted cake. The magnet drew me to you; I felt you had an answering shard within you, and they were pulling us together, to meet at the heart. Every moment since then, that pull grows stronger. For me. I love, I love the light and dark of you…"

What passions do you share?

We have a passion for laughter. I don't know why, but we make each other laugh so much. I tell him things that happen to me, or thoughts I have, and he laughs so hard. I feel as though I can share whatever quirky thing passes through my thoughts and he just *gets* it. He gets me. I think he is extremely funny and he cracks me up, just with his take on the world, his experiences, and how he relates them so comically.

Creativity is another shared passion. We both value it tremendously. My husband has always encouraged me to make time to write, and is so happy for me, so sincerely happy for me, that I'm now publishing, sharing what I'm writing. He is an incredibly gifted musician and I see how hard he works at it, and how much joy it brings him.

Tell us about one of the most soulful experiences you've had together.

One time, in the Sierras, we stretched on the ground, staring up at the sky as night fell. Then, bats started flying overhead. They were so beautiful, silhouetted against the twilight. Somehow, it was such a still, lovely moment, full of wonder, and I was so glad it was just the two of us together sharing it.

Dreaming Silas

Truly, nothing can compare to meeting our child for the first time. That morning, before sunrise, felt holy. The two of us together and then the three of us. My husband made up a song for our child on the spot. I'll never forget it.

How do you benefit from being in your relationship?

My husband helps me be the best version of myself and he says the same of me. He challenges me, gently. He protects me. He cares for me. He puts my happiness before his. I know he would lay down his life for me, in a heartbeat. That kind of love and loyalty? I'll never take it for granted. It blows me away. And I give it right back.

Our child sees that she has two parents who love one another deeply and love her unconditionally.

Do you feel that you have a shared purpose for being together?

I love this question, and I wish I knew. I wonder if that will be revealed over time. My husband and I both value kindness, and we try to practice that, if that doesn't sound weird, in any interaction that it is possible to do so.

What challenge have you faced together, and how did you find your way through them?

Illness, deaths, losses: life has its challenges, its ups and downs. I have had to learn to share my feelings and ask for the kind of help that I needed from my husband. He had to learn to be there for me when he could not fix things. We've learned so, so much about how to be there for each other. He knows I am beside him, no matter what. And I know he is with me, too. That connection means so much, there are barely words to describe the depth of my gratitude and appreciation for that.

What are you learning in your relationship right now?

I am learning how lucky, how blessed I am and just to savor that. I am learning how in love I am — the depth of that connection — and always will be. I am learning that a relationship can grow even better and better.

How do you keep your connection strong?

Shared laughter, heart to heart talks, wordless touches and looks . . . and I flirt outrageously, but only with my husband.

ninaIf you’ve read The Soulmate Experience, what ideas or suggestions have been most helpful to you? 

The entire book is highlighted, practically! There are so many insightful and practical ways of looking at growing closer, I loved it. If I had to choose just one, I would say: invitation instead of expectation. I loved the way that has helped me look at a few things in my relationship with my husband. Well, I can't just pick one, so I'll also add: how would this be if I were coming from a place of love? That has helped me so much, too. Oh, and just one more: the concept of the honored guest. That's so beautiful and so true. These three examples are just amazingly helpful and practical but they go to a very deep, spiritual level. They have truly helped me become a better wife to my husband if that doesn't sound too dorky...

What advice can you offer other couples to help them keep their connection strong?

Don't be scared. Or, be scared. Go ahead, but don't stop connecting, trying, reaching out, being brave, expressing yourself. Being vulnerable can be scary, and true love has a way of making you face your innermost fears. Don't shut down, don't start to skim on the surface of routine and responsibilities.

What advice can you offer single people who desire a relationship like yours?

Believe that its out there. Believe that you deserve it, because you do.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

I just have to merely think about kissing my husband and I get butterflies. We've been together over twenty years. I love him more every day.

With so much love in my soul, how could I not write romance novels, full of tenderness, heat, awkward vulnerability, tears, and laughter?

Thank you, Nina, for sharing your love story with us! ~Mali & Joe, authors of The Soulmate Experience: A Practical Guide to Creating Extraordinary Relationships52 Prescriptions for Happiness, and the upcoming book The Soulmate Lover, and creators of Mantras for Making Love

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Doing My Work

Marie Franklin lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon. They met 10 years ago and have been madly in love ever since. Marie is a matchmaker who wants to help others find their Soulmate Experiences, too!

