One of the definitions of spirituality is getting outside yourself.
Marriage or close relationship forces you to get outside yourself by taking into account the other person’s interest in most everything you do.
Additionally, the intimacy required to maintain a close relationship requires a high degree of trust. This trust is the foundation of a strong spiritual connection.
Spiritual connection is further strengthened with the addition of children and the responsibility implied. Having created a new life together, couples are forced to deal with their own mortality, their desire to extend their existence on earth, and the remainder of the closeness required to create this new life.
Another facet of spirituality which should be part of a healthy relationship is the ability to re-define intimacy. In a close relationship, intimacy is the certainty that things you say to your partner will not be used against you later in an argument or time of stress.
Even if you’re not a religious person, these notions force you into a spiritual connection by virtue of the closeness required in the relationship – – assuming it is healthy and functioning properly.
When disagreement or discord enters into a relationship, the pain created is not just the feeling of estrangement but the feeling that a spiritual boundary has been crossed. A trust has been broken.