Have you been thinking about attending a speed dating event but are really nervous about how it will go?

I'd say "Go for it!", as this way of dating is a great way to meet potential dates in person with no pressure, as opposed to online dating which can be a bit daunting at first.

According to Wikipedia "Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process of dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to a Rabbi originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry."

The first speed dating event took place at Peet's Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998.

So what are the advantages of speed dating?

It's great for busy professionals who just don't have time to search for a new date. Many of them hardly have any time to socialize, so attending one of these events means they'll be introduced to a whole range of new people in just a couple of hours.

If you go with a friend it can be a fun and safe way to meet new people who may be in the same position as you. Many introverts find this method of dating a real godsend as there's no pressure to keep a conversation going for more than a few minutes with each candidate.

If you're interested in attending a speed dating event you'll need to pre-register as the organizer has to be sure they have the right number of men and women.

The cost of attending varies depending on where you live. Often these events have between ten and twenty face-to-face four-minute dates with like-minded single people for a cost between $30-$40.

You're usually asked to arrive 15-20 minutes before the start, you'll be given a scorecard and asked to agree with their terms and conditions - you'll be told the questions you're not allowed to ask.

Then you'll be allocated a table with another person opposite you and you chat for a few minutes (usually less than five), a whistle will sound, marking the end of your allocated time with that person.

Next, you'll get around a minute to indicate on your scorecard whether you'd like to see them again. Usually the women remain seated and the men go around each table until everyone has had their mini-date.

Before you leave your score cards are collected and the organizers will let you know the results. Sometimes it's by email or through their websites within 24 hours.

So let's look at some of the pros and cons of speed dating

Pros

You aren't under any pressure to choose a partner (unless you're interested)

You don't have to be engaged in any long in-depth conversation

You're in a safe environment

It's fun and engaging

You could meet the love of your life

Cons

You don't have much time to get to know someone (if you're interested)

You're competing with all the other women for the good guys attention

You have to pay for the pleasure

Why not give it a go? After all you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

If you would like some more Dating & Relationship tips, techniques and resources visit http://www.DeeplyDating.com for weekly updates to help you find (and keep) the man of your dreams.

"How do I find my soul mate"? "How do I recognize my soul mate when I meet him or her?" "What, exactly, can I do to attract a soul mate?" These are the most popular questions my coaching clients ask me. I answer these questions the same way each time. "Master the art of loving, and everything else will fall into place."

So many of us assume that true love is what we see in movies and on television. In Hollywood films, the hero and heroine meet, fall in love, have a falling out and unite in the end to live happily ever after. At Valentine's Day, for example, love is measured by how many diamonds, flowers, greeting cards and chocolates are purchased for the loved one. Women especially focus on their physical appearance with Americans spending more than $12 billion a year in cosmetic procedures. Sure these methods may bring a superficial, fleeting type of love, but it's not the avenue to true, lasting, spiritual love.

The key to attracting a soul mate is simply this: Master the art of loving in a deep, genuine and sacred way. The type of love I am talking about is when our heart overflows with love for all, and we see the light of the Divine in everyone. This is unconditional love pure and simple -- when we give without seeking, or asking for, anything in return. In this higher state of awareness, love is not reserved for one person alone. A higher consciousness develops when we are a channel for Divine Love. We undergo a spiritual transformation and expand our hearts to touch all of creation.

When we cross the bridge from conditional to unconditional love, we experience the true joy that giving of ourselves brings. Everything in your life shifts when your heart expands from giving unconditional love. You can no longer hold a grudge. You can't live from fear-based illusions. You cannot indulge in selfishness. Your vibratory rate rises, and your entire life changes because you become a magnetic energy for good.

We must listen to the urge to love beyond human constraints. We are, after all, on this planet to express God's love. While human forms of love change (people die, leave us, move away), God's love is permanent and everlasting. Love is the most powerful healing force in the universe. The last time you were emotionally wounded, it was love that healed you, love that dried your tears, love that revealed your wholeness once again.

To master the art of loving, give love. Give it fully. Give it freely. Don't keep it for just a chosen few in your life. Expand your love parameters. Let your radiant light shine and touch the heart of everyone you come in contact with. Give a smile, a touch, an act of kindness and compassion. No one can resist the flame of love that blazes out from you sweetly and beautifully.

Activating the love in you is the most powerful way to attract a soul mate. Love is irresistible. You become radiant with beauty when you are courageous enough to give your love to all. Keep in mind that your beauty is not measured by your physical attractiveness but in the amount of love in your heart that you shine onto others.

Another important key in mastering the art of loving is forgiveness. Forgiveness is essential to love. That includes letting go of the past. Holding onto grudges or resentments will not move you into a healthy relationship. Forgiveness is a key for finding a soul mate because it creates a shift in energy. It sets you free. What happened happened, and you can't change that. But you can change your energy around it. Your ability for happiness decreases as your inability to forgive increases because you have not let go. Hanging on to the past will block your future. Simply accept the gift from the experience and deepen your connection with God. Experiences of suffering and woundedness are what's called transformational drama and shake ups that wake us. It is through these challenges that we learn compassion, kindness and understanding. Struggles such as ones that have transpired in love relationships help us discover renewed strength and inner beauty. As painful as it might have been, forgiving expands us as spiritual beings and we come to a place of softness and gentleness.

The Divine Lover beckons you for forgive, release and respond with love. Then we live in higher vibratory states are fertile ground to meet a soul mate. Expansion of the heart through Divine Love results in love flourishing in personal relationships. All love given is precious. No amount of love exchanged is ever wasted. So don't be afraid to love with abandon no matter what may have happened in the past.

