“…and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment.”
– Plato
Soul mates are people with whom we have a deep connection in some way. We have incarnated with them before in previous lifetimes, and they are part of our soul family or soul group. Although we all are one and part of Source, we came into physical reality in groups of souls, and when we meet one of those souls from our group, the connection feels stronger with that person because we recognise the soul on a subconscious level.
Contrary to the popular concept of a soul mate being “The One” romantically, we actually have many, many soul mates, and they are not all romantic. Soul mates can be parents. children, good friends, lovers or teachers, for example. They might stay in our lives always, or appear only briefly. All of our past love relationships, especially the bad ones, are soul mates.
It can be hard to grasp the idea that an ex was a soul mate, especially if it was a difficult relationship. These soul mates are known as karmic soul mates – connecting with us purposefully to help our souls overcome past karma or issues and to help our souls grow spiritually. Once the lessons are learned, it is our choice if we move on from that particular soul mate or stay with them.
While all soul mates carry lessons for each other, there are some that are referred to as divine soul mates or “twin-flames” – the perfect love or the best friend, who bring little in the way of drama, and are the perfect match for us, in this lifetime. A soul mate who was a perfect love in a past life, may not be our love in this life.
Our soul mate helps us discover ourself and is in our beautiful dance of life to help us learn.
Sometimes the lessons are more difficult than others. All begins in the energy of love. And, it is for our evolution in enlightenment.
Edgar Cayce on Soul Mates
When asked about finding the right marriage partner, Cayce often replied as he did to this woman. “…We might find twenty-five or thirty such, if you choose to make it so! It is what you make it!”
Cayce believed we had a number of soul mates, i.e., people with whom we had incarnated before and with whom we could create a positive relationship. He discussed the characteristics by which we could identify those people. They were people who would assist us in our soul development.
He told us to look for the person who helped us be a better person. He often referred to a spouse as a “help meet,” in reference to “help mate.” He said we would be drawn to souls we had known before and in order to complete unfinished business, we would pick up where we left off.
Cayce consistently encouraged us to look at our values, set an ideal for ourselves, and have a sense of life’s direction. In some readings he discouraged clients from marrying a particular person. “It would be best never to marry him—thy ideals will be destroyed.” This response was based on his knowledge of their most recent past lives and the issues that were left unresolved between them.
Cayce, “the purpose of all relationships is spiritual development.” He cautions us to honestly interpret our relationships on this basis: “Does it challenge and stretch me? Does it encourage me to become a more balanced, giving person? Does this relationship bring out the very best within me?”
These questions may be applied to all our relationships, whether they be romantic or not. Souls often reincarnate in groups, and often to accomplish a particular purpose. “…even work relationships in which individuals are brought together to achieve some greater goal.”
Though soul mates may even appear to be the source of obstacles in life, they are in fact people with whom we can work through our challenges. Relationships bring out what’s hidden, the best and the worst, in order that we may encounter and transcend our issues….in our journey to enlightenment. And it all takes place for our benefit, our evolution!
