Twin Souls, Soul Mates, Soul Groups


SOUL LIFE: Past Lives & Present Relationships
by John Van Auken

We are like rivers. On the surface we are all shiny and clear,
shimmering with freshness and life, but deep within us run powerful
unseen currents of soul-memories and desires. These deep currents
are the cumulative effects of ages of soul-life and many
incarnations in the
Earth. They cause us to love one person and despise another; to feel
wonderful vibrations with a particular individual in one aspect of
our
lives only to feel awkward and uncomfortable with that same person
in another aspect of our lives. Patterns and habits have formed deep
within
our inner-consciousness and shape the way we interact with people
around us.

Everyone involved in our present lives was very likely involved in
our past lives. Actually, it is likely they have been involved in
many of our past lives. Our parents, brothers and sisters, spouses,
children, friends, colleagues, bosses and employees, and even our
enemies began sharing life with us long before the present lifetime.

The effects of these many past-life experiences are reflected in the
circumstances that now surround our present relationships. The
soul's memories of past-life activities with others shape our innate
reactions to them. Of course, their memories of our past-life
actions nfluence
how they react to us. Through the same eyes that the personality
sees life, the soul sees it, but the soul looks with a memory
covering centuries of passion and adventure, caring and love, hatred
and revenge, doubt and fear. When we feel a seemingly unfounded
fondness for another person, it is very likely due to soul memory of
the positive role he or she played in our past lives. On the other
hand, when we react with what seems to be an unfounded revulsion or
hatred towards another person, you can be pretty sure it is because
the soul recalls their past actions against us or our loved ones.

However, the influences of past-life actions are rarely so clear
cut. Often those with whom we have had many good lives and
relationships are the same people with whom we have had many
problems and disagreements, a mix of "good" and "bad karma," so to
speak. In fact, it's rare that a past-life relationship has every
aspect of life in good, clear focus. Those positive, well-developed
aspects from our past lives will give us much pleasure and support
in the present. Conversely, those aspects which we did not have in
proper focus will give us opportunities for pain and growth in
present elationships. Avoiding these influences is simply not
possible. Whether we like it or not, the Universal Law of Karma
constantly brings before each of us the meeting of our past use of
free will and consciousness. Thus, what we have done to other souls
and they have done to us is reflected in the circumstances
surrounding our present relationships and the basic, innate urges,
attitudes and emotions we feel toward each other.

SOUL GROUPS

These basic ideas of past relationships and their present influences
are not only true of individual relationships but also of group
relationships. From the beginning our souls have tended to travel
together in groups, and the very act of traveling together for such
long periods creates forces of attraction that help to maintain and
build on these group relationships. Nearly all souls on the planet
today were together in past ages of human history. As a result, the
relationships among the peoples of the world today are a reflection
of their past activities with each other.

The souls who came in to this planetary system and entered the
realms of consciousness associated with this region of the cosmos
comprise our largest soul group. This group can then be divided into
the subgroups we call "the generations," containing souls who move
through the natural cycles of Earth life together, which can be
further divided into the various nations, cultures, races,
religions, etc., that have formed during ages of interaction
together. Within these groups are the subgroups of souls who share
similar philosophies, ideas, purposes,
aspirations and attitudes. From here the soul groups further divide
into the many smaller groups of personal relationships: communities,
families, businesses, teams, schools and so on.

Soul groups create an affinity among their members by not only the
cumulative experiences they share, but also through their collective
memory of how life has been for them and what they have come to
mutually desire out of it. In a manner of speaking, such groups form
a distinct collective consciousness and spirit, much like the souls
who gave us "the spirit of '76," reflecting that soul group's mutual
hopes, attitudes, purposes and memories.

Soul groups are neither rigid nor static. Any individual soul can
use its free will to seek an experience in another group. There are
many cases of souls changing political allegiance, race, or religion
from one lifetime to another. Neither do the generations incarnate
in strict, rigid patterns. A member of one generation may enter
again with another generation. For example, two members of a family
group who were father and son in one life may change positions and
become son and father in another, or grandfather and grandson. They
may even choose to be in the same generation in an incarnation as
brothers, for example. However, they may choose not to be in the
same family again.

Although soul groups are fairly well established and have
significant pull on the individuals within them, they do not have
greater influence than an individual soul's will to change.