Affirm:

I forgive, release and respond with love. 

I will love every being and all of creation with all my heart and soul until all of life is enhanced by my love. 

I give the endless love God has for me; one heart, one life, one mind, one love.

After practicing Divine Love, you are sure to attract a soul mate. When you do, you will recognize your beloved because you will feel drawn to that person. My research shows that people who have met their soul mates have felt magnetically drawn to the person stronger than just an attraction. Why? Because the soul recognizes the other person on a soul level. You feel a familiarity -- like you have known the person all your life. And you have because you have been together before being incarnated on this Earth.

Master the art of loving by loving all in a sacred and holy way. Simply BE LOVE. This is the secret to attracting a soul mate and the key to everlasting joy.

Dr. Barbara Gulbranson is an author, spiritual coach and New Thought minister. She is a dynamic speaker and a frequent guest on radio and TV shows. Dr. Gulbranson is spiritual director of Live Your Joy Institute, a non-profit church without walls dedicated to making positive changes in people's lives by teaching universal principles. Dr. Gulbranson's life-changing books Live Your Joy: How to Awaken From Spiritual Slumber, and How to Attract Your Soul Mate: The Secrets of Lasting Love have been called "a must-read for humanity" and "the answer to a million prayers." She is also author of the new e-book, Angel Talk: Five Easy Steps for Connecting With Your Angels. She is an ordained minister, Hospice chaplain and holds a Doctorate of Divinity from Emerson Theological Institute. For more about the author's books, classes and coaching services and for free gifts such as downloads, book study guides and inspirational Joy newsletters, visit http://www.liveyourjoy.org.

Once again it is that time of the year when the air smells mushy and love songs galore. The love struck couples seem abundant like mushrooms and tadpoles after the rain only to dissipate quickly enough with the follow-up breakups, hopping away from their love struck cupids as they learn to jump. With the media moguls pitching in their best, with tacky ads and too-much-in-love couples, you'll be forced to get sucked into the deadly retail trap with the 'love marketing' bandwagon blowing their trumpets a notch higher than the previous year. Red roses, dresses and chocolates vanish in an abyss faster than you sneeze and say "aachoo".

So before you spend your emotions with your money, consider a few facts. The "Valentine's Day" spending is slated to hit 18.9 billion mark in the US alone. Yes! You read it correct. Now, before you spend on the usual card, chocolate, red rose, gift routine. Here's a list of a few things to consider before you swipe the card and make the purchase, do things a little 'different' this year.

List of carefully thought gifts you could look at.

1.) Dump the rose and go for the evergreen grass: By grass I don't mean marijuana, but the humble widely growing patch of garden grass. Pitch it to your beloved this way: "Honey my love is not like the red rose which withers the next day, but like the shaft of green grass which is abundant and long-lasting."

2.) Two papers and a glue stick: Stick the papers (preferably pink and heart-shaped for the desired effect) with the glue when in front of her and say "Our love is like this glue which sticks us together eternally"

3.) A pair of sharp scissors: (This is risky but deadly!) "Even if you cut me, I shall always be yours." (Told you it is risky!)

4.) A bar of butter: (Preferably at room temperature) "Baby diamonds are hard and heartless by my heart melts like this (hand over the gooey butter at this point) when I see you"

5.) A bottle of strain-remover: "Baby my love shall leave no strain on your heart even if you try and remove it with this (hand her the bottle)

Do try them at your own discretion and preferably with running shoes on in case you have to hit the door faster than you give the gift.

Love is a psychological sentiment which comes out like other emotional feelings like curiosity, anger etc. Through the vision of psychology, in this article, I am going to discuss two parts. The first part is about intimate love and interrelated parental and the second part is about significance and importance of love and adoration on inspiration and pair-bonding.

At the time of young age, our parents should support us with all kinds of spiritual and material foster. The most important thing is that their support should be selfless and unconditional. Otherwise, it is really hard for us to survive in this world for a longer period. Thus, it is considered that parental love is unforgettable and it is in a way similar to the intimate love as both of them are interrelated. This is the reason why we always look for the most capable and responsible guidance for our future.

We find now that our parents sometimes motivate us to know about love. I still remember my father told me that love is creativity. It's an art of living beings. If we humans are getting love in our life, that means we are blessed. We are lucky that we are gettin

While parental love is important in our life, at the same time we need the basic intimate love also at a certain age. Our body needs to develop with time. With the intimate love we share our emotions, feelings to our partners. Even in a conjugal life, a wife after a certain time plays the role of a mother of her husband. She cares for him and nurtures him with all emotions. After the all day hard work, the husband finds peace in the lap of his wife, which he used to get before in his mother's lap. So, now it can be seen that parental love and conjugal love are really interrelated.

Every living being at a certain moment enjoys the universal feeling of love. If we talk about the living beings, you can see that even animals also know the touch of love. As an example, it is seen that a mother dog also cares and protects her babies. So, this feeling is not only for human beings, it is rather felt by each and every living being.

It is basically related biologically and rotates in a circle. When a child is born, the parents forget everything except taking care of him/her. They find their life in nurturing the baby. They spend their whole life in it. After the baby grows up, he/she finds his/her life partner and then it rotates in a biological structure.

Even according to Mahatma Gandhi, love is life. So, every person should find his/her life and enjoy it throughout their life. Remember that love can make your life heavenly. So, you should never waste your feelings.

Be happy and love your loved ones!

The author is a content writer who loves doing blogging. Stay updated with her contents to know about different things in detail.