Sufism

Peace and respects to all religions. No wish to impose my beliefs on to yours. We are all one. I was an evangelism major, thankful for the time at the University to learn theology but what is head knowledge of scriptures if there is no love in your heart? I don't claim a specific religion except strive every day to be love because God is love. I do however favor Sufism. Very interesting and I feel drawn to the teachings. If you are curious to what Sufism is, please read. Peace to everyone's personal and spiritual journey. Much love and peace Tiana.

What is a Sufi?
One who does not separate himself from others by opinion or dogma;
and who realizes the heart as the Shrine of God.

What does the Sufi desire?
To remove the false self and discover God within.

What does the Sufi teach?
Happiness.

What does the Sufi seek?
Illumination.

What does the Sufi see?
Harmony.

What does the Sufi give?
Love to all created things.

What does the Sufi get?
A greater power of love.

What does the Sufi find?
GOD.

And lose?
self

Hazrat Inayat Khan
The word, 'Sufi' has been ascribed various origins, among them words meaning 'purity' and 'wisdom.' The Sufi, therefore, is one who has discarded all that does not belong to his innermost self, and who has cultivated the garden of the heart, for there is no other place where wisdom grows.

The Sufi sees the Divine Presence reflected in all names and forms, and is limited by none. Knowing that no man-made distinction can contain the One Being, the Sufi offers sincere respect to all forms of worship, while ever striving to be free of dogmatic limitation.

The Sufi is one who has two points of view: his own, and that of the other.
Sufism, the Religion of the Heart

The subject of Sufism has been interpreted in various ways in India , Arabia , and other Middle Eastern countries over hundreds of years. This subject is also found in numerous historical documents as well as in contemporary publications, and yet to the question, ‘what is Sufism?’ there seems to be no precise definition which could satisfy the curiosity of those who, in the disguise of seekers on the spiritual path, are searching only for the key to performing wonders.

Sufism is neither a religion nor a cult nor a sect, nor is it only from the East or from the West. Sufism, which means wisdom, has always been and shall always be an open door to Truth; the wise feel sympathy towards all beliefs, while at the same time avoiding speculation upon abstract concepts. Sufism believes in the Divine origin of every form of worship in which the unity of religious ideals is respected.

Sufism, which is without any religious obligations, regards spirituality as the religion of the heart. That religion is one wherein the unity of religious ideals is followed unconditionally in search of truth, without going astray in following the followers of the followers of the great religious reformers, whose messages have been altered beyond recognition through the centuries by those who confuse mysticism with fanaticism.

In Sufism there is no place for comparisons or preferences. All Messengers are regarded with the same respect and their messages are worshiped with the same veneration, knowing that Buddha was not a Buddhist, Christ was not a Christian, and Mohammed was not a Mohammedan. They were bringers of new impulses of the Divine Message, which the multitude uses as toys to play with, and impostors use for power games.

Sufism is an attitude of inner sympathy towards all beliefs. All religions are Sufi religions as long as they recognize the limits inherent in any speculative interpretation of Truth. One might say that Sufism is a process leading to the widening of the horizon of the heart, so that Truth may shine within as a brilliant sun, illuminating all that is receptive of its rays of light.

Through the ages there has been one religion after another, but each one came as a confirmation of the previous one. Now, in our century and with the development of science and communication, it has become clear that each religion had a special purpose to fulfil at a particular period of human evolution. For the wise, one can only be really attuned to any religion if one’s heart is open to all religious beliefs with the same love and understanding for each.

If one took six or seven different glasses, each one of a different colour, and poured water in each glass, the water would appear red in one glass, blue in another, green in a third, and so on, although it were the same water in each. In the same way, all religions are in their origin of divine inspiration, but, like the image of water poured into different coloured glasses, as soon as divine inspiration is crystallized in human thought, it acquires the colour of that thinking. We then call the one colour Hinduism, another colour Buddhism, another Islam and still other colours are called Judaism, Christianity, or by any other religious denomination.

Therefore, since the origin of all religions is of divine nature, these can only be understood inasmuch as one is prepared to recognize the unity of all religious ideals, at which level all religions are so many derivations of one and the same impulse, the cry of the heart, the longing of the soul for God.

Wisdom might reveal itself in the guise of a recognizable form, although wisdom is not tangible, nor does it have a form of its own. Examples of wisdom might perhaps be described, although wisdom cannot be defined in words. Furthermore, there are just as many expressions of wisdom as there are seekers of wisdom. Yet, for the one who is really wise, there is only one wisdom but many different ways of understanding that one wisdom, and different forms of expression through which the one and only wisdom is recognized by the wise.

Wisdom takes it for granted that some very specific dogmas must have made much sense at the time that they were preached, but these don’t necessarily apply any more in our world today, where science has taken over the responsibility of such subjects as health and education, which were originally once part of the basic structures of ancient religion.

The word Sufi means wisdom, but that does not mean that when pursuing the Sufi path one is necessarily wise. Sufism is a test with which one is constantly confronted, when expected to show an example of how well one understands what spirituality truly is. Spirituality does not mean drifting away upon the clouds of illusion; it means having the feet firmly on the ground of reality, proving thereby, without pretence to have acquired discipline over the physical and mental energies. It is only then that one can possibly inspire others on the path where honesty in spirituality is the watchword.

A Sufi is a religious soul whose nature is to refuse to submit to imposed beliefs, and who is conscious that life is not necessarily just what one might think it to be, nor what one is told it to be. Life is not only lived at the level of physical experience, nor only at the level of thought, nor only at the level of feeling, but also, and most importantly, at a still higher level of consciousness, where the self is no more the barrier separating reality from illusion.

On the path of spirituality, one ventures to vanquish one’s own faults rather than to judge others, whose faults are not very different to one’s own. One tries to master one’s own feelings rather than misinterpreting those of others, and one treasures even the smallest sign of appreciation coming from those who are dependant upon one’s sympathy.

At this level of consciousness, there are neither limitations nor opposites, nor is there any relationship with pre-conceived ideas, such as those expressed in all dogmatic religious interpretations of Truth. When trying to explain God one only fashions an individual concept, limited to the size of ones thoughts.

Perhaps one might discover someday what it really means to have inner security, when seeing that all things only have just as much importance as one attaches to them. Nothing is important and yet everything is important, but that which seems so important to oneself does not always seem important to others. The Sufi will always remain free from judging others and from specifying what is good and what is bad. For the Sufi, good and bad are concepts that can only be discerned within one’s own conscience.

As soon as one attempts to define abstract concepts, one is taken away into the labyrinth of one’s own thoughts that soon break down into speculative descriptions from which one constructs dogmatic ideas; these are then added to the many pre-conceived ideas picked up through one’s education, together with the numerous impressions and influences which constitute our mind world. Then, when one tries to express one’s beliefs and understandings, the words tend to deviate from the original ideas, which were themselves only arbitrary concepts, and the result of all this is so often presented as being the one and only truth.

