About
Edgar Cayce | Edgar
Cayce On...
Soul Mate - Soulmates
Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc.
Almost every person feels a longing
for companionship. At times we may understand this desire
as a directive toward union with God, and at other times,
as a desire for union with another person.
Two ideas come together in
the material from the Edgar Cayce readings concerning the
choice of a companion-particularly a life partner. First
is the principle that we are here in the earth for the purpose
of growth and development in consciousness. What is more,
associations with some individuals are more conducive to
growth than associations with others; therefore, it is prudent
to choose carefully our companions. This principle is probably
easy for us to accept if we merely reflect on the types of
influence various friends and acquaintances have had on us
in the past. The impact is most powerful in a marriage relationship,
and a good union should be founded upon a shared purpose
in life and the capacity to help each other to grow.
The second principle relates
to reincarnation: We as spiritual beings (or souls) experience
our growth in consciousness through a series of lifetimes
in physical human form. In other words, we have been in the
earth many times before, and more specifically have had close
personal relationships with particular souls. Attraction
to another person and thoughts of marriage could very likely
be related to memory patterns (even subconscious memories!)
of having been with that soul in the distant past. In the
readings, Cayce suggested that, often, we are attracted to
a particular person for marriage in this lifetime because
of such a relationship at least once before.
But if reincarnation is a fact,
we might expect that we have been married to many souls in
the course of other incarnations. Which one of these partnerships
is the best one to build upon now, in this life? Does each
person have exactly one other special soul that it is meant
to be with whenever possible?
Many sources of psychic information
and other metaphysical teachings have proposed concepts such
as "soul mate" and "twin soul." The Cayce readings, although
simultaneously raising some provocative questions, do shed
some light on this topic.
In the beginning, as was outlined,
there was presented that that became as the Sons of God,
in that male and female were as one... Reading 364-7
A fundamental issue is the
very nature of the soul. Is it male or female? Both or neither?
The readings propose that the soul itself does not have gender.
However, in order to learn
and grow, a soul enters into the physical domain (which is
characterized by such polarities as light/dark, positive/negative,
thinking/feeling, etc.) and chooses to incarnate in a male
or female expression. Likely, in the long-range growth of
the soul over many incarnations, male and female experiences
are needed. In selecting one gender over the other in a particular
lifetime, a condition is usually created in which a balance
or complement is needed, such as can be found in a marriage
companion. This is not to say that important spiritual growth
is impossible during a life without marriage; rather, the
marriage relationship is one great avenue for development.
Perhaps this pattern of growth
has not always been the usual way. Some readings suggest
that in ancient prehistory, such as the times of Atlantis
more than 12,000 years ago, a soul could incarnate in such
a way that male and female qualities were manifested simultaneously.
It is not clear what form the physical body took in these
cases. One person was told in a reading about an Atlantean
incarnation: "for then both male and female might be-desired
so-in one." (288-27)
What, then, is a soul mate?
Is it the soul that one has married in the most incarnations?
Frequency of marriage may be one factor because, according
to Cayce, status as soul mates is built by shared physical
experiences over a long period. However, a more precise understanding
is this: A soul mate is a complement to oneself. One reading
poetically describes it as "the tongue to the groove, the
tenon to the mortise..." (1556-2) It is more than merely
a physical attraction; it is a capacity to help each other
at the physical, mental, and spiritual levels.
Another interpretation of the
term "soul mates" was offered by Hugh Lynn Cayce, who was
present for a number of the readings his father gave on this
subject. He wrote: "The idea of soul mates and affinities
is closely related to the theory of reincarnation as explained
through the Edgar Cayce readings. Two souls may, in a number
of incarnations, grow very close together in their pattern
of spiritual evolution. These souls will need the help and
assistance of each other as they evolve and hence, in any
one incarnation, will be drawn closely together because of
their many past associations and the intricate entwining
of their respective personalities."
Status as soul mates is also
a matter of ideals. One important passage stated: "Such as
have in an experience found an ideal may be said to be soul
mates, and no marriages [are] made in heaven nor by the Father
save as each do His biddings." (275-38)
These criteria suggest that
one could have more than a solitary soul mate, although such
a fact is not explicitly spelled out in any Cayce reading.
However, we should, no doubt, be cautious about leaving a
current marriage partner merely because of an attraction
to someone else. In all likelihood, the very same problems
and "opportunities" we are currently facing would be the
same regardless of which partner we have in our lives-in
relationships we most often come to terms with those things
we need to work on in ourselves, even though we might sometimes
think of our partner as being the source of our frustration.
Those who come across the idea of soul mates after having
already married can still rest assured that their partner
is, in fact, a "soul mate."
For those who are single and
who would like to find their soul mate, what do the Cayce
readings have to offer?
First, they suggest choosing
someone who will help you to a "more helpful, more sustaining,
more the well-rounded life..." (364-7) In modern language,
we might say that we are looking for someone who has the "right
vibrations" for us. In fact, this is a phrase used in the
readings in describing the kind of experience that might
be felt between soul mates: "with the union of two that vibrate
or respond to those vibrations in self..." (364-7) Together,
the two would assist one another in finding a balanced life.
But even if we find someone
who fits these criteria-someone who is perhaps a soul mate-this
does not guarantee a good marriage. The two will still have
to work together in order for the great potential of the
relationship to flower. This is what the readings seemed
to suggest in the following question-and-answer exchange.
We might assume that the question, in effect, asked whether
or not these two people were soul mates.
Q. Is this girl the type and
quality of womanhood best suited to this man for a successful
life? A. May be made so in each. No one is suited exactly
in the beginning, unless it has been fore-ordained through
the ages of the mating of each. (Reading 257-15)
The final statement is not
clearly explained. We might understand "fore-ordained" to
include a choice made by the two souls before being born
this time, or it may relate to very strong bonds built over
many lifetimes of being married (i.e., "the mating of each").
A concept similar to that of
soul mates is "twin souls." When Cayce used this term in
the readings, he did not mean to imply that two souls were
identical. Instead, it is two souls sharing a common purpose
or ideal. They would not necessarily have had previous marriage
incarnations. In other words, the soul-mate condition is
largely built in the material plane of experience (although,
as previously mentioned, it has mental and spiritual components
beyond just sexual attraction). However, the twin-soul condition
evolves more from a commonality in the nonmaterial realm-at
the idea or ideal level.
One example of twin souls,
according to the Cayce readings, is Jesus and His mother,
Mary. One reading states: "In the beginning Mary was the
twin-soul of the Master in the entrance into the earth!" (5749-8)
Finally, we might ask ourselves, "Where
does this subject of soul mates and twin souls lead us? Is
our destiny to find and be reunited with some other special
soul?" Such is not the point of view in the Cayce material.
They refer to Jesus' teaching that, in the heavenly kingdom,
we are neither married nor given in marriage. As helpful
as marriage relationships may be in the earth, beyond this
material domain, it is our destiny to find wholeness within
our own souls. If one must think in terms of being destined
to ultimate union with some other soul, then think of that
other soul as the Christ Soul. One reading made the point
this way: "But know, the soul is rather the soul-mate of
the universal consciousness than of an individual entity." (2988-2)
The principle of soul mates
and twin souls are, therefore, potentially both helpful and
misleading. These concepts can help us understand some of
the key factors in making a wise choice of a marriage partner
and can remind us that some relationships are tremendous
storehouses of love and helpfulness which can be reawakened.
However, these concepts can be misleading if we forget that
our ultimate companion is the Christ, or if we are tempted
to leave the responsibilities of relationships to which we
have already committed ourselves in this lifetime.
