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Well all know that relationships are complex when it comes to finding the person we wish to spend the rest of our lives with. However, the one common denominator that we all have is a yearning or need to find our soul mates.
One has to ask what it is within us that has created such a need, so strong and enduring that we think we can only satisfy it through someone else and not by ourselves. Whatever it is, it is very powerful and causes as much emotional pain as it does bliss. In his symposium, Plato wrote about the soul mate phenomenon, which he referred to as split-a-parts.
In his writings, Plato explains that the Greek gods original design for human beings was similar to that of co-joined twins. He goes on to describe our ancestors as having one head with two faces, a male and female. The body was made up of four arms and legs, and there were three genders, man, woman and the androgynous. Plato goes on to say that the male aspect was of the sun, the female from the earth and the androgynous aspect was of the moon, and that this being had a soul.
Apparently, these beings were strong, intelligent and wise, but they were also arrogant, proud and greedy and as such, the gods perceived them as a threat. Apparently, the gods had been so efficient in their design, that they had unwittingly created their own nemeses. They realized that if things were allowed to continue, war between they, and their creation would ensue and that they, the gods, would lose, something that was unthinkable to them.
The gods considered the source of the problem with these beings was that of pride and like any good parent, they considered what would be a just and fair punishment, one that would teach their children a lesson but also ensure their own position. Zeus came up with the idea of splitting the beings into two, straight down the middle. Apart from the fact that this action would give humanity a lesson, which they would not forget and would permanently weaken them, it also had the additional benefit of doubling the number of being giving tribute to the gods themselves.
The gods considered this to be a relatively simple task, and that the new format would still enable their creations to live productive, fulfilling and meaningful lives. However, the Achilles heal in this plan was the soul had to be split, something that it wasn’t designed to do. The gods rationalized that this wasn’t a problem because all the newly designed human beings had to do was to take notice of the chemical reaction that took place when two split-a-parts met. Therefore, Apollo carried out Zeus’s plan and the deed was done. The gods named the two halves man and woman, and so our search for our split-a-part began.
However, there was a flaw in Plato’s explanation and it was a big one. It looks like the gods didn’t take on board human kind in this form evolving. They had made no provision for the concept of past lives and the issue of how karma and dharma would come into play.
This resulted in the self same chemical reaction being released for two different reasons. One was to enable us to identify our split-a-parts and the other enabled the mental and emotional memories of past lives to be released in a present lifetime, when two past lifers met to balance karma and go through learning curves. This has and does cause great confusion; how do we know if we have met our split-a-part or we have met past lifer to balance karma? Bottom line, we don’t unless we use our common sense, which is always wise, when dealing with issues of the heart.
As things stand at present, many people today truly believe that there is only one person on the planet for them. The ramifications of this are that some go searching; others sit and wait for the other half. Then there are those who allow the chemical reaction to colour their judgment without question, and some simply set themselves up to fail.
As a result, we either ignore all those who we don’t share that chemical reaction with, or walk away when the so-called ‘magic’ has gone. There are a few brave souls who know when they have met the one for them, and the rest of us, in our own way, try to replicate their happiness.
Therefore, perhaps we have come to a time in our evolutionary process where we can now step away from this romantic notion of Plato’s tale and look at things from a different perspective.
All myths are derived from a grain of truth, which is usually embellished to provide an explanation for an event that cannot be explained. Irrespective of how absurd it may sound, perhaps the grain of truth with regard to this tale can be found in Plato’s symposium itself. Is it conceivable that the split-a-part event refers to a time when our ancestors experienced some form of mass enlightenment that set them apart from other life forms?
A time when, during its own search for Spirit, humanity awakened its consciousness and became aware that Divine Spirit lived within the soul of each individual. A time long before the arrogance of Aristotelianism placed women one step above animals, which led to the Synod of Macon ruling that women didn’t have souls, a decision, the ramifications of which we are still bearing the brunt of today.
Perhaps Plato’s tale was about humankind’s first step toward understanding their inner-self, which for men is the need to discover their female side and for women the need to meet their male side. In other words, the need we have to meet our soul mates is also the desire we have to meet ourselves. That not until these two aspects of self have learned to work in tandem with each other, can we feel complete and satisfied with ourselves.
If this is the case, and I think it more likely than Plato’s version, then the whole concept of there being only one person on the planet for any of us at any given time, falls apart and by doing so everything falls into place.
The restrictions presently placed on the soul mate concept are lifted and we are able to recognise that there are plenty of people that we can work with to create a loving relationship based upon openness, honesty, respect and recognition.
The chemical reaction, which is what presently drives us toward searching for this illusive one, becomes a mere passenger, an important one, but not the end all and be all it tends to be today. When properly understood, this chemical reaction is allowed to come into its own with regard to the role it has to play in helping us to balance karma and go through learning curves. This leads to the possibility of one person having more than one soul mate in any given lifetime.
However, relationships of any kind, soul mate or otherwise, cannot succeed unless they are built upon the four cornerstones of love, which are openness, honesty, respect and recognition. If one or more of these cornerstones are missing, the more likely the relationship is for it to be a co-dependent one.
There are many successful co-dependent relationships, irrespective of whether there was that original spark or not. The danger is that different forms of abuse can creep in where the missing corner stones should be. The fewer the corner stones the more abusive the relationship is. When a relationship has no foundation and is built purely upon this powerful chemical reaction, the likelihood of it being mentally, emotionally, physically and/or spiritually abusive is high.
However, it is a very different story when it comes to the issue of the evolution of the human consciousness. From that perspective, the chemical reaction is essential, without it we would have no sign that we had met a past lifer.
Furthermore, the soul mate phenomenon has been responsible for creating a vast range of different scenarios enabling a platform on which the karmic wheel can turn. We now understand that we make our own karma and dharma and we do, we learn about ourselves, and others. When we are able to love ourselves our choice of soul mates in any given lifetime increases. The concept of having more than one soul mate in a given life puts a very different light on things. For one, it takes the pressure off finding ‘the one’ and by doing so we become more relaxed and able to be ourselves. As a consequence, we give ourselves more time to look for prospective partners from a completely different perspective.
Moreover, knowing that the chemical reaction isn’t a reliable indicator gives us valuable information, whilst forcing or encouraging us to use our heads whilst we follow our hearts.
In addition, for those of us who thought they had met their soul mate, and the relationship didn’t work out, it doesn’t matter, because there are plenty more people out there who can provide us with a meaningful relationship. However, to do this it is necessary to broaden our social circle through positive activities and hobbies, so we can give ourselves a chance to meet them, obvious I know, but its amazing how many hope to meet someone, even though they don’t go out.
There are various services available on my web site that can assist with this issue, namely General Readings, Affirmations, One Question Answered and Past Life Readings. http://www.elizabethfrancis.co.uk
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