The Sufi Message is a message of, ‘Spiritual Liberty,’ revealing in its essence, the true nature of spirituality as being the liberation from dogmas and preconceived ideas. And in its call for “Unity of spiritual Ideals, the Sufi message offers a source of inspiration, reaching far beyond such feelings as ‘my religion’ as opposed to ‘your religion,’ because there is only one religion and several interpretations of the one Truth.

Let us unite as brothers and sisters without any pretension, with the great ideal of bringing happiness to a world where illusion reigns regrettably in full authority, over the freedom of spiritual awakening.

The religion of our time is destined to be the religion of the heart, and since there are many hearts, there are obviously many religions, although all religions spring forth from one and the same heart, the temple of God , wherein, when wisdom prevails, love harmony and beauty together constitute the living altar.

Jay Walkers, it's that time again!

Can't believe it's going on year 3. The J Dilla Project/Jay Walkers keeps growing every year. Thank you Herm and Shon for creating this team from start and dedicating your time and energy to see a cure for this disease. It's an honor to be part of this team.
They are extremely close with finding this cure for Lupus, according to the ALR. For all of those who have walked in the past, these pics are familiar to you, looking good;). As a community, lets get together again. Walk for Dilla, walk for LOVE, walk to find a cure.
Please sign up with Team Captain Rashonda Hayes. Next walk will be in Detroit. More details to date and time. Copy/Paste link below. The Los Angeles walk is coming soon.
Thank you to all in advance for your time and donations. Everything helps. Spread the word and thank you for spreading the LOVE.
Peace Love Tiana
You can sign up here at this link or you can get in touch with Shon at Shon603@gmail.com

Link to Rashond Hayes Jay Walkers Team Page:
http://walk.lupusresearch.org/site/TR/Events/MID?px=1787455&pg=personal&fr_id=2210&et=FehibflPTUcI6wLONGfvgw..&s_tafId=20186

Love Feat. Pharoahe Monch - J Dilla (AKA Jay Dee)

Jazz and The Civil Rights Movement

I love learning about jazz history and especially the jazz musicians that influenced us and music during the "Civil Rights Era". It was a time of hate, war and social injustices amongst races and organizations. All were fighting for equality and a voice to be heard.
I imagine the love stories that emerged amongst the people of this dark time that never made it to the movies or novels for us to read about. Can you imagine living during this era of ignorance and chaos searching for some sort of light? Love and music is true freedom. This is why the music that came from this period interests me so deeply. I feel it was love and music that kept the spirits of people alive and gave them hope during this time. Enjoy, Peace LOVETIANA

Courtesy of: How Jazz Musicians Spoke Out for Racial Equality
By Jacob Teichroew, About.com

From the days of bebop, when jazz ceased to be pop music, and instead became solely about the music and the musicians who played it, jazz has been symbolically linked to the civil rights movement. The music, which appealed to whites and blacks alike, provided a culture in which the collective and the individual were inextricable, and in which one was judged by his ability alone, and not by race or any other irrelevant factors. “Jazz,” Stanley Crouch writes, “predicted the civil rights movement more than any other art in America.”
Not only was jazz linked to civil rights in its structure. Jazz musicians took up the cause, using their celebrity and their music to promote racial equality and social justice. Below are just a few cases in which jazz musicians spoke out for civil rights.




Louis Armstrong

Although sometimes criticized by activists and black musicians for playing into an “Uncle Tom” stereotype by performing for mainly white audiences, Louis Armstrong often had a subtle way of dealing with racial issues. In 1929 he recorded a song called “(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue?,” a song from a popular musical. The lyrics include the phrase:


My only sin
Is in my skin
What did I do
To be so black and blue?
The lyrics, out of the context of the show, and sung by a black performer in that period, were a risky and weighty commentary.

Armstrong became a cultural ambassador for the U.S. during the cold war, performing jazz all over the world. In response to increasing turmoil swirling around the desegregation of public schools, Armstrong was more outspoken. After the 1957 Little Rock Crisis, when the National Guard prevented nine black students from entering a high school, Armstrong canceled a tour to the Soviet Union, and said publicly, “the way they’re treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.”


Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday incorporated the song “Strange Fruit” into her set list in 1939. Adapted from a poem, by a New York high school teacher, “Strange Fruit” was inspired by the 1930 lynching of two blacks, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. It juxtaposes the horrid image of bodies hanging from trees with an description of the idyllic South. Holiday delivered the song night after night, often overwhelmed by emotion, causing it to become an anthem of early civil rights movements.


Lyrics to “Strange Fruit:”

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.


Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.


Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.


Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman, a preeminent white bandleader and clarinetist, was the first to hire a black musician to be part of his ensemble. In 1935 he made pianist Teddy Wilson a member of his trio. A year later, he added vibraphonist Lionel Hampton to the lineup, which also included drummer Gene Krupa. These steps helped push for racial integration in jazz, which was previously not only taboo, but even illegal in some states.

Goodman used his fame to spread appreciation for black music. In the 1920s and 30s, many of the orchestras that marketed themselves as jazz bands consisted only of white musicians, and played a mawkish style of music that only drew sparingly from the music that black jazz bands were playing. In 1934, when Goodman began a weekly show on NBC radio called “Let’s Dance,” he bought arrangements by Fletcher Henderson, a prominent black bandleader. His thrilling radio performances of Henderson’s music brought awareness of real jazz to a broad and mainly white audience.


Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington’s commitment to the civil rights movement was complicated. Many felt that a black man of such esteem should be more outspoken, but Ellington often chose to remain quiet on the issue. He even refused to join Martin Luther King’s 1963 march on Washington, D.C.

However, Ellington dealt with prejudice in subtle ways. His contracts always stipulated that he would not play before segregated audiences. When he was touring the South in the mid 1930s with his orchestra, he rented three train cars in which the entire band traveled, ate, and slept. This way, he avoided the grasp of Jim Crow laws, and commanded respect for his band and music.

Ellington’s music itself fueled black pride. He referred to jazz as “African-American classical music,” and strove to convey the black experience in America. He was a figure of the Harlem Renaissance, an artistic and intellectual movement celebrating black identity. In 1941 he composed the score to the musical “Jump for Joy,” which challenged traditional representation of blacks in the entertainment industry. He composed “Black, Brown, and Beige” in 1943 to tell a history of American blacks through music.

Max Roach

Max Roach was not only one of the great innovators of bebop drumming, but also an outspoken activist. In the 1960s he recorded We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1960), featuring his wife at the time, and fellow activist Abbey Lincoln. The title of the work represents the heightened fervor that the 60s brought to the civil rights movement, as protests, counter-protests, and violence mounted.

Roach recorded two other albums drawing focus to civil rights: Speak Brother Speak (1962), and Lift Every Voice and Sing (1971). Continuing to record and perform in later decades, Roach also devoted his time to lecturing on social justice.


Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus was known for being angry and outspoken on the bandstand. That’s why, in response to the 1957 Little Rock Nine incident in Arkansas, when Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to prevent black students from entering a newly desegregated public high school.

Mingus displayed his outrage at the event by composing a piece entitled “Fables of Faubus.” The lyrics, which he penned as well, offer some of the most blatant and harshest critiques of Jim Crow attitudes in all of jazz activism.

Lyrics to “Fables of Faubus:”

Oh, Lord, don't let 'em shoot us!
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em stab us!
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em tar and feather us!
Oh, Lord, no more swastikas!
Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan!


Name me someone who's ridiculous, Danny.
Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won't permit integrated schools.


Then he's a fool! Oh Boo!
Boo! Nazi Fascist supremacists
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan)


Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Danny.
Faubus, Nelson Rockefeller, Eisenhower
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?


Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hate.
H-E-L-L-O, Hello

“Fables of Faubus” originally appeared on Mingus Ah Um (1959), although Columbia Records found the lyrics so incendiary that they refused to allow them to be recorded. In 1960, however, Mingus recorded the song for Candid Records, lyrics and all, on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus.

John Coltrane

John Coltrane, while not an outspoken activist, was a deeply spiritual man who believed his music was a vehicle for the message of a higher power. Coltrane was drawn to the civil rights movement after 1963. That was the year that Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech during the August 28th March on Washington, raising public awareness of the movement for racial equality. It was also the year that white racists placed a bomb in a Birmingham, Alabama church, and killed four young girls during a Sunday service.

The following year, Coltrane played eight benefit concerts in support of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. He wrote a number of songs dedicated to the cause, but his song “Alabama,” which was released on Coltrane Live at Birdland (Impulse!,1964), was especially gripping both musically and politically. The notes and phrasing of Coltrane’s lines are based on the words Martin Luther King spoke at the memorial service for the girls who died in the Birmingham bombing. Mirroring King’s speech, which escalates in intensity as he shifts his focus from the killing to the broader civil rights movement, Coltrane’s “Alabama” sheds its plaintive and subdued mood for a crackling surge of energy, reflecting the strengthened determination for justice.

RIP Baatin

Exclusive SLUMVILLAGE VIDEO "Actin Normal" from SCRAPDIRTY on Vimeo.

I think I was a Jester in my past life

This is interesting, I always said I think I was a Jester in my past life. I read about it and it's all now making sense. LOL.


The tradition of the court jester, a man who would amuse courtiers and monarchs with his antics and jokes, is ancient. Most people associate jesters with medieval and Renaissance Europe, but in the fact the practice of retaining a jester or fool goes back beyond the birth of Christ. In the modern era, jesters can still be found, although the official position of a royal jester at court is not often filled. Many fans of medieval history like to dress up as jesters, celebrating a rich and complex tradition. The court jester can also be seen symbolically in many places, including decks of cards, where he is known as the joker.

The classic uniform of a court jester includes a tri-pointed floppy hat with bells, and brightly colored uniquely patterned clothing. Many garments in the medieval age were actually quite bright and even garish by modern standards, but the court jester would have stood out, thanks to the distinctive hat and ringing of bells which accompanied every movement. Some jesters were also gifted with jewelry, beautiful clothing, and other presents in thanks for their services, and they undoubtedly would have worn their gifts to demonstrate their favor.

The position of the court jester was actually very complicated. On the surface, a jester might be taken as a mere buffoon, but he also had to walk a fine line in the court, as he had no official place in the ranks of the court. This allowed court jesters to be more free with their opinions, since their words could be considered jokes, but they had to be careful about overstepping their boundaries, as a court jester who went too far could be punished by the monarch.

In some cases, people who were disabled took up a position as court jester. The mentally disabled might find a place in medieval society by capering and frolicking at court, thereby relieving their families of a significant burden. Other court jesters were trained musicians, actors, or artists, and some of them even became trusted and valued confidants in the court.

Many court jesters were extremely intelligent and sensitive to the political and social trends of their eras. Their skilled entertainments might have included clever or subtle gibes at the enemies of the king, along with commentary on general problems in society. A court jester could also purely entertain, of course, with acrobatics, music, silly songs, and many jesters or buffoons did just that during periods of uncertainty and fear.

The meaning of Soul Mates Friendships and Companions

This is really long but I had to copy/paste. Very interesting. We truly don't know what is truth, but to ME, this is very interesting to learn. I thought I'd pass the information along. Enjoy! Peace and @LOVETIANA


For as long as we have had recorded history, there has been a very natural and powerful attraction of the masculine and feminine energies for one another. And yet, few have ever taken the time to ask some very fundamental questions about this magical oneness known as man-woman.

Does it exist by accident? Is it nothing more than a by-product of Mother Nature that guarantees more humans? Or could there be a deeper purpose and sacred meaning to it all? Why do we have feelings of oneness with another that can be so profound at times we want it to last for all of eternity? How do we account for a knowingness deep within our being that often reminds us we are incomplete; that there exists a someone, somewhere who will make us feel whole again?

Quite frankly, I can't think of any other human experience that rivals the passion and intensity of falling in love. That is why we seem to be so preoccupied with it. Eventually we reach a point along the spiritual journey when we discover that it has everything to do with our souls.

How did the concepts of soul mates and twin souls begin in the first place? Was it all the result of someone’s vivid imagination or is there a deeper meaning and purpose to it all? Why is the word soul common to both? Why do we find ourselves so intrigued by these kinds of thoughts? Is there a difference between the two? How will this affect relationships as we enter the New Age of Aquarius? Will a deeper understanding of soul partners and the Aquarian energy change our lives dramatically for the better? Do we even realize what our soul is up to while on its cosmic journey?

All of these questions are important because they bring a very important realization into focus. If we want to have meaningful soul mate or twin soul relationships, and there is a difference between the two, we must start thinking of ourselves as souls. Unless we do so, these kinds of partnerships will have little chance for true meaning and fulfillment.


Your Soul...

In order to understand how all of this began, we must look into the spiritual teachings of the Eastern mystics and some of the channeled insights we have received over the years. There is a common theme that runs through all of it. And it is no accident that this sacred body of mystical knowledge is making its presence felt at this moment in time.

Humanity is slowly awakening to its true spiritual nature and, as we do, our minds and hearts are opening to this new wisdom in our midst. More importantly we are getting ready to live it now and over the many lifetimes we'll experience during the 2160-year Age of Aquarius. This will be a time when relationships foster spiritual growth between lovers. And that is a big difference from the past age of Pisces, when couples stayed together for purposes of survival more than anything else.

The mystical teachings say that each individual soul is a fragment of God; something like a miniaturized version of our Source. God has a dual nature or essence, which is an equal blend of the masculine-feminine, ying-yang principle. The dynamic interplay that occurs between the male-female energy of Father/Mother God is responsible for the incredible, creative forces that originate within their divine mind. Since everything that exists comes from Them, the male-female essence is found in all things, including you.

