Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up

     It's been one of those days.  On the down side, I received my latest proof of the paperback version of The Gemini Bond and the "T" (in "The") was floating off somewhere into outer space.  And I had ordered all these extra copies to start to send to reviewers, who don't seem to be knocking themselves out (but see below) to answer my emails. 

     Thumbs down.

     One a more positive note, however, as I checked my emails I did receive a reply from one reviewer.  Yes!  And she's not asking me to pay her nine hundred bucks like another reviewer did (are you kidding me???). 

     Thumbs up.

      So, the saga continues.  The paperback is coming.  I'm just getting a lesson in patience.

The Big Split, Plato's Version

     In my last post I alluded to how Twin Souls decide to split after spending a certain amount of time as a unified soul.  While researching about Twin Souls, I came across references to Plato as having written on the subject.  Wow, Plato! I thought -- this goes quite a bit further back than Wuthering Heights.  So, I looked it up.

     Twin Souls are mentioned in the book Symposium.  Plato writes of how originally all humans were doubled, that is, they were formed in the shape of a sphere, with four hands, four feet, two faces, two sets of sexual organs, etc.  (Conjure that up in your imagination for a second).  Because these original humans were becoming so powerful, the gods decided to cut their power a bit.  So, they split them in half.  The new humans grew sorrowful because they missed their other half. 

     So, these new half-souls spent their lives seeking their missing half.  The souls that were originally male-female pairs (androgynous in its original meaning) sought the other half in the opposite sex.  The ones who were originally female-female pairs become lesbians and ignore the male gender.  And the ones that were originally male-male pairs go after boys (these are the ones who also tend to go into politics, Plato notes). 

     Once the original pairs meet again, they never want to be separate again, not even for a moment.  And "'Love' is the name of our pursuit of wholeness, for our desire to be complete."

     I never knew Plato could be swoon-worthy, did you?

Some Metaphysical Musings

     Yesterday, I watched as our neighbor packed up his huge RV and took off for adventures unknown.  He does that from time to time, always coming back looking tired but happy.  I can only imagine, somewhat jealously, what experiences he's enjoyed. 

     When I think of Twin Soul relationships, it must have been that zest for new experiences that caused the once-unified soul to agree to split into two.  I know my Twin has experienced things I can only imagine, and I'm sure my Twin would say the same thing about my life. 

     Imagine, then, what the great Oneness thought when It decided to split into galaxies and stars and planets and people and animals and plants and bugs and fish and amoebas and water molecules and millions and millions of other things we can scarcely envision.  What sort of love for these myriad lives and their experiences drove the One into Manyness?  And how many of we, the Many, realize that we are all parts of the One? 

     It's all enough to make you want to drink a cold one under the shade of an RV canopy somewhere, isnt' it?

Character sources and an update

    A friend once asked me where I got the different personalities of the characters in The Gemini Bond, and which character I thought I was most like.  I gave her a rather facetious answer.  I said I was the cleverness of Rigo, the intellectuality of Trey, and the empathic abilities of Rissa.  That's the easy answer.

     I think that once I started to write, the characters just kind of developed under my pen (or cursor).  Sometimes I had to tell Trey, "Back off, dude!" because he has such a strong personality.  With Rissa, I had to constantly urge to step forward into her true self.  With Rigo, I had to keep his deep rage in check on occasion.  And with David, well, I just kept him tied up most of the time.

     I think characters of borne of experience, but once the writer connects with the muse, or whatever etheric source these things come from, the characters become alive and independent of the writer's will.  It's a really cool thing to experience as a writer.

     Speaking of The Gemini Bond, the paperback version is coming soon.  I need to do a second proof, and then it should be available after that.  I'll keep you posted!

Connecting with my Twin Soul

     I guess I really haven't talked about how I have experienced connections with my Twin Soul.  Well, being an empath, you can probably guess that most of it come as emotions I feel that I know aren't mine or that don't belong to people around me (although most of the time that I've felt my Twin's emotions, I've been alone).

     I've also seen flashes of scenes, like a quick photograph, in my mind.  These are places or things I've never seen either in real life or on TV or in magazines.  One, like a lonely row boat tied to shore, a moody grey sky behind it.  Where I live, we don't see a lot of clouds like those. 

     I've also had experiences where I taste or smell things that aren't in my environment -- like the pungent, earthy scent of horses and fresh hay.  I got that while working around the house.  Definitely not part of my environment at the time.

     But most interesting are the songs.  I think some were sent as messages, like when my Twin was in the Big Apple and I heard playing in my head over and over, "New York, New York."  It was enough to make me crazy.

     But, perhaps you've decided that I already am.

Read an Article about 9/11

     I was reading an article in today's paper about a man who lost his brother on 9/11.  His brother had been on the flight that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.  The man described his brother as "the other part of his soul," as the one who completed him in ways no-one else did.  Since his brother's death, the man has been active talking to school kids about the events of 9/11, has been writing songs and essays about his experiences, and has been teaching his own students (he's a high school teacher) about the fragility of life and how precious it really is.  His loss has opened him up to a greater service.

     I think that describes the Twin Soul relationship.  It is not about finding someone to fill a deep need, but rather serves as an impetus to become a better person, with a larger heart and a deeper soul.  It should not be about selfish pleasure, but cause one to want to be of service in reminding others about what life is, and how dear it is.  It should not be about possessing another, but about giving our selves away. 

     As we remember the events of that awful September day, I hope that we all take the challenge to open our hearts to grow, forgive, love, and hope for better days to come.  Amen.

An Off Day

     Oh, man, I dink I've god a code.  Sniff.

     OK, I won't continue in cold-ese, but it got me to thinking, despite my mushy brain, runny nose and watery eyes.  (Alas, poor me).

     I remember meeting a young teenage girl who had an identical sister who lived in another state (I'm guessing custody issues were at play, but she really didn't say and I didn't feel I had the right to ask).  She once complained that she could always feel when her twin sister was having a bad day, when she had a headache, or when she was feeling stressed.  That's across state lines! 

     I can't help but believe that Twin Souls work the same way -- we feel each other's emotional extremes.  I know that in my case, I most often "connect" with my Twin when my Twin is experiencing a really great day or a really lousy day.  I don't know for sure, but it seems that everyday middle-of-the-road feelings don't transmit as well because they aren't as supercharged with energy. 

     In any case, I'm hoping that my Twin doesn't feel my cold.  I'll just lie here and moan quietly, OK?  Sniff.

W.H., Part 2

    I was intrigued by the lines in Wuthering Heights  which show Catherine's mystical connection to Heathcliff.  Her lines, "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same . . . " really touched a nerve in me.  This sounded exactly like the description in Huna of twin souls and I wondered where this 19th century author came up with the idea. So, I did a bit of research.

     I found that Emily Bronte was most likely influenced by the poem "Epipsychidion" by Percy Shelley, the early 19th century poet.  The title translates to "the soul outside the soul," and explores the Romantic notion of union in death.  Here's an excerpt:

We shall become the same, we shall be one . . .
In one another's substance finding food,
Like flames too pure and light and unimbued
To nourish their bright lives with baser prey,
Which point to Heaven and cannot pass away:
One hope within two wills, one will beneath
Two overshadowing minds, one life, one death,
One Heaven, one Hell, one immortality,
And one annihilation. . . .

     Makes you want to swoon, doesn't it?