Intimacy and Autonomy: A Balancing Act How do we love a beloved other through moments of oneness—that sense of merging—yet still sustain our autonomy? The tightrope this question implies is one I have walked my entire adult life, often stumbling, then righting myself and trying again. I am a practitioner of unconditional love. This doesn’t mean I like everyone. It means I love the essence of who they are—not separate from the divine. (This remains true even when I may abhor their behavior.) “Practitioner” doesn’t mean I’m perfect, but that I attempt to meet the world, and the beings in it, with abundant and unconditional love. And I understand that when I slip, I am [...]