Where this was said
Intimacy as a Practice and the Primal Battle
At 14:43 · chapter starts 11:00
Moving from the story of how they married to the work of staying married, Bridges describes what he calls the 'primal battle' in every long-term relationship: the feeling that the other person simply doesn't understand you. He and Sue developed a practice of sitting close, facing each other, and taking turns saying everything they feel — with the listener's only job being to receive, not rebut. Bridges says the exercise 'scratches the itch' of being fundamentally unseen, and that every time a couple weathers one of these moments and doesn't give up, the bandwidth of their intimacy expands. Theo connects this to tribal dance practices he's read about where partners process energy toward each other. [1] — Jeff Bridges "The core conflict in every long-term relationship is feeling fundamentally unseen. Bridges and Sue handle it by sitting face to face, takin…" 13:15
Jeff Bridges described falling in love at first sight as 'frightening,' saying the feeling of immediate, overwhelming attraction threatened his sense of autonomy.
The core conflict in every long-term relationship is feeling fundamentally unseen. Bridges and Sue handle it by sitting face to face, taking turns saying all their feelings while the other just listens — no rebuttals, just receiving.
