Soul Mate vs. Twin Flame
Recently I came across some articles that address the idea of soul mates. I’ve always had a pretty fixed idea of what a soul mate was — many of us do. But with deeper research, and a greater understanding of how the universe actually works I now see things a little differently. A soul mate is not necessarily “the one” our souls are searching to reconnect with, but in actuality is often a projection of our self (i.e. an issue of our own ego), or a karmic lesson the universe is looking to teach us.
Below is some of the information I found on soul mates and later, the introduction of the concept of Twin Flames — an individual’s true “other half.” By applying these ideas to your own relationships — past, present, and future — you can start to see the universe’s unique message for you.
The Soul Mate
Someone that enters your life for a whole variety of reasons, to assist, teach, support, help you achieve a particular important mission, or gain knowledge from you. From a relationship point of view, a soul mate is someone whom you intersect with to learn a lesson from. The experience is generally joyful or painful but is one of growth in some way emotionally or spiritually.
Our soul mates are part of the same “soul group,” and are karmic bonds from past lives. For instance, you may meet and become instantly attracted to someone in this life that was a brother / sister or parent in a past life, or very often a lover from a past life with whom you both have unresolved issues. Thus, the universe will put you both in a position to intersect in this life to give you an opportunity to work on those issues here. If they are unresolved then chances are you will meet up with this very same soul in your next incarnation and have the same shot at resolution / peace.
These Karmic Soul Mates are relationships typified by a strong emotional or physical attraction — but are generally problematic, cyclical, and turbulent. Karmic Soul Mates will generally leave one soul or both souls feeling rejected, neglected, uneasy, decisive, angry, or feeling betrayed or cheated in some way. The deeper these feelings of separation are the more difficult the relationship.
Issues between Karmic Souls can only be resolved if either 1.) both parties selflessly agree to work together to resolve them, which requires setting all ego aside, or 2.) if one party decides to completely release the other and move on. This isn’t just a physical transcendence but an emotional one as well. This is the concept of “letting go.” Both are very difficult to do, which is why our souls often intersect with the very same ones in each incarnation.
The universe sends us multiple soul mates during a lifetime, often to learn lessons about ourselves. Until a lesson is fully learned / understood and the karma resolved the karma one will receive will be cyclical in nature.
The Twin Flame
Otherwise known as The Twin Soul. This is a bond of pure bliss and is very rare. It’s thought that twin souls are one at the time they enter the physical realm and then split — creating a male and female half. Within each of our souls is the need to reunite with our other half. Everything we see and experience in the physical realm is duality and pairs of opposites, for example…
- black and white
- love and hate
- light and darkness
- male and female
The problem with viewing existence in such terms is that we tend to see things in pairs or direct opposites. Thinking in these terms means seeing things as separate from oneself when in truth all is one. Subconsciously we are all searching for oneness or complete unity — and the concept of the twin soul connection is a experience of that perfect oneness or bliss.
In this life they will have an opportunity to connect. Twin Flames meet for the purpose of accomplishing something larger than either one of them individually — a high spiritual and creative connection, and the experience of many synchronicities. This is the feeling of one’s life running parallel to the other soul before the point of meeting.
But, the bond can be so intense that if one soul or both souls aren’t ready for it or don’t have a strong enough knowledge of their true self at the time they meet — separation will ensue. The difference between these separations and those of a karmic soul mate however is that a level of mutual respect, honesty / transparency, admiration and the foundation for unconditional love remain strong and ever present.
To allow for this type of bond ego has to be set aside and karma has to be either resolved or released — it’s the only way to pave a path forward.
FADE IN: 