Soulmates

The word "soulmate" has always held a charm of its own for me. Strangely enough i realized that everytime i think of a "soulmate" i associate it with romance or love. Is it just the hopelesss romantic side of me coming to the forefront or does the connotation of the word soulmate actualy relate purely to love and romance?
In instances like this it must be said that the Oxford dictionary is absolutely inadequate!! It defines soulmate as "a person idealy suited to one another". Like we so didnt know that:P But this definition once again relates it almost immediately to notions of romantic love and the "other person" invariably becomes a husband or lover.( at least that is how i see it)

Not satisfied with the oxford definition of "soulmate" i decided to do a google search and for my luck i found exactly what i was looking for!!

The term soulmate is defined in one particular website "as a word used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, friendship, love, intimacy , sexuality and/or compatibility." Soul mates can have various types of relationships, which do not always include romantic love. They can be close friends, co-workers, a teacher, anyone who influences your life one way or another. They play the emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental, games of third dimension with you. They can affect relationships in a positive or negative way depending on the emotional issues of the people concerned.". It further goes to say that you feel closer to certain souls, because you have attracted them into your life as they are on the same frequency as you or because you want to work out issues with them!!

What actualy got me thinking about this particular subject were two things. One was the fact that i have recently developed the habit of continualy analysing the relationships that i have with the people around me. It amazes me as to how close i have grown to some people im my life. People who before i met them i never even knew existed or even if i did never even imagined would turn out to be my closest confidantes. It's strange how virtual strangers cross our paths, enter our lives and become so much a part of us that it comes to a point when you wonder how you ever got on with life without them! What amazes me most is how with some people you feel this almost instantaneous bond, you reach a comfort level that you may not even have reached with your oldest friend. You feel as if you've known each other forever. Its an unexplainable feeling but its almost as if you've found a long lost friend.

The second thing that got me thinking about the concept of soulmates was a discussion i had with one of my buddhist friends regarding karma. Even though being a fervent catholic myself i strangely believ in the concept of karma and rebirth as opposed to the christian belief of heaven.The concept of rebirth where our souls take the form of another life after death seems more probable to me than the christian belief that the soul finds eternal rest in heaven.

After a discussion on karma and how we carry it on to our next lives as preached in Buddhism , I came to the conclsion that karma, rebirth and soulmates are interlinked. It finaly provided an answer to many of my questions like why we are instantaneously attracted to certain people and likwise why we take an almost instant dilike to others.

I believe that when our human bodies die our soul travels into another sphere and is thus reborn as another being- be it human or animal- depending on the karma of our previous birth! My friend also enlightened me that its not only the bad karma that follows us to our next birth but also the good karma or the results of our good actions here on earth. So where does the concept of soulmates fit in then?

I believe and this is purely my assumption, that we feel closer to certain people more than others because its a bond we carry on from our previous births. It may sound silly or somewhat unbelievable but i do believ that certain people whom we share close bonds with are souls with whom we shared a close affinty in some manner in our past lives.

It could also be that you feel closer to certain souls, because you have attracted them into your life as they are on the same frequency as you or because you want to work out issues with them.

It now makes sense that I feel closer to some people and take an almost instant dislike to some. Their just not on the same frequency as I am!!:P

Its strange when you think about it eh? But it actualy makes alot of sense to this confused self who despite having a million other things to focus her attention on is constantly perplexed by the strangeness of certain relationships.

Its amazing how we seem to "click" with certain people depite having a multitude of differences. Its amazing how these strangers become an indispensable part of our lives.

I'm now convinced that the concept of "soulmates" cannot be merely restricted to the sphere of romantic love. Ofcourse some of us are lucky enough to find our soulmates in our lovers and husbands while some others may find their's in their best friend, in their ex lovers , their siblings or even for that matter in a mentor like a teacher or an elder.

Its not just love that binds two souls together. its friendship,intimacy and a deep natural affinity to each other. It's the stuff that soulmates are made up of:)

"Soul mates can bring out the best and worst in each other, depending on their issues, and often no matter how hard someone tries to hold on and help, the lesson is to let go. "- that explains alot doesnt it"!

Good luck finding your soulmate/s:)