choose_carefully_our_companions_along_the_way Mahayana almost every person feels a longing for companionship. at times we may understand this desire as a directive --an inclination for union with another person. [remember: we are here on the earth for the purpose of growth and development in consciousness] ever notice how associations with some individuals are more conducive to growth than associations with others; therefore, it is most prudent to choose carefully our companions along the way. 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 felt most powerfully in a partner relationship, and a good union should be founded upon a shared purpose in life and the capacity to help each other to grow. another 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 on this earth many times before, and more specifically have had close personal relationships with particular souls. attraction to another person and thoughts of union could very likely be related to memory patterns [even subconscious memories] of having been with that soul in the distant past. we are attracted to a particular person for partnership in this lifetime because of such a relationship at least once before. we expect that we have been partnered 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." [remember: that in the beginning male and female were as one...] a fundamental issue that centers at the very nature of the soul. is a soul male or female? both or neither? [remember: 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. 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 partnership; rather, the partnership relation is [one] great avenue for development. perhaps these patterns of growth have 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." what, then, is a soul mate? is it the soul that one has partnered with in the most incarnations? frequency of partnership may be one factor because status as soul mates is built by shared physical experiences over a long period. consider that a soul mate is a complement to oneself. [remember: Poetic descriptions, "the tongue to the groove, the tenon to the mortise..."] it is more than merely a physical attraction; it is a capacity to help each other at the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. [ever feel that intense connection to someone you have never met in the flesh, you read their words, and their little nuances and shadow-boxed silhouetted curvatures that reach out and touch you in such secreted spaces that no else has ever endeavored to explore -- to identify with -- to acknowledge that which has always slumbered cavernously within you ...] the idea of soul mates and affinities is closely related to the theory of reincarnation...therefore two souls may, in a number of incarnations, grow very close together in their pattern of spiritual evolution. these entangled 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 scores of past associations and the intricate entwining of their respective personalities. 041227 ... phil don't mix marriage and reincarnation. and to your question, ya dude, totally. (p.s. you asked for an answer) It seems big while your reading it, but it looks small when compared to the greater whole. My question is, to you enjoy your life. Is it a trap to repeat, to continue forth. Have to say to yourself, it must have been worster for my ancestors, things must be getting better. Or are they. The proof is in the little things that look bigger when you look at them. As far as relationships and soul mates. Soul mates suck because it's so hard to get with them. I can't stand the thought of going through what my life again. So when I do find my soul mate, someone who basically I can be the person I enjoy to be wihtout them fucking it up. Then another serious question gets raised. Why would I do this life again? I wouldn't. And it might be a troubling experience for the person I found who is obviously quite pleased with itself, that I am not and unfortunately don't have the tenacity I needed to speak multiple languages or deal with people simplistically, nothreatiningly, businessly. But does this choice dictate who I will be with, and how can I decide quickly enough to be with a person when I find they aren't perfect. So what choice should I make, if in so choosing to continue on I find happiness and choosing to stop I find hate and stuff, which I have found already. Hm... The only way it seems for life to be enjoyed is perpetuating the existence of it. And therefore condemning yourself to reexperience troubled times in the next life, so to speak, but what if this fate can be completely overted without work but with just a liesurely thought. After finding happiness and working back through hatefullness, and disbanding vileness from excistence and finding an infinite ray of hope. Then what? Pshaw, dude... I am just kidding. Happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy. This is a sound starting point to go out searching, keeping lessons learned tucked discreetly under your shirt. Hoping to find someone out there who, like yourself, has chosen to make a leap ahead in the mind that you have, gone deslusional, and who can expand your abilites and well-being. You know intellectually and free you from life's displeasure, live in a big estate, with a garden. Let alone the sex, which I guarantee doth rocketh. (just hit blather) 041227 ... Ps Mjd . 050528 ... egger ... 050528 ... .fallen . 050622 ... pete seek captivation 050622 what's it to you? who go blather from