Soulmates: Partners in Life.
Soulmates have been the subject of many New Age books recently. Many people believe that there is, somewhere in the world, the perfect mate, the one and only one that can complete them and make them a whole being. What these people are saying is that they feel incomplete and feel an emptiness within to be filled. Some are lucky and find another with whom they feel a deep soul connection; others spend years, perhaps a lifetime, looking in vain for that one soul who can make them feel whole.
What is a soulmate? Is he or she the romantic ideal, a perfect match for you, the one and only person in the world that can make you happy?
The definition of soulmate, according to the Random House College Dictionary, is “a person with which one has a special affinity, especially one of the opposite sex.” This definition perpetuates the romantic myth and overlooks the fact that there are actually several types of those we call “soulmates.”
To understand the concept of a soulmate, you must, at least for the moment, accept the possibility of reincarnation, for that is the basis. Reincarnation is the ultimate recycling: the opportunity for souls to experience many times over the world of the physical earth plane to learn the lessons that fuel the growth and development of the spirit in its journey back to God.
A soulmate refers to a soul that you have encountered in other times and places, someone with whom you have had a relationship of some kind, whether casual, intimate, or familial. The child you bear and nurture today might have lived the part of your parent in a previous life. The lover you have today may have parented you previously. The boss who you cannot tolerate personally may have been your sworn enemy and persecutor.
There are three major types of soulmates that you may encounter throughout your life. The first is the karmic soulmate. He or she is one with whom you have unfinished business that needs to be settled or lessons yet unmastered to be learned. Let us look at the example of John and Mary as they progress through several lifetimes together.
Lifetime #1: John and Mary are married and live as part of a nomadic tribe. As the head of his family, John has ultimate power over the women of the family and it goes to his head and ego. As a result, he is not gentle, kind, or loving to Mary, his wife, and treats her roughly with little regard to her wishes. After spending an evening with his male friends drinking and gambling, he arrives home to find Mary drawing water from the well. She is laughing and talking to the handsome young Captain of the guard who has asked for a drink of water on his walk around the camp’s perimeter. A jealous rage overpowers John. Just the thought that the Captain has spoken with women that is his property enrages John so that he draws his sword and with no warning, runs the Captain through and then turns on Mary, beheading her in one stroke. Obviously, John’s soul has a little growing and maturing to do.
Lifetime #2: John and Mary meet again on earth, but this time, they have switched genders. Mary is Viking warrior whose group raids English shores. John is a young woman who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is seized in the raid. John is carried off as a prize and claimed by Mary after a vicious fight with another Viking. John, terrified of Mary’s strength and fearing the worst, fights valiantly against Mary but is treated as a possession rather than a person and is ravished without mercy. Mary uses John badly and when the novelty wears off, shares John with the crew. When John begs Mary to have mercy, Mary kills John and throws the body unceremoniously overboard like refuse. Apparently, Mary’s soul remembered what it felt like to be treated like property, and decided to respond in kind.
Lifetime #3: John and Mary find one another again, this time in America at the turn of the century. John is a businessman who is very involved in his work and is trying hard to make a better life for his wife, Mary, and their young son. He has managed to build them a substantial house, filled it with fine furnishings, hired servants to maintain it, and has even engaged a tutor for the child to protect him from the “common element” in the schools. John and Mary spend little time together as he is usually at the office until well after dark and stops frequently at his club to enjoy dinner and drinks with friends. Mary is left to her own devices and is lonely and starved for company and affection. The tutor, who happens to be the soul of the young Captain of the guard in lifetime 1, gives Mary attention. He teaches her history and geography, listens to her every word, encourages her opinions and thoughts, and falls in love with her. As you might expect, John arrives home early and unexpected one day and finds Mary and the tutor in a passionate, though chaste, embrace. Enraged, he pulls a pistol from his pocket and aims at the tutor’s heart. Mary throws herself in front of the tutor and begs for a chance to explain the situation.
The question now is has John learned the lessons of the past lives he and Mary have shared? Has he remembered how it was to be demeaned and treated with disregard? Has he grown enough to control his anger and listen to Mary’s side of things, or will he pull the trigger and end her life, thus setting in motion another lifetime with a similar scenario? If John and Mary can successfully resolve the situation and deal with their lives in a rational and loving way, they can break the chain of karma that holds them to one another. Karmic soulmates are usually together just for resolution of lessons unlearned.
Companion soulmates reunite for much happier reasons choosing to share time and experiences with a soul who has been a friend and comrade, one with whom there are no major lessons to resolve. These souls come together again mainly for companionship. Moral support, and to encourage and uphold one another. This scenario includes siblings, best friends, parent and child, even spouses.
The twin flame relationship is the one people think of as a soulmate one, that romantic, passionate, stars streaking across the heavens and strangers seeing one another across a crowded room kind of thing. What is a twin flame? This is a soul created at the same moment as yours, one with the identical energy pattern. This is the one with whom you get a feeling of completeness with because the energy patterns match.
According to one theory, twin flames rarely share physical existence together. There is one in the earth plane who experiences physical life and one in spirit who guides and upholds the other. The purpose of the two is the same as each soul, to evolve to higher spiritual levels and eventually be reunited with the Creator. Should the one on earth diminish the energy of her soul through foolish choices, the one in spirit can bolster her up and sending meaningful dreams and messages to remind her of the intended path. If both are embodied, they can both be dragged down to lower levels more easily by choices made in the midst of the craziness of physical life.
Do you need a soulmate to feel complete? No. In fact, you should not allow anyone else to make you think you are not already complete and whole. You need nothing to complete you, for God/Goddess/Universe has made you in the divine and perfect image. Whatever you are experiencing in life has been orchestrated for your learning. Think of the satisfaction you experience when you complete a particularly difficult task or overcome a trying challenge. That is your soul learning and growing. This is the reason for physical existence.
Let me remind you of the need for discernment in all things. Never take anyone’s words, thoughts, or beliefs as gospel or just because they said this is so. Pay close attention to your heart and soul’s reaction to the information. No one outside you has the answers for you. You do not have the answers for anyone else. We all have to come to our own conclusions and make our own decisions based on what we feel is right for us at the time. That is the way we learn lessons and grow and evolve as people and as souls.
