fabulous benefit. Rather, I believe that intimate relationships fill our most basic need: to love and be loved. After all, is it not the teaching of every great spiritual master who ever lived that God Is Love?.  When we love each other, we are One with God. And that is the ultimate human experience.
The question then becomes: How can we experience and share this highest quality of love in our marriages? I believe it starts and ends by being absolutely clear as to what the foundation of the marriage will be. Will the primary purpose of the relationship be the satisfaction of emotional needs? Or will the primary purpose of the marriage be the mutual attainment of spiritual consciousness? I would suggest that true unconditional Love has the greatest opportunity to flourish when two people commit to the very highest aspiration; the ability to see the reflection of one's own soul in the eyes of another. To constantly and mutually strive for that goal is the foundation of a spiritual marriage.