Understanding the Experience of Discovering a Kindred Spirit Connection: A Phenomenological Study

Linda Finlay,Virginia Eatough

doi:10.29173/pandpr19855

Linda Finlay, Virginia Eatough

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19855

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Abstract

Preliminary existential hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of data based on 24 protocols, and our own reflexive discussion, reveals how “kindred spirit connections” manifest in myriad elusive, evocative ways. These special connections are experienced variously from briefly felt moments of friendship to enduringly profound body-soul love connections. This paper explicates five intertwined dimensions: shared bonding; the mutual exchange and affirmation of fellowship; the destined meeting or relationship; immediate bodily-felt attraction; and the pervasive presence of love. A wide ranging literature around the theme of love is outlined and the concept of kindred spirit is briefly applied to the psychotherapy practice context.

Highlights

Not Love Perhaps ...A need, at times, to be together and talk, And the finding we can walk More firmly through dark narrow places, And meet more nightmare faces; A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand, And find Earth less like an alien land;A need for alliance to defeat The whisperers at the corner of the street...(A.S.J
For our participants at least, experiencing a kindred spirit connection can take many forms, happening in many different relationships and contexts, and that the experience cuts across age and gender
We offer a brief analytic description of these five dimensions which form, at least in part, the meaning of the kindred spirit connection

Summary

Introduction

Not Love Perhaps ...A need, at times, to be together and talk, And the finding we can walk More firmly through dark narrow places, And meet more nightmare faces; A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand, And find Earth less like an alien land;A need for alliance to defeat The whisperers at the corner of the street...(A.S.J. Not Love Perhaps ...A need, at times, to be together and talk, And the finding we can walk More firmly through dark narrow places, And meet more nightmare faces; A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand, And find Earth less like an alien land;. This paper was borne out of reflections on an especially heart-warming and intellectually stimulating Human Sciences Research Conference in 2008. We (Linda and Virginia) have attended many of these conferences and noted the deep-rooted and. There were elements that seemed akin to falling in love but this characterization, itself not understood, does not fully capture the phenomenon. Does everyone have this experience and name it ? Does everyone have this experience and name it ? Can we describe it? How could/should such experiences be fostered? How might such experiences be relevant in our professional practice?

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