Soulmates--Rant Warning

Just when I think I've gotten to where I can brush off the latest piece of spam that makes it past my filter into my inbox which insists it can help me find my soulmate for earthshaking, neverending love and romance, I run across some reference of that type elsewhere.

So, I thought I'd reproduce a posting I did "Over There" and ask for your understandings, those of you who believe soulmates are more than "twoo unending love, happily ever after."

I really detest the overly romantic ideas that are promoted about soulmates.

Soulmates, according to the majority of the more serious works I've read about reincarnation, are entities from our specific soul group with whom we've usually shared many past lives...in various roles.

A soulmate appearing in this lifetime might be your best friend, an influential teacher, your boss, your kid's soccer coach--any significant role in your and your family's lives. Or have no role at all based on what you choose to make of the opportunity presented by your belief that you've identified someone as a soulmate. You might simply recognize this person as a soulmate but be unable honorably to establish any relationship. It's also possible that life choices you and this person have made and are making will cause you to move in different directions than relationship. Realizing "Oh, there you are hovering in the wings of this lifetime" may be all you need to do on the soul level....[omitted a specific remark about what the OP had said]

What most people either don't know or choose to disregard is that a soulmate can come into your life to challenge you to intense spiritual growth by filling the role of your worst enemy. It's all akin to what you chose before birth to learn spiritually in this lifetime. Thus, by managing to deal with this person kindly and gently despite being challenged to behave in a thoroughly ugly manner, you might fulfill your spiritual lesson. But, it certainly wouldn't be either romantic or pleasant.

The one characteristic about soulmates that seems consistent through everything I've read is that such entities come into our lives to challenge us to grow spiritually. You never know just what form such growth may take...

Original appearance source You might find the original thread interesting. I was surprised to see that the OP was by a Mormon woman, not common to find someone of that faith taking the concept very seriously.

Does this reflect your beliefs or not? What do you think about soulmates?

I think you're mine.

Marry me.

Awwwwww...shucky doggone.

::::: shuffles her e-booties and blushes :::::

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not into bigamy.

Now, that we've gotten the flattery out of the way...what do you think about all this? Seriously for a change before I hafta smack ya upside that handsome head of yours...

It's interesting and I'm inclined to agree with your post. That's how I feel about it and how it makes sense to me, but it's one of those things that for me is purely speculation and there may not even be such a thing in reality. I never delved deeply into the idea of soul-mates etc., so never read that much about it.

Part of my concern about the popular insistence that we must all seek our soulmate is that once a person locks onto the belief that there's a "one and only," you're much less likely to notice someone who may be a delightful partner for you given half a chance. How many times have each of us thought or been told, "Sorry, not my type"?

It's true, IMO, that once you stop actively looking and simply go out and do interesting things, you'll be enjoying yourself so much that you'll attract someone without even trying to.

That's how it happened for me.

I never looked. I was happy single. Could have been hapy being single for the rest of my life. So was Scott. We were just buddies, hangin' out, and having a good time. 23 years later, we're still best of friends.

I'm not a big fan of the whole soulmates thing mainly because I don't know if we actually do have something that resembles a soul and I am not sure there is such a thing as reincarnation.

gillyflower wrote:I'm not a big fan of the whole soulmates thing mainly because I don't know if we actually do have something that resembles a soul and I am not sure there is such a thing as reincarnation.

What she said.

While I really don't like the associations that the word "soul" brings up and usually prefer "entity," I really do believe reincarnation occurs. There's a lot of quite persuasive evidence being assembled from the work of the scientific types investigating accounts by very young kids, IMO.

I could elaborate about some other research but will spare everyone. It's actually pretty dry stuff what with how protocols are established, what factors lead to acceptance or rejection of the account, etc.

Probably one who finds what's being done interesting truly must be as much of a nutjob as Shirley MacL has been painted over the years since she got heavily into this sort of thing. Guilty as charged.

Okay, at the risk of sounding silly. I do actually believe in reincarnation. And I do believe in *gasp* soulmates. I believe you can find your love, but I also believe you can find members of your soul group (soul family).
Obviously my opinion, but I think that is why we instantly love someone or are attracted to certain people, (we have not met previously in this life). Not because you should marry them, but because they are members of your soul group, and you have met them before, had a good relationship with them.

That may also work with people you instantly dislike, for no obvious reason, you recognize them from a previous encounter, in another lifetime.
But of course this is all ideas, I do not have any way of proving most of it even to my self.

However, having said that, In recent years I have been getting flashes of what I believe was my previous life. And one person that I knew back then. Who was alive until very recently.

Of course it does not change this life, but it is nice to know, at least subjectively that life does go on, after it has stopped going on.

Having said all that, I do not believe anyone can help you find your "soulmate". I believe if you are meant to you will, if not ...well..............

Reincarnation? Sure, I can go along with that. The Cosmos used some energy and expressed each of us once and that energy isn't going to disappear from the system, so it appearing in a new expression makes as much sense as anything else.

Soulmates? Seems to me to be a lot of wishful thinking, in general.

The "I found my soulmate" notion of romance? Seems to be a crock chock full o' excrement.

I guess it kinda depends on whether you have found someone important, and they just fit perfectly. It is after all a personal private opinion.

MaineCaptain wrote:I guess it kinda depends on whether you have found someone important, and they just fit perfectly. It is after all a personal private opinion.

I can see how you might differ, MC, but I felt pretty much as I expressed in the OP during that jangly time of being very single and trying to get my head straight so I'd not keep attracting abusers and losers, long before I met my current hubby.

I wish another term entirely could be found for the idea. I think soulmate now means just "the PERFECT person for me," and the concept involves so much more.

I've known a couple of people with whom I never could get along but to whom I felt inexplicably drawn. One might say I was simply a glutton for punishment, but I still wonder if they were soulmates who'd contracted to help me learn something spiritually important. I'm not sure, but it does seem possible to me.

I can believe that, that they came to help you grow, although unpleasant lessons ....eeeeck.

Maybe soulmate is the wrong word for what we are trying to describe. "Spirit family members" might be more accurate. I have an odd view on the world anyway.