A Late Valentine Story

     A little too late for Valentine's day, I read a touching story (for the full article, click here) of a man who met the love of his life when she was 14 and he was 17.  They met on the volleyball court, and he was instantly smitten.  As he wrote,

 

     "Yes, I was in love with this girl, to the extent that a young boy could know of such things.  I was in love with her spirit, and the impact of her spirit stayed with me for my entire life.  I like the version of me that I was when I was with her, and that stayed with me, too.  I didn't know it at the time, but I would always search for her spirit and for that version of me.  The impact of our friendship never went away."

 

     Of course, when they attended different colleges and life intervened, they drifted apart and went on to live separate lives.  But each was always in the back of the mind of the other.  Later, the woman admitted that she always searched for him when in airports.  She remembered his goodness, and believed that his goodness would only expand with time's passing.

 

     Forty-nine years after their first meeting, the woman developed breast cancer.  Now divorced, she decided to join an online breast cancer survivor site.  The man, one year later and also divorced, decided to put his search for her in full gear and found her through an old posting on a summer camp blog about how to find her -- by looking on this breast cancer survivor site.  The man contacted her, and after exchanging photos and numerous phone calls, along with several cross-country trips, they were married a little over a year later. 

 

     Although this man called her his soul mate, I still can't help but wonder if they aren't twin souls.  Read the story and decide for yourself.

A View From the Soul Level

     After reading Dr. Michael Newton's books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, I have a whole new perspective on people.  Rather than going to my default mental loop of judging people or feeling pity for them, I'm looking at them as souls on a journey.  I know, many people already are able to do this, but in all honesty, I've spent much of my life being judgmental.  Not nice, I know, but I've learned a thing or two about myself in the process, and I've also learned a thing or two about how not to act by watching other people. 

     Here's my revelation in action:  today I went to the post office to drop some things off, and there was this man in a pickup truck who barely dodged another car as he turned left into the parking lot.  To be honest, he was a little reckless in that maneuver.  Anyway, I followed him in the post office, smelling the fumes of cigarette smoke emanating from him.  After he dropped off his letter and checked that it went into the slot (why do we always do that?), he turned and faced me on the way out.  I saw that he was in his late 20s, with a hard, closed face, as if he were used to protecting himself from a challenging world.  His clothes were well-worn; perhaps he was in a life that couldn't afford niceties, or else that was part of his protective barrier.  As he passed, the judging me was unusually quiet.  Instead, I heard the thought, "He's probably a younger soul having some hard lessons.  How great that he gets to learn some things and grow!"  As he got in his truck and roared off, I silently blessed him. 

     We're all on the same journey.  We're all here for the same purpose:  learning and growing.  That's my new view from the soul level.  I rather like it.

Happy New Year!

     Tomorrow is the Chinese New Year, so Gung Hay Fat Choy!  It will be the year of the snake, specifically the water snake.  You can read about all the characteristics of a water snake if you wish (this is a good site, among others), but basically what they boil down to is this:  water snakes are mysterious, mesmerizing, and quiet.  They are planners and focus intently on what they want. 

     Snakes in general have a wonderful ability to slough off their old skin so that they can grow.  For this year, let's adopt that ability and let go of  that which no longer fits us.  Let's also focus on what we do want, and plan carefully on how to get there.  There's no need to be noisy about things, but rather let's conserve our energy and use it for the purpose of letting go and moving on.  Let's make this year a step in the direction of our dreams for a better world. 

(photo courtesy of Pixabay.com)

Twin Souls and Soul Mates, Part 4

     In the last several posts, I've discussed Dr. Michael Newton's book, Destiny of Souls, and how his findings have been contrary to the notion of Twin Souls.  While I freely admit that I have a hard time letting go of the concept of Twin Souls and that I could be completely wrong about it, I'd like to address my thoughts on his argument.

     First, I want to reaffirm my admiration for Dr. Newton's fascinating research.  He has brought the world of hypnotherapy and exploration of life between lives to a whole new level.  That said, I'd like to state that one problem with his research, which bedevils all research of this type, is that his clientele is entirely self-chosen, and therefore exclusive in many ways.  He couldn't research all people of all types because all people of all types weren't able or open to seeing him. 

     Second, his questions may have reflected an unconscious bias.  I'll admit here that my belief in Twin Souls is colored by my own experiences, and my research into Twin Souls has been driven by my desire to make sense of these unusual experiences.  To give some meat to my argument, one of his clients while in trance said that "Frances and I have been with each other from the beginning.  We are so close because we have struggled together, helping each other . . ." 

     My final take?  We may be two different people trying to explain what an elephant looks like from having touched it in a dark room.  Perhaps Twin Souls didn't turn up in his research because those people didn't elect to be included in his clientele.  Perhaps bias has crept into both of our research conclusions.  Perhaps Twin Souls and soul mates are just different terms for the same concept.  Perhaps we are, in the most basic way, both right and wrong at the same time. 

     I guess the afterlife will explain all.