Not surprisingly, our individual souls contain an equal blend of Father/Mother's masculine and feminine essence. That blend can be likened to a magnet, which has two polarities. One is positive, the other negative. But the magnet is whole within itself. At the soul level we are neither female nor male. We are both. Just as God is.

In order to understand how the soul mate and twin soul concept fits into all of this, we need to go back to the beginning. Literally.

Before our souls and the universe came into being, all was ONE within the realm of the Absolute or the mind of God. Nothing else existed. There was no division, no separation, no opposites, no conflicts and no contrasts. Just the purest unity, bliss, joy and love imaginable. In that state of being, God could only know things, but not feel and experience them. In order to experience and feel, there had to be an opposite for everything that exists.

To remedy that dilemma, God created our souls and a place where there could be countless experiences and feelings. That place is the physical universe in which we now find ourselves, complete with galaxies, stars, planets, intelligent life, feelings, emotions and so on. As souls, we agreed to leave the Absolute for a while to experience and feel its offerings and God would do the same through us. Another way to say this is that when we smell a rose, Gods smells a rose. Our connection with our Source is that intimate.

In a flash of God’s magnificent mind and imagination, the material universe in which we live was created. All of it is a place of exquisite duality. For everything that exists, including our emotions, there is an opposite for it. For heat there is cold, for darkness there is light, for health there is sickness, for anger there is forgiveness, for hatred there is compassion, for love there is fear, and so on. Without these opposites how could we and God appreciate the wonder of joy unless there was sadness to compare it to?

God also brought into being the greatest opposite of all. It was the feminine and masculine energy or the male-female principle, which is a truly awesome gift. As we awaken spiritually, we are becoming more and more aware of the male/female energies and the profound implications they will have during our relationship with another.

When we begin to understand and appreciate the origin of our souls and how this led to the soul mate and twin soul concepts, we will want no other kind of partnership. That is why the New Age of Aquarius, which will be a time of love, peace, truth and harmony, will also set the stage for grander soul-to-soul couplings. It promises to be incredible. And it's already beginning to happen.

When our souls were released from the Absolute into the universe to experience and to feel, a series of divisions or separations took place. The original ONE SOUL fragmented into massive bodies of souls (over souls). They in turn divided into races or groups of souls. The human race is one of those them. The divisions continued until it reached a point where small, intimate families of souls came into being. Eventually, individual souls existed. That is where we find ourselves now. As we return to God during our cosmic adventure, this process will be reversed.

Brian Weiss, M.D., in one of his many books, "Only Love is Real," uses a very good analogy to understand how we relate to one another at the soul level and to the God who created us. He says...

"I like to think of soul relationships as similar to a large tree with a thousand leaves on it. Those leaves that are on your twig are intimately close to you. You may even share experiences, soul experiences, among yourselves. There may be three or four or five leaves on your twig. You are also highly and closely related to the leaves on the branch next to yours. They share a common limb. They are close to you, but not as close as the leaves on your own twig. Similarly, as you extend father out along the tree, you are still related to these other leaves or souls, but not as closely as those in your immediate proximity. You are all part of one tree and one trunk. You can share experiences. You know each other. But those on your twig are the closest.

There are many other trees in this beautiful forest. Each tree is connected to the others through the root system in the ground. So even though there may be a leaf on a distant tree that seems quite different from you and very far away, you are still connected to that leaf. You are connected to all leaves. But you are the most closely connected to those on your tree. And even more intimately connected to those on your branch. And almost as one with those on your own twig.

You probably have met other souls farther out on your tree in previous lifetimes. They may have been in many different relationships with you. Their interactions may have been extremely brief. Even a thirty-minute encounter could have helped you learn a lesson or help them or both of you, as is usually the case. One of these souls may have been the beggar in the road to whom you gave a heart's gift, allowing you to extend your compassion to another human being and allowing the recipient to learn about receiving love and help. You and the beggar may have never met again in that lifetime, and yet you are part of the drama. Your meetings vary in duration - five minutes, one hour, a day, a month, a decade or more - this is how souls relate. Relationships are not measured in time but in lessons learned."

This is a remarkable description of how we are all linked together as one. In addition, individuals from the same tree are soul mates, while "half" souls within the same leaf are twins.

The forest contains countless trees and leaves (souls) that are joined together as a gigantic, cosmic oneness throughout the universe. And that entire oneness is God.

Your soul, and all the other countless souls that were ever created, are constantly trying to return to their Source to help recreate the ONE SOUL that existed in the very beginning. That yearning for oneness is in each and every one of us and that hunger can never be destroyed. That is the underlying basis for the cosmic principle behind our existence. And this incredible adventure goes way beyond the single lifetime we are now experiencing on planet Earth.

What we are also beginning to discover as we awaken spiritually is that the yearning we have for oneness with our Source is the driving force behind our falling in love. The experience and feelings that come from the completeness of body, mind and spirit between two spiritual partners reminds us of our desire to be one and whole with God. The New Age of Aquarius is gradually bringing out that realization in us.



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Soul Mates...

During each of our lifetimes, individuals from your close knit family of souls, your soul mates, will more than likely be your parents, sisters, brothers, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, best friends, and even your lovers. Some members of this intimate group are in Earth heaven at this moment in time. Most of these souls share the same branch of leaves that you are on. Those you feel closer to are nearest to the twig on your branch or may be on the same twig with you.

You and your soul mates have been together since the beginning of creation. You've had many intimate relationships and experiences with them for a long, long time. And it will continue on like that throughout eternity. Members of this family are helping each other awaken to their true spiritual nature. And all of you are assisting one another's spiritual growth and evolution. In the process, we find out who we really are, as each member of the family plays a very important role during our cosmic journey together. How wonderful it is to know that God's perfect plan of love will keep us bonded throughout eternity to our soul mates.


Soul Fragments...

As mentioned above, your soul is a part of God. As such, it is incredibly powerful. It can send pieces or fragments of itself into the different realms and dimensions that God has created for us. One of those realities is the 3-dimensional world of planet Earth, in which you now find yourself. You are a projection of your soul and, as that fragment, you are occupying your body for a very important reason. As you read these words, a part of your soul, and God, is experiencing and feeling the material world through you.

Here's where it really gets interesting. If is chooses to do so, your soul can send more than one fragment of itself to occupy different physical bodies on planet Earth at the same time. What that means is that you can literally meet someone on this planet who is a part of your soul. These individuals are not soul mates nor are they your twin. They're called parallel souls. Should two of you meet, there will be a spontaneous and very powerful recognition and exchange of energy that takes place.



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Twin Souls...

In order to understand the twin soul concept, one has to look at what your soul is composed of. It's not a lump of undefined energy nor is it as simple as we've been led to believe.

Today we are being given new wisdom that will have a profound impact on twin soul couplings. Eventually they will transcend all others. Over time, these sacred unions will emerge as the relationship of choice, as we go through the 2160-year era of Aquarius. Why? Because this kind of soul-to-soul bonding will create the most powerful of God mates. And these divine pairings represent the first serious step of soul reunion during our journey back to Spirit.

