Caring includes treating the other with tenderness and consideration. It means to support, be concerned, and to want the best for your partner. How is he — physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually? What can you do to uplift, and comfort, and please him?

Self-sacrifice is a terrible idea in an era where greed is touted as a good thing, at least in the corporate mentality. I've seen "Greed is Good" bumper stickers — a bad sign for society! When you love someone, self-sacrifice doesn't mean that you play the role of a martyr. Instead, you act considerate and forego your desires for a while. For instance, if your partner is sick, you don't ask for sex just because you are "in the mood."

Self-sacrifice also is a form of compromise. Say that you smoke cigarettes, but the smoke physically bothers your partner. The right thing to do would be to smoke outside. This is part of caring as well.

Knowing each other better can draw you closer. By knowing someone, you can care for him more effectively. It enhances your appreciation of his positive aspects and makes you more compassionate about his faults. You recognize that your partner is a unique and miraculous expression of Creation.

By improving yourself, you add both a humanistic and spiritual dimension to the relationship, which makes it holy. As humans, we are destined to make mistakes. By recognizing our weaknesses and failures, we can change our attitudes and behavior. Like this, we evolve spiritually and, by association, so can our partner.

Soul Mates
Some say that all instances of True Love involve Soul Mates. A Soul Mate is a being with whom you travel through several incarnations. You probably belong to a "soul group" — a collection of fellow spirits who are time traveling together. Some may appear at different phases in your life while others might skip this lifetime entirely and join you in the next one. Usually, you continue to cherish a Soul Mate even if circumstances separate you during a lifetime.

Soul Mates can be partners, lovers, spouses, relatives, or best friends. They are not necessarily true mates ("Twin Flames") though.

Enchantment
Enchantment is a condition that mimics True Love. I mention it here not because it is a form of True Love, but because it represents a situation that can pull you from your spiritual path.

Enchanted relationships are magical. In fact, magical (astral) influences are the basis of such relationships. They can be very exciting and wondrous, but dark elements, like subtle yet dissolute undercurrents, are at work.

The two main characteristics of Enchantment are (1) a loss of personal will, and (2) a feeling that all is not well, but you continue anyway, as if you were "magnetically" drawn down that dark path. You feel fated — that you must surrender to that destiny. Metaphysical events can occur, like transfigurations, previous-life dramas being played out, and astral-sexual phenomena. Although intriguing, this spiritual test determines if you are ready to take your next evolutionary step.