Authentic Relating Experience

Exploring Conscious Connections

Hi and Welcome!

 We, Marcus & Maria, are passionate about creating spaces where authenticity, honesty, and vulnerability can be practiced together. 

This work grew from our own search for deeper relationships and the transformations we’ve experienced through Authentic Relating. We don’t stand above this work, we walk alongside you, sharing from lived experience, continued practice, and a genuine desire to connect.

We believe in communities where empathy and authenticity coexist, where connection is possible without masks, and where people are empowered to bring their full selves into relationship.

Our vision is a culture where authenticity is the norm, where vulnerability is met with care, honesty with respect, and connection with curiosity.

What is [ARE]?

Authentic Relating Experience

Authentic Relating is the practice of bringing our full, genuine selves into connection with others. It invites us to be present, to speak truthfully, to listen deeply, and to create relationships rooted in honesty, empathy, and mutual respect. Living authentically means stepping into conscious awareness, learning to notice the forces that move us: our intentions, feelings, and emotions. 

Through this practice, we learn to bridge the gap between our instinctual need for attachment and the conscious act of relating with honesty, without clinging or dependency releasing the transactional nature of some connections or love. Here vulnerability and directness, though often uncomfortable at first, become gateways to meaningful connection, greater intimacy, and resilient communities.

We are Relational Creatures.

We live in a world marked by increasing disconnection and isolation. Neuroscience shows that our brains are social organs: mirror neuron's allow us to resonate with others’ emotions, and the vagus nerve helps regulate safety and connection through co-regulation. 

Yet, paradoxically, the very longing that draws us toward others often collides with our fear of rejection, judgment, exclusion, or misunderstanding. We crave truth but hide behind masks; we long for intimacy but guard ourselves with strategies of performance, withdrawal, or subtle manipulation. Too often, we relate from fear rather than love, protecting ourselves instead of opening to connection.

Two women laughing and chatting on a pink couch in a cozy living room. One woman is holding a tablet, and a small table in front has a plant, water bottle, and candles.

When we risk discomfort, we discover deeper intimacy. Vulnerability becomes the bridge, allowing us to dismantle transactional interactions and instead build bonds rooted in empathy, honesty, and genuine care. 

By practicing awareness of our intentions, and shifting from defensiveness to curiosity, from assumption to presence, we create the conditions for trust to grow. In this way, the discomfort of directness becomes not a threat, but the very pathway to freedom and deeper human connection.

Core Values and Why They Matter

  • Honesty

    Showing up with transparency and truth, not oversharing but revealing what is real in the moment to reduces misunderstanding and build trust.

    Outline of a clipboard with checklist and heart icon inside a circle

  • Effort

    Choosing engaged presence over withdrawal. Effort is not about perfection but about practicing new ways of relating, turning intention into an embodied experience.

    Effort

  • Connection

    Staying aware of disconnection and reaching back toward presence, within ourselves and with others. Connection doesn’t avoid conflict, it allows growth through it.

  • Curiosity

    Meeting each moment with openness and care instead of judgment or assumption. Curiosity turns defensiveness into discovery and makes connection more alive.

  • Acceptance

    Meeting reality as it is, without denial or distortion. Acceptance shifts us from: this shouldn’t be happening to this is what is happening, how do I respond?

    Two stick figures sitting at a table with speech bubbles, indicating conversation or discussion.

  • Empathy

    Holding presence without fixing or projecting. True empathy honours another’s unique reality, creating a bridge of compassion and understanding.

  • Responsibility

    Owning our choices, needs, and responses rather than blaming or handing power away. Responsibility strengthens both self and community.

  • Vulnerability

    The courage to be seen without armour. Vulnerability is the birthplace of intimacy and trust, allowing deeper connection and healing.

Intention Over Perfection

Authentic Relating is not about performing perfectly or always saying the “right” thing, it is about aligning with intention. What matters most is not flawless words or polished behaviour, but the inner movement behind what we express. When we bring awareness to our intention, we begin to notice what truly motivates us, revealing unconscious patterns that otherwise drive our interactions from the shadows.

Questions before getting started?

Get in touch.

Our work celebrates multiple approaches and points of view in which everyone deserves to be seen, welcomed and valued without judgment or exclusion. We welcome and value all differences, including race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, religion, disabilities and beliefs.