As mentioned, when God created your soul, it had an equal balance of male and female essence. One can think of it as two distinct bodies of powerful Light energy within the same soul. One half is the male body of consciousness; the other half is the female body of consciousness. Although there is a difference between these two energies within a single soul, they coexist in a very harmonious way, much like one magnet with two opposite forces or polarities.

Because your soul is multi-dimensional, the female half of the soul is divided into many individual parts or fragments. Each of these female fragments vibrates at a different frequency of light. It is the same for the male half of the soul. Thus, within the same soul, there are many female and male fragments each vibrating at different speeds of light. Within the soul, only two fragments of light energy, one male and one female, will vibrate at the same speed or frequency. These two, identical halves of the same soul are called twin souls, twin flames or twin rays.

Another way to say this is that each soul contains many twin pairings, but only one pair, within all the pairs, have the same frequency of light and are considered twins. Forever. You are one half of a pair. During the Fall of mankind many eons ago, twins separated from one another in a moment of weakness to become physical man and physical woman. Since that time, each set of twins have been searching for their other half. And the Age of Aquarius will be the time when they find one another for permanent reunion.

Our twin can be our lover, brother or sister, mother or father, another relative or a very dear friend. Regardless of who your twin might be this lifetime around, you will feel a closeness to that person that is usually very, very strong and goes way beyond all others. The strongest attraction will be felt between lovers.

Who your twin is during any given lifetime depends upon the choices the both of you made prior to incarnating. Your twin may not be in body at this time; perhaps he or she is serving as your loving guide to help you through your challenges while here on Earth.

I won't go into more detail here, but there are reasons for having many pairs of twins within the same soul. Suffice it to say that our Source has an incredible imagination. What is important to keep in mind is that as we begin to walk the path back home to God, it appears that three very important things must happen. The first is that we awaken spiritually and become aware of our divine connection. The second is that we balance the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves. And the third is that we reunite with our twin to form a spiritually mature and lasting partnership.

It's also important to point out that romantic, twin soul relationships will only endure when two God mates are spiritually mature and ready for it. There is an enormous amount of energy associated with twin pairings. And this kind of partnership is very susceptible to the presence and influence of the ego.

Spiritually mature individuals know how to deal with the ego. And their partnerships are stable because of it. If two twins are not spiritually advanced, their relationship will be electric but stormy. Eventually it will end.

Soul mate couplings are extremely important, because they prepare us for eventual twin reunion. That is why they need to be blessed. If you have not yet reached a stage of serious spiritual maturity, you can have a far more rewarding soul mate affair than one with your twin.


The Journey Home...

According to the all-perfect, divine plan, the soul divisions that have taken place all the way down to the individual level will, at some point, begin to reverse themselves. First the twins will reunite as one, complete, spiritually aware soul. Reunited twins will then group together to reestablish the family of souls from which they came, and so on.

Each rejoining carries with it more and more love, joy, happiness and ecstasy. The rapture we will experience with each reunion will intensify more and more as original soul groups coalesce with one another. The more we coalesce the more we will experience love and joy. Most of this will take place in higher realms and dimensions of experience and feeling. Ultimately, we will all reunite as ONE with our Source as it was in the beginning.

As always, the return journey back to our Source has to begin with a free will choice that each and every one of us makes on our own. The first step of that incredible journey home occurs when we become aware of our divine connection and decide to grow spiritually. That will happen when we awaken to who we really are and then begin living it. At that moment, a very important cosmic signal is released. It not only provides the soul with a very clear direction, but it also lets the soul know in no uncertain terms that we now desire reunion with our twin. The universe will pick up this signal and do all in its power to bring the two twins together.

Keep in mind that making the decision to grow spiritually is not enough. Living your decision is the crucial part. Why? Because that is how we start to prepare ourselves for the twin reunion. All of the preparation for a lasting relationship with our twin has to take place inside of us. Much of that inner work has to do with the ego and the imperfections that come with it. Over many lifetimes we have had many opportunities to do this with our soul mate relationships. All soul mate relationships eventually lead to God-centeredness and lasting twin reunion. That is why they exist. That is why God created them.

Whether you are having a twin soul or soul mate relationship at this time, honor it for what it is. You are together for a very important reason.

In order to write this section, I have done quite a bit of research on the soul mate and twin soul concepts. My thoughts represent a blend of that effort. One should not jump blindly into this soul adventure without the right kind of preparation or you can become disillusioned and hurt.

You'll also need to know a good deal about your soul and where you are on your spiritual path. The new Aquarian insights we've been given today are radically different than the traditional, ego-based teachings we've been exposed to during the Age of Pisces. Aquarian romance is serious stuff and it requires a genuine desire to understand what it is all about.

I highly recommend you visit the resource page I have created to help you with your heart and soul journey. In the end, it is best that you make you own decisions.



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SOUL MATES

"The term soul mates is often used to mean twin souls; but there is an important distinction. Twin souls are two sides of the same soul, whereas group souls, though intimately related, are separate. We have many soul mates but only one twin soul

Soul mates can be lovers, parents, siblings, relatives, best friends and other individuals in our lives who are usually very close to us. As I understand it, three different kinds of soul mate relationships are possible.

"Karmic" soul mates are two individuals who have come together during a given lifetime to heal something from a past life or previous lives. Their relationship with one another can be very profound and loving, or it can deteriorate into the same negative situation that was created in a previous life. Another possible outcome is that the karma may only be partially resolved, leaving both with more work to do during this or some future life together.

All the negative karma we’ve incurred during any of our previous lives will eventually be healed through decisions that are based upon unconditional love and forgiveness. This will not happen because we are forced to do so as a form of punishment. Rather, our choices to bring healing will be based upon free will, which we and we alone will make.

This is what the universal law of karma is about. And we will have as many lives as we need to eventually balance all we have caused others to feel through fear, anger, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, and other ego-based choices.

The second kind of relationship we can choose to experience with a soul mate is one that involves important life lessons. For example, during our in-between life stay, we might plan to have a relationship with another while in-body that would teach us the value of patience, forgiveness, tolerance, openness, acceptance, honor or another personal behavior that would foster our inner growth and spiritual awareness. Keep in mind that it could take many lifetimes to appreciate the importance of such qualities, and even more to make them a permanent part of our nature.

The third type of soul mate partnership between a man and woman has been generally referred to as a "companion" relationship. These are individuals who join together in a bond of deep love to work on a project together. This might involve the formation of a spiritual center or the creation of an art gallery. Or perhaps the couple will compose music during a prolonged union.

The decision to accomplish a project through this kind of union was made by the two individuals prior to entering the earth plane. And their choice to do so was arrived at freely. This type of partnership may endure for part or all of a lifetime. Having made plans for their coupling prior to entering the Earth plane, the intent may have been for healing karma, for experiencing life lessons that come from partnership, or both. And life-plan contracts, made with spiritual growth in mind, always override man-made laws or religious dogmas.