SME at Book Passage

If you have started down a path in search of the Truth, then you know that certain books will present themselves to you along the way as you increase your understanding.

The Soulmate Experience is one of those books.

I’m a highly spiritual person and have been reading and looking for whatever “the real Truth is” my whole life. And I found rather quickly that if you do sincerely seek the Truth, you will stumble down a path and find it. It is not an overnight journey for most of us. For me, although I’ve been at it my whole life, I am just now really getting somewhere.

The first thing you learn on this path is that all answers must come from within. Which is really confusing, especially when you are holding a book in your hand outside of your body, and it is telling you that the answers you seek are within you. So you respond with “Huh? If the answers were within me then I would already know what I am trying to learn!”

And the next thing you find out is, yes you do already know what you are trying to learn. The Truth is held forever safe and sacred in a spot within you.

Then you find out that in order to find that sacred spot, you must “do your work.”

Your work will be different from anyone else’s work, and you’re the only one who can do yours. But if you do it… if you really do your work and complete most of it… literal treasure awaits you.

Emotional treasure.

The Soulmate Experience is a book for people who are ready to do their work. I think everyone could benefit from this book’s cool and beautiful tone and message. But readers who are on the path to Truth and who are ready and willing to work at the soul level will probably be greatly affected by this book.

As I read it, I was reminded again about so many Truths I have learned along my path.

Be in the present moment.

Treat everyone as a guest.

Release all guilt and resentments.

Don’t play negative tapes in your head all day.

Feel your gratitude.

SMEcafegratitudevenice

When you have begun to do your work, the list above is easier. I’m so glad I found this book right here on my path, because I have at least done enough work to come back to these practices and put them back into place. I haven’t done enough work yet that it is habit to have these in place, though. But I intend to get there. The Soulmate Experience is clearly the right step for me at this time.

When you really are present and loving and treating your life partner as your honored guest, you begin to feel that spot within you. That spot within you where the Truth is forever protected and waiting for you to find it again. When you engage on the soul level you feel yourself begin remember these important truths.

The authors are clearly people who are farther on down the path than I am. They are exactly the type of calm and centered loving people who can really use manifestation techniques well, because they understand how they work and why. After reading the book I went and watched a few clips of Joe and Mali in the Media section of their website, just to get to know them a little better. Seeing them for a few moments, I felt like I knew them and that I could trust them. When people do their work and get on down the path a bit, they can help the rest of us, sometimes just by their mere presence. You can see that they are at peace, and you know that peace might rub off on you a bit.

Readers who may have never been exposed to such metaphysical concepts will be amazed at what is presented in this book. I can imagine it could actually prompt someone onto their own path to Truth.

I am drawn to this book on many levels. The first one is that I am in a Soulmate Experience right now, every day! I am married to the man of my dreams and we are in love on the deep, soul level the book describes. When Joe and Mali are telling us what they “know” about romantic relationships, you can feel their love for each other, but also their ability to love in general. This shines through the book and helps the reader engage with their inner, deepest capacity for love.

Another level this book appeals to me is in the realm of romantic relationships, because I am a dating coach and matchmaker. I can’t wait to give this book to certain clients who I know will be able to use it! For some, this book could be a life changer. If a person can clear the space in their lives for their “guest,” then amazing things can happen.

SMEonthedeck

The book emphasizes that to engage on a soul level, you have to believe that you deserve it. This is hard for some people. So many of us have felt held back by life or cheated out of good things, especially romantic relationships. Then you don’t know if it is chicken or egg. Did I end up with poor results in the past because I didn’t really think I deserved true love, or did I really not deserve true love and that’s why I didn’t find it? It is easy for some people to feel that they are not deserving must be the answer.

But this feeling can be overcome and if you do overcome it, you’re going to be so much more likely to find that love you deserve. When you know you deserve it, your path opens up to better possibilities for you. This is true in so many other areas of life, but particularly in manifesting a truly loving relationship.

I’m pretty good at manifesting, but I still have a lot of work to do. Reading The Soulmate Experience reminded me to get more of my work done. I have so much still to do, and I know that if I do it, the type of relationship experiences Joe and Mali promise can happen, will happen. I have had enough glimpses in my life to know that I’m almost there.

This book is about Soulmate Experiences in the truest sense. We all have souls, and we can all experience each other on that level. It does not even have to be in the form of a romantic relationship, but when it is, it is like Heaven.

Marie, we honestly can't thank you enough for taking the time to share your experience with our Experience. Love and gratitude, Mali & Joe