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Relationships: Soul Mates: Do They Exist?

I know I'll probably be opening myself up for some debate on this one, but it is my opinion that in the true sense of the word, soul mates do not exist.

I believe there are "soul favorites". These are souls that we have shared past experiences with and upon meeting them again, feel a deep kinship for. These relationships can carry on for multiple lifetimes, each cycle deepening the feelings from the one before. So when we meet a soul that we feel an immense love and kinship with, it is my opinion that this is a history of experiences manifesting itself.

So what is awry with the concept of a soul mate? If they existed, why did none of the masters elude to them? Why didn't Buddha, Christ or Mohammed hook up with their soul mate and spread the good word in couple fashion? Ịf anyone could have found them, then surely these masters would have!

In the progress of the soul, learning to love another person is very important. But it is my belief that in the final cycles of the physical existence, there can be no division of Love. What I mean by that is, with unconditional love, can I love any one human more than another? Where there is division, there is not unconditional love for all. This is why no master took a wife (or husband). The supreme lesson of love, is not of a sexual nature. It is the unconditional loving of all things created by the universal force.

Loving a mate serves the same purpose as loving a child. It teaches us to love outside of ourselves and learn worthy traits such as sharing, forgiveness, acceptance, tolerance and patience. We find it easier to love our children and mates, but ultimately, this is expressed to all. No division...

Why do we seek soul mates? As hard as it is to say this, it's usually to fill a void within ourselves. We feel incomplete, empty, lonely, and we think a "soul mate" will fill those voids. The fear of being alone motivates us as well. But should we put this sort of burden on anyone? If you love yourself unconditionally, then you will not carry fear in your heart of abandonment and pain, for you are complete. A soul "favorite" should enhance your life only, not create it. Yet we search and search, placing our needs on this person and that, never fulfilled, always searching. Ironically, the greater the hole in someone, the harder they fall in what they perceive as "love", because the potential for loss is so much greater.

A lot of what I am saying depends on your beliefs. For example, what do you think happens to you when you die? If you turn to dust, well, the soul mate issue is moot. If you're off to heaven or hell, you could probably spend eternity with someone, but gosh, that seems like a long time. We have trouble staying with anyone here on earth for very long let alone for eternity! Also, if this belief held true for soul mates, then why do they say, "Until Death Do You Part."? Now if you believe in the karmic cycle and different planes of existence, then once you eventually leave the lower planes (both physical and astral) then the body doesn't exist and the whole soul mate thing doesn't make sense. With no physical body, we won't be doing much of anything like eating, sleeping, or procreating.

These are some lofty concepts, I know. but the greatest love we can find is within ourselves. Once we achieve that, then we are truly a gift to others when we give ourselves in a relationship, whether that be to a friend, relative or "soul favorite".