Generally, however, soul groups cycle in and out of the Earth
together and, therefore, at approximately the same time. (I am
speaking in eras and ages, not days or years.) This is particularly
evident in the past-life readings, as they are called, of Edgar
Cayce. Many of them
were for souls who fell into one of two major soul groups and
naturally followed their cycles of incarnation. Notice in the
following listing that the two groups mentioned were sometimes in
the Earth at the same periods, but in different locations, not
surprisingly. Edgar Cayce and
those who worked closely with him also traveled with one of these
two groups.

THE INCARNATIONS OF TWO MAJOR SOUL GROUPS FOUND IN THE EDGAR CAYCE
READINGS

Group l:

Early Atlantis

Early Ancient Egypt

Persia (during the time of Croseus I,II)

Palestine (during the time of Christ)

The Crusades

Colonial America

Group 2:

Late Atlantis

Late Ancient Egypt

Early Greece

Rome (during the time of Christ)

France (during the time of Louis XIV, XV, XVI)

The American Civil War

Of course, these are only the most significant incarnations for
these souls; they would most probably have incarnated many more
times than the list indicates. There were also other incarnation-
sequences given, but the majority of the readings were for souls who
typically cycled with one of these two major groups. We should also
take a look at some significant exceptions to this pattern. Some
souls did not always incarnate with their group, choosing instead to
skip a cycle or enter with another group, though they usually
rejoined their original group eventually. Others, though cycling
into the Earth-plane with their group, did not actually incarnate,
i.e., did not enter into a body; rather they stayed in the spirit
and helped from a higher vantage point while the others incarnated.
One example of this comes from an Edgar Cayce reading for a woman
who wanted to know why she hadn't been given an incarnation during
the Palestine era in which her present son and husband had
incarnated. She was told that she was there, but not in the flesh.
She was, as some of us would term it, "guardian angel" for her
present son while he lived and worked in that period.

A group of souls may find themselves together again and yet not one
of them desired it to be so. In these cases, it is often the forces
of the Universal Law that cause them to come together. For better or
for worse they now have to meet the effects of their past actions
with each other. The Universal intention is that the confrontation
will lead to a resolution of their karma or at least a recognition
of how their past actions with each other have caused the present
predicament, and they will resolve not to act that way again.

Both in individual and group relationships, the karmic effects of
past actions with others can create some very difficult, even
terrible situations. The meeting can result in murder, rape, torture
and other atrocities. Even in lesser cases karmic effect can result
in back-biting, back-stabbing, bickering, fighting and other
turmoils. Imagine what might happen if the universal forces of cause
and effect brought together the souls of the Roman Coliseum and the
souls they fed to the lions, or the Conquistadors and the Incas and
Aztecs, or the Nazis and Jews.

The same cause-and-effect forces play a part in individual lives,
too. Imagine if the Law brought together a victim killed in a family
quarrel and his or her murderer. What about a soul who betrayed
another's trust or love? What would be the reaction toward one
another in this present
Life? When lives are heavily burdened by the negative effects of
their past actions, their present experience is often tragic, and
occasionally their lives may appear to be wasted senselessly.
However, from the soul's perspective a single incarnation is a
learning-experience and an opportunity to resolve past actions that
are now holding the soul back from a fuller life. One physical life
is not the ultimate living experience for the soul. It is an
opportunity to resolve the burdens past actions have placed upon our
souls and to clear away the many ideas
that continue to confuse and limit us. So even though the seventy or
eighty years that comprise the average lifetime seem so very
singular and final, it is only a temporary sojourn, a brief
experience along an infinite path of soul-life.

Of course, all the good that has been experienced among the various
souls and soul groups has just as strong an effect on present
situations as does evil, and when we focus on this "good karma" we
often find better ways to resolve the negative influences.

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 dyynamics 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.

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!

Fortunately, there are some examples of this in the Cayce readings.
One of the more notable is a group of four souls who, in their
present incarnation, were husband, wife, eldest son and a female
business associate who was also a very close friend of the family.
The husband
was told through Cayce readings that his present wife was his soul-
mate and that his life would never have reached its fullest
potential without her. However, it went on to say that the female
business associate and
close friend of the family was his "twin soul"; in other words, she
was the other sexual half of his complete soul. Furthermore, his
wife's twin soul was their eldest son! I realize how bizarre all of
this sounds, but the dynamics and dimensions of life are simply far
greater than we imagine.

Of course, not all examples are as closely knit as this example from
the Cayce readings. 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.

PARENTS & CHILDREN

As