It is very important to keep in mind that all soul mate relationships help us to remember who we really are, return us to God-centeredness and prepare us for the eventual reunion with our twin. As such, they can be extremely valuable and should be honored and respected for these very blessed reasons.

A dramatically different kind of relationship exists that is considered to be the most profound and compelling of all. This is the twin soul or twin flame union that will eventually transcend all others. However, because it is so highly charged with energy, the two individuals must be spiritually ready for it to last any meaningful length of time. When fully prepared, this union is meant to endure for eternity, because of its relationship to the ultimate Oneness we will all seek with our Source.

It is important to realize that any relationship you may now be having, whether it be soul mate or twin-soul, has the potential to be a glorious, fulfilling, extremely loving and very rewarding one, assuming that is what both individuals are striving for.

The coming together of twin souls does not guarantee fulfillment any more than a soul mate relationship might bring. What increases the chance for lasting twin reunion is that the two twins must be spiritually prepared for their relationship and then constantly find ways to make it work on that basis. The key ingredient is unconditional, unselfish love and the desire to base the union on a spiritual rather than a ego-based foundation. Only spiritually mature couples can deal with the influence of the ego in relationships. And that is a major reason for their success.

Always remind yourself that all relationships have a higher purpose. God created them to inspire us to understand and remember who we really are. After all, if you had no one to relate to, how could you know yourself? That is why all relationships are sacred.

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TWIN SOULS

"And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other's sight even for a moment

The moment your soul was created it possessed male-female, ying-yang polarity and energy. God's love for you made sure that these two forces of consciousness, the masculine and feminine, would be bound together throughout eternity. The two halves have been called twin souls, twin vibrations, twin rays or twin flames. Said another way, you only have one twin aspect of your soul in the entire universe who vibrates at the same frequency of light that you do. This is quite an awesome thought. However, the story is a bit more involved than this simple explanation.

As mentioned elsewhere, soon after our souls were created we left the joy and bliss of the Absolute to enter and experience the universe. Originally we were ONE complete soul, one family, one Being. There was no separation. However, when we entered the physical universe of duality and opposites, in which we currently find ourselves, all of that changed.

The ONE Soul, which was originally whole, began to separate and divide itself into smaller and smaller fragments of Itself over the ages. This was needed so that we could eventually relate to one another as races, nations, and families or as individuals while in the universe of opposites. When that happened, relationships were born. And it is through relationships that we create opportunities to know ourselves, to remember our divine origin, to seek reunion and oneness with one another and eventually return to our Source. The twin relationship plays a very important role in all of this, as part of the divine, cosmic plan.

At the end of the soul division cycle our individual souls made one final and very painful decision. We separated from our twin, the other half of our soul self, when we lost our way on planet Earth and became physical man and physical woman. We did this for a reason. As part of the divine plan, separation had to be experienced at all soul levels. This included twins within the same soul, so that we could initially experience and feel what separation was like. Then, when the time was right, we would reverse the entire process and experience the ecstatic joy of reunion.

Over the ages, and throughout our many lifetimes, the experiences and feelings of separation constantly reminded us of our yearning and craving for completion with our Source and with our twin. That inner hunger for wholeness is why we search for romance and relationship. That is why we have families. That also is why we seek God. We are trying to re-create the same oneness we felt in the beginning.

At some magical moment in cosmic time each of us will reach a point during our personal growth and evolution where separation is no longer the path of choice for us. The signal that would ignite the experience of soul reunion would be our spiritual awakening. In the process we would also realize that we are divine Beings of Light.

Awakening to our true spiritual nature takes us on a inner journey that leads to the opposite of separation, which is reunion. As you can well imagine, reunion brings with it feelings of love, joy, bliss and ecstasy. At that moment, the soul begins to crave oneness with its Source. Part of this hunger will be satisfied by reunion with our twin. From what I read, this is when the journey home to our Source begins in earnest.

Our spiritual awakening will eventually inspire us to question, and then cause us to discard, the false beliefs we have about traditional relationships, which are primarily ego driven and fear based. We will discover that, in order to have a lasting, fulfilling and meaningful partnership, the positive energy of unconditional love will have to replace the negative influence of the ego.

Once twins begin to think and feel this way they are setting the stage for reunion. And once reunited, the twins will still have to work at their relationship to make it a lasting and rewarding one. Twin reunion by itself does not guarantee happiness. It simply sets the stage for it. Bringing a powerful spiritual awareness into a newfound twin reunion will provide the sustenance and glue for its balance and longevity.

Another very important step prior to reunion is the need for balancing the male-female energy within each of us. The masculine half has always retained some of the original feminine energy that the soul possesses, while the feminine half still holds onto a part of the masculine essence it once was united with.

Since that time, we have roamed around in this incomplete, unbalanced state of being looking for soul completion. We'll continue to experience life after life and relationship after relationship until we decide we've had enough separation from our other half and want something more fulfilling.

Several important things must happen before lasting twin reunion can be experienced. And it must be achieved by both partners. The first is spiritual awakening and a return to God-centeredness. The second is minimizing the influence of the ego in choices made. The third is achieving a healthy balance of the masculine and feminine energies so that each twin can bring that inner harmony to one another to complete the whole. Twin soul relationships will not last unless both partners are spiritually mature.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that it is very easy to fall in love with the "picture" of the twin soul concept and be blinded by all that it promises. That has to be brought into proper focus and balance. Another danger is over-idealizing and hyper-romanticizing your partner and your relationship to the point where you believe you will live happily ever after regardless of what the future brings. That is not true. Depending upon one's level of spiritual development, twin souls can have varying degrees of ego issues just as other partners do.

Over many lifetimes soul mate relationships have been and continue to prepare us for lasting twin reunion. They are a very important part of the process and should be blessed as such. Most often, soul mate unions will last longer and be more rewarding than the electrifying, but often stormy, twin pairings. Twin soul ship is a very highly charged partnership and the two must be spiritually ready for it to last. When they are, their union will transcend all others.

Plato

The twin-soul concept is not new. Plato described it 2,500 years ago. Here is an excerpt...

"and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other's sight even for a moment...

"If Hephaestus, son of Zeus, were to ask the pair; 'do you desire to be wholly one, always day and night to be in one another's company? For if this is what you desire, I am ready to melt you into one and let you grow together, so that being two you shall become one, and after your death in the world beyond you will still be one departed soul instead of two - I ask whether this is what you lovingly desire?' - and there is not a man or woman of them who, when they heard the proposal, would not acknowledge that this melting into one another, this becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of their ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love."


It seems that when each of us separated into our male and female halves long ago, the soul knew, and still knows, that the rejoining of its incomplete self would inevitably take place. It was part of the divine plan. After that agonizing and painful division occurred, a deep-seated yearning for oneness began to linger within each of us and the desire for reunion and completeness has endured over the ages. Only one other in the entire universe can satisfy it. As a result, we are constantly searching for our twin.

