Let's start with a basic appraisal of your present circumstances. What do your senses tell you? What's the reality? How do you feel about your present relationships? Are you pleased or disgruntled? Do you feel connected to the individuals around you, or are you unplugged and lonesome? Are your relationships based in reality, or have they been tainted by untruth? Do the individuals in your life understand you for who you are, or do you merely reveal a piece of your real self? Do your relationships empower or dis-empower you? Do you have what you wish, or is something still missing? Be truthful in assessing your own role.

What do you contribute to the individuals closest to you? What do you have to offer a mate? Do other people benefit by having you in their lives, or do you capitalize on them without supplying much in return? Look on the far side the external forms of your relationships, and look for the real truth about them. For instance, a marriage may be a label to describe a legal partnership, or it may represent a rich interpersonal bond between two individuals.