What is Real Love? How You Know What You’re Experiencing Is Real Love?

Author : Dr. Margaret Paul

Most people would love to have “real love,” yet often they have no idea what real love is. Take a moment to think about how you would define real love.

Defining love is like defining a particular color to a person who has never been able to see color – you have to feel it know what it is. The reason it is hard to define real love is because you cannot experience it with your mind, and definitions are of the mind. Real love is of the heart and is a feeling that is the result of your intention to BE LOVING.

This very different than the intention to BE LOVED. The desire to be loved comes from the ego wounded part of ourselves, the part that believes we need to get love from others in order to feel filled and worthy – that real love is something we get rather than something we are and something we share.

 

This is what creates the confusion regarding love.

Real love is what you are – what your soul is – a spark of the Divine within. Love is what God/Spirit is. When your deepest desire is to be loving to yourself and others, this desire opens your heart and you become filled with the love that is as ubiquitous as the air you breathe. This is real love – the experience of Spirit that fills the emptiness within and lets you know that you are never alone.

 

Real Love in a Relationship

What about real love with another person? How do we know when we are experiencing real love?

Real love is what we experience when two or more people come together with open hearts already filled with love, and the love from their hearts overflows as it is openly and joyously shared.

If you come to a relationship with a feeling of emptiness and unworthiness, you cannot experience real love. Real love is not the cake – it is the icing on the cake. The cake needs to be the love that comes through you from Spirit, and the icing is the love you share with another or others.

If you expect another’s love to be the case, then you will not experience real love, because you are coming from a closed heart and inner emptiness. REAL LOVE DOES NOT NEED ANYTHING FROM ANOTHER PERSON. It is like a waterfall flowing down inside from Spirit, filling the lake within and then flowing out in rivers and streams as it is shared with others. However, when the heart is closed, then the lake is empty and becomes like a bottomless sinkhole, desperately attempting to suck love, attention, and approval from others.

 

If you want to experience real love within a relationship, then you need to open – through your desire to BE LOVING – to unconditional love coming through you. You need to invite God-which-is-Love into your heart and become filled with it.

The challenge here is that you cannot desire to GET LOVE and BE LOVING at the same time. The intent to get love will always lead to a closed heart and controlling behavior, which shuts out love. The intent to be loving, and to learn what is loving to yourself and others in any given moment, is what opens the heart. When you choose the intent to be loving with yourself and others, you will experience real love.


Written by Margaret Paul, PhD

For information or to schedule a phone or Skype session: 310-459-1700 • 888-646-6372 (888-6INNERBOND) http://www.innerbonding.com

You may also like

3 Secrets To Achieving Love Without Attachment

Love Without Attachment: Ways To Love Unconditionally

The 7 Different Kinds of Love, That You Will Experience in Life According to Ancient Greeks

15 Warning Signs Your Boyfriend Has Major Insecurity Issues

6 Signs Your Partner Isn’t Infatuated or in Love But is Obsessed and Emotionally Abusive

The Essential Five-Step Guide To Detoxify From A Love Addiction

What is Real Love How You Know What You're Experiencing Is Real Love

 

Published On:

Last updated on:

Dr. Margaret Paul

CO-CREATOR OF INNER BONDING Dr. Paul is the author/co-author of several best-selling books, including Do I Have To Give Up Me to Be Loved By You, Inner Bonding, Healing Your Aloneness, The Healing Your Aloneness Workbook, Do I Have To Give Up Me to Be Loved By My Kids, and Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God Dr. Paul’s books have been distributed around the world and have been translated into eleven languages. Dr. Margaret holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a relationship expert, noted public speaker, workshop leader, educator, chaplain, consultant, and artist. She has appeared on many radio and TV shows, including the Oprah show. She has successfully worked with thousands of individuals, couples and business relationships and taught classes and seminars since 1967. Margaret continues to work with individuals and couples throughout the world on the phone and on Skype. She is able to access her own and her client’s spiritual Guidance during her sessions, which enables her to work with people wherever they are in the world. Her current passion is working on and developing content for this Website, as well as distributing SelfQuest, the software program that teaches Inner Bonding and is donated to prisons and schools, as well as sold to the general public. Margaret Paul, PhD information Anxious, Depressed, Addicted, Empty, Relationship struggles, Inner Bonding – The Power To Heal Yourself! http://www.innerbonding.com

Disclaimer: The informational content on The Minds Journal have been created and reviewed by qualified mental health professionals. They are intended solely for educational and self-awareness purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing emotional distress or have concerns about your mental health, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider.

Leave a Comment

Today's Horoscope

Free Daily Horoscope 26 March For 12 Zodiac Signs

Daily Horoscope 26 March, 2026: Prediction For Each Zodiac Sign

Today is less about dramatic changes and more about small emotional shifts that can create long-term impact. Check your free horoscope for more insights!

Latest Quizzes

Image Personality Test: Which Woman Reveals Your True Self?

Which Woman Are You? A Personality Test That Reveals Your True Inner Nature

This personality test reveals your true self based on the woman you choose. Simple, fun, and surprisingly accurate!