But the desire for completion doesn't stop there. And the soul also realizes this. What the soul really wants is not only reunion with itself through twin half union, but the original feeling of Oneness it had with God at the very beginning of creation. This craving for the original intimacy will not stop until it is fully satisfied. We have as long as we want to make it happen. But it will happen.

It would seem that this desire for oneness must be the foundation upon which all relationships are built. Male-female unions have come into being and have fallen apart for thousands of years. However, if a deep, spiritual union with our Source can be established and maintained, the chances for lasting joy and fulfillment between loving partners becomes more and more of a possibility.

It also makes more sense that our relationships should be based upon spiritual principles rather than man made religious dogmas, which can bring so much fear and guilt into people's lives. In my opinion, it is this lack of spiritual sacredness and blessed oneness that is missing in many of today's relationships, be they marriage or otherwise.


The Sufis

Plato is not the only individual who has given us insights into twin soul relationships. Spiritual writings from the Sufis 800 years ago say that...

"Out of the original unity of being there is a fragmentation and dispersal of beings, the last stage being the splitting of one (twin) soul into two. And consequently, love is the search by each half for the other half on earth or in heaven...

As twin souls are so alike to begin with, it seems necessary for them to go their separate ways before they can complete each other. Identity and complementarily are the two driving forces and axes of love... For the complete being there must be a blending of the two."

Edgar Cayce

Even Edgar Cayce, the wonderful "sleeping prophet," also spoke about twin souls. He tells us that, in the beginning, the "male and female were as in one." In his historical description of Atlantis, Cayce says that as long as several hundred thousands of years ago "there lived in this land of Atlantis one Amillius, who had first noted the separations of the beings as inhabited that portion of the earth's sphere or plane of these peoples, into male and female as separate entities or individuals."

Even more remarkably, in the book "Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus," (pages 27-28) he says, while in trance, that Jesus and Mary (his mother 2,000 years ago) were twin souls...

"... you see, in the beginning, Mary was the twin soul of the Master in the entrance into the earth!"

"Neither Mary nor Jesus had a human father. They were one soul as far as the earth is concerned."

Soul mates are souls aspects of your own soul who experience with you.

As you are a multidimensional being, your soul has many experiences, in many realities, at the same time.

Soul mates can have many different types of relationships, which do not always include romantic love.

Souls often come together to work out issues or play reverse roles than that which they are experiencing elsewhere.

Anyone who is in your biological family - or adopted family - or pseudo-family - is a soul mate to you. As it would seem, we are all soul mated. 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.

Often souls mates come together to bring in another soul - male and female mate and produce one or more children. The karma ends. The couple separates and should share whatever karma is linked to the child. Sometimes the karma is between mother and child - so the child remains exclusively with the mother. Sometimes the karma is with the father and the mother leaves or deceases. Sometimes it is with both parents or with a sibling who has entered the game before or after you.

Karma is that which both souls desire to experience when they meet.

Soul mates can be close friends, co-workers, a teacher, anyone who influences your life one way or another. They play the game of 3D with you.

Did you know that you often attract people into your life who look as you do in parallel or past lives? For example - you are a man seeking a female partner. You will seek out someone who looks and acts if you were a woman - like a mirror image. Your ideal partner is who you are in that physical body! We are always seeking ways to experience ourselves.

Men often seek the goddess look in woman - the priestess with the slim body, long flowing hair purity of soul - beauty and gentleness of creation that speaks to their soul of union with the female creational force. It is SHE who brings loves, guidance, compassion and reunion of your twin soul aspects.

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TWIN FLAMES
Your soul is consciousness or thought. We often perceive it as a creational flame, a light or a soul spark of light.

Physical reality is made of electromagnetic energy which has poles (north/south) - polarity - duality - opposites - male/female - yin/yang.

When you experiences in third dimension your soul sparks splits in half - male and female. One half remains in higher frequency [As is Above] while one half spirals in third dimension [So is Below]. If you are female, your partner above is male and vice versa.

Sometimes you catch a glimpse of that spark of light - if only for a second. The flash of light appears as gold, silver, blue, or violet and can vary in size and duration of time - usually no more that one second. It is at this time - we are raising our frequency - our level of consciousness thought - to experience beyond what our physical eyes show us. We see our twin flame who exists as a soul spark in higher frequency. It is who we are as well.

Encoded in our DNA - as part of the human experience - is the need to reunite with our twin flame. This draws us back to our creational source after we experience in third dimension. It reminds of that we will journey Home - to find this twin aspect of ourselves who loves us unconditionally and makes us feel complete - as One.

We search for ourselves by healing to restore balance at which time we will reach Zero Point - the merge of our matter and antimatter selves.

The third dimension is often referred to as 'In The Box'. When your polarities merge - Your male and female aspects will move 'Out of the Box' igniting union with your Twin Flame or Twin Aspect.


Many people miss their other soul aspect, and feel incomplete throughout their lives. They feel alone, often abandoned and lost, depressed. They cannot find themselves. A piece of themselves is always missing. They search for it in third dimension but never completely find it. If they are lucky, they find someone who comes close to making them feel whole. They want someone to love them, share with them and help them through this journey.

You can meet someone who can carry the frequency of our Twin Flame and give you the feeling of union - Oneness. When you make love with that partner - you can experience all of who you are - the union is multi-dimensional. You can also feel the energies of your other soul aspect - as part of the union!

Creation is linked to the color frequency BLUE as that is the color of electricity. One day you will rejoin your Twin Flame and you will spiral out in the color BLUE.

SOUL MATES CONT

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.

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What are Soul Mates and Twin Souls?

Soul Mates are souls we have met and lived with in many life times. They have been our lovers, spouses, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, teachers, students, friends, and family, or even our enemies, victims, or tormenters. We contract with these souls to return to earth together for greater learning and growth.

Twin souls, also called Twin Flames or Twin Rays, are the other half of your soul. This is based on the belief that we are all parts of the Divine Being, God, All That Is, Source, Spirit, Creator. The Divine Being, in order to experience Its Self, divided into many souls, each in turn divided into many others and many others. The final splitting of the many neutrally gendered souls created male and female halves of a whole, the Twin Soul.



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Soul Mates

We have many soul mates, the first larger splitting of souls. These souls resonate with us and there is a comfort in that recognition. We evolve and reincarnate with these souls through many lifetimes, learning lessons in our many unions and partings, you can say on some level we are all soul mates one with another, learning and growing together. Not all these lessons are loving or comforting as lessons in forgiveness and unconditional love are challenging. Sometimes we are the "victim", and sometimes we are the "darkness" that shows another soul their light. This is where freewill and choice comes into the "game", how we react or perceive our relationships. Someone can come into your life and cause you much pain and suffering, this is a soul contract between you to grow and evolve in love and forgiveness. This is one perception of karma, and one that will free you from the karmic cycle of "I kill you, now you kill me" type of karmic dance some souls are involved in for many lifetimes. You break the cycle by acting rather than reacting, by freeing the ego from the soul and learning to love and forgive even in suffering.