Latest Quotes

Manipulative Tactics in Relationships: Gaslighting, Love Bombing, and Emotional Control

Manipulative Tactics in Relationships: Gaslighting, Love Bombing, and Emotional Control

Manipulative tactics in relationships often start subtly—gaslighting, love bombing, guilt trips, or mixed signals. Once you recognize these emotional manipulation patterns, you can protect your mental health and step away from toxic dynamics.

Readers Blog

Caption This Image and Selected Wisepicks – 22 March 2026

Caption This Image and Selected Wisepicks – 22 March 2026

Ready to unleash your inner wordsmith? ✨??☺️ Now’s your chance to show off your wit, charm, or sheer genius in just one line! Whether it’s laugh-out-loud funny or surprisingly deep, we want to hear it.Submit your funniest, wittiest, or most thought-provoking caption in the comments. We’ll pick 15+ winners to be featured on our website…

Latest Articles

Most people would love to have “real love,” yet often they have no idea what real love is. Take a moment to think about how you would define real love.

Defining love is like defining a particular color to a person who has never been able to see color – you have to feel it know what it is. The reason it is hard to define real love is because you cannot experience it with your mind, and definitions are of the mind. Real love is of the heart and is a feeling that is the result of your intention to BE LOVING.

This very different than the intention to BE LOVED. The desire to be loved comes from the ego wounded part of ourselves, the part that believes we need to get love from others in order to feel filled and worthy – that real love is something we get rather than something we are and something we share.

 

This is what creates the confusion regarding love.

Real love is what you are – what your soul is – a spark of the Divine within. Love is what God/Spirit is. When your deepest desire is to be loving to yourself and others, this desire opens your heart and you become filled with the love that is as ubiquitous as the air you breathe. This is real love – the experience of Spirit that fills the emptiness within and lets you know that you are never alone.

 

Real Love in a Relationship

What about real love with another person? How do we know when we are experiencing real love?

Real love is what we experience when two or more people come together with open hearts already filled with love, and the love from their hearts overflows as it is openly and joyously shared.

If you come to a relationship with a feeling of emptiness and unworthiness, you cannot experience real love. Real love is not the cake – it is the icing on the cake. The cake needs to be the love that comes through you from Spirit, and the icing is the love you share with another or others.

If you expect another’s love to be the case, then you will not experience real love, because you are coming from a closed heart and inner emptiness. REAL LOVE DOES NOT NEED ANYTHING FROM ANOTHER PERSON. It is like a waterfall flowing down inside from Spirit, filling the lake within and then flowing out in rivers and streams as it is shared with others. However, when the heart is closed, then the lake is empty and becomes like a bottomless sinkhole, desperately attempting to suck love, attention, and approval from others.

 

If you want to experience real love within a relationship, then you need to open – through your desire to BE LOVING – to unconditional love coming through you. You need to invite God-which-is-Love into your heart and become filled with it.

The challenge here is that you cannot desire to GET LOVE and BE LOVING at the same time. The intent to get love will always lead to a closed heart and controlling behavior, which shuts out love. The intent to be loving, and to learn what is loving to yourself and others in any given moment, is what opens the heart. When you choose the intent to be loving with yourself and others, you will experience real love.


Written by Margaret Paul, PhD

For information or to schedule a phone or Skype session: 310-459-1700 • 888-646-6372 (888-6INNERBOND) http://www.innerbonding.com

You may also like

3 Secrets To Achieving Love Without Attachment

Love Without Attachment: Ways To Love Unconditionally

The 7 Different Kinds of Love, That You Will Experience in Life According to Ancient Greeks

15 Warning Signs Your Boyfriend Has Major Insecurity Issues

6 Signs Your Partner Isn’t Infatuated or in Love But is Obsessed and Emotionally Abusive

The Essential Five-Step Guide To Detoxify From A Love Addiction

What is Real Love How You Know What You're Experiencing Is Real Love

 

Published On:

Last updated on:

Dr. Margaret Paul

CO-CREATOR OF INNER BONDING Dr. Paul is the author/co-author of several best-selling books, including Do I Have To Give Up Me to Be Loved By You, Inner Bonding, Healing Your Aloneness, The Healing Your Aloneness Workbook, Do I Have To Give Up Me to Be Loved By My Kids, and Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God Dr. Paul’s books have been distributed around the world and have been translated into eleven languages. Dr. Margaret holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a relationship expert, noted public speaker, workshop leader, educator, chaplain, consultant, and artist. She has appeared on many radio and TV shows, including the Oprah show. She has successfully worked with thousands of individuals, couples and business relationships and taught classes and seminars since 1967. Margaret continues to work with individuals and couples throughout the world on the phone and on Skype. She is able to access her own and her client’s spiritual Guidance during her sessions, which enables her to work with people wherever they are in the world. Her current passion is working on and developing content for this Website, as well as distributing SelfQuest, the software program that teaches Inner Bonding and is donated to prisons and schools, as well as sold to the general public. Margaret Paul, PhD information Anxious, Depressed, Addicted, Empty, Relationship struggles, Inner Bonding – The Power To Heal Yourself! http://www.innerbonding.com

Leave a Comment

    Leave a Comment