Our greatest joy and our greatest pain are both conceived in these soul mate relationships, our feelings intensified by our soul connections, whether for good or bad. You can often spot a soul mate or karmic relationship by "love at first site" or "revulsion at first site", depending upon the lessons you've contracted to learn from this soul.

One can live a lifetime in joy and harmony with a resonant soul mate, and this a beautiful, but rare gift.



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SOUL MATES

A "soul mate" is really nothing more than a soul or souls (and there may be several of them) with whom we have closely shared so many lifetimes that we now resonate to the same pitch, so to speak. We understand each other like no one else could hope to understand us. This acquired understanding gives soul mates the capacity to help each other in ways that would be difficult without the deep bonding that has occurred through the ages.

Soul mates often help each other reach their highest potential, and though this is not automatic and each will still have to apply themselves to making the present relationship the best it can be, their deep inner-knowing of each other gives them a distinct advantage. However, being soul mates doesn't automatically mean that they see eye-to-eye on everything. In fact, they are usually more like complements one to another than duplicates of each other, each one bringing to the relationship something the other is missing, thereby rounding-out the relationship and giving each of them more than they would have separately.

When soul mates are together, they form a dynamic bond and provide a source of strength for one another that is very hard to find in our world. They may presently be in either sex and interact with each other in any number of relationships. There is a strong tendency to think of soul mates only in the sense of lovers and marriage mates, but they can also be partners, parents, siblings, teammates, friends, etc. Having been lovers and mates in many past lives, it would be very hard for them to avoid at least a romantic interlude in the present life - there would simply be too much magnetism for them to easily ignore each other and the physical attraction. If, on the other hand, they had been close friends or family members throughout their incarnations, they would be inclined toward a similar relationship in the present. The point is, a soul mate is not always a sexual mate.

Another important point about soul mates is that the true mate of every soul is its Original Companion, the Creator, who gave each soul life for the very purpose of being eternal companions with Him. As far as the sexual dynamics of soul mating, it's important to keep in mind that in the heavenly home we (our souls) "neither marry nor are given in marriage." As souls, we are actually siblings in the Universal Family. Therefore, even though soul mates may give each other the support that is needed and deserved in this difficult world - which may include healthy, intimate, sexual companionship - they are ultimately brothers and sisters in the spiritual realms.



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TWIN SOULS

This brings us to one of the strangest concepts concerning soul relationships, that of "Twin Souls." As we have already seen, a soul possesses both the male and female forces within itself prior to entering the duality of the Earth. As the soul enters the world it usually selects one of its two sexual natures and projects the unique characteristics of this sex while incarnate. As difficult as it may be to understand, the unmanifested sexual part of our soul can actually incarnate at the same time we do. In other words, our soul, which is much more complex than we have imagined, is capable of separating its dual sexual nature into two separate and distinct entities, one male and the other female, and each of these two entities can incarnate into the Earth at the same time in separate bodies that usually complement the present sex. That is to say that somewhere out there in the physical world is literally our other half - the other sexual aspect of our soul!

Generally, the twin soul relationship is presently found among spouses, friends, occasionally as parent and child, and sometimes the twin soul isn't even incarnate at the same time. However, there does seem to be a pattern that most twin soul relationships follow. In their early incarnations together they tend to be mates or at least seek a lover's relationship with each other, while in later incarnations with each other they tend to seek less sexually involved relationships and more work-related activities together, especially when the work has a soul purpose. This could be due to the involution/evolution process where, in the early periods of the descent into materiality they tended to continue their self-seeking, self-satisfying pursuits; but on the ascent toward a return to spirituality they tended to seek more holistic purposes and relationships. That is not to say that all present sexual relationships are self-seeking. From the Cayce material we find healthy support for marriage and home, and all the natural sexual aspects that are a part of the union of two in love and mutual caring.

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How Do You Know if You've Met Your Twin?

Meeting the "other half of your soul" is generally so life changing and profound that this question is unnecessary.... you just know. Twin souls will both recognize this extraordinary bond, whether they are evolved and whole enough to acknowledge and act upon it is another thing. Meeting with your twin soul brings about an internal spiritual revolution, a deeper connection and understanding of the Divine and the Universal Oneness, this is the greatest gift of knowing your twin. Twin soul love is not to be confused with an obsessive/compulsive disorder, it's not a desire to "possess" another, but truly a challenge to love unconditionally and without expectation, to be whole and complete within yourself before joining with the other whole and complete side of your soul. The longing and desire to be with your twin soul is intense, but through growth and perception can be seen as the greater longing to join with the Divine, and that is the true lesson, you are two halves of a much greater whole. When you meet your twin, there will be no "game-playing" or manipulation, you will have the need to be transparently honest in your relationship and communication with one another. If there is karma from past lives to work out between you, it will be apparent and consciously worked out. If you or your twin is committed to another relationship, you will respect and honor that bond and realize the tests of unconditional love. Meeting your twin soul challenges you to grow spiritually, heal mentally, emotionally, physically, and to see beyond time, ego, and physical limitations. You will be driven with the desire to be the best manifestation of your soul on earth. This is not a relationship of hearts and flowers, but one that will be tested in fire and will endure beyond time and space.



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Companion Souls

Companion Souls are especially close Soul mates who have shared many lives in close relationships to assist each other to learn the most difficult lessons

But, to disappoint the forever romantic, a soul mate is not necessarily linked with love and marriage. According to American psychic Edgar Cayce, there are three kinds of soul mates: Companion souls, with whom you share a spiritual relationship; you have a mental relationship with twin souls (Mary and Jesus would fall in this category, felt Cayce); and soul mates, with whom you share a strong bonding.

I love Michael Jackson forever

If you look at the date I wrote my last blog you will see I haven't been here in a minute. I apologize. I have just been out of it ever since MJ had passed. His passing really effected my being. It hurt everyone. It felt as if a family member had passed. Anybody who knows my family knows how close we are and when we get together we sing, dance, do soul train lines, Michael and the Jacksons have been so much part of my childhood teen and growing up.
The minute I heard the news, I walked out of work and went straight to UCLA. I was so sad. I had to be there, I didn't believe the news. I didn't leave the campus till 1:00 am. We danced, sang, shouted Michael, cried. It was a surreal dream that I wished it was a dream but woke up to realize MJ was really gone.
Michael was such an incredible human being. He was truly love. It still hurts sometime to think he's not here with us anymore but his music and his spirit will live on forever. I see and appreciate life and realize that we are only here for such a short period of time. He inspired so many people for better. He inspired me. Thank you MJ for sharing your heart with me, the world. You are the greatest. RIP MJ.



UCLA 6/25




I was very fortunate to be in "Rock my World". I am not starstruck but being in the presence of the King I couldn't believe MJ was in front of me dancing. One of the greatest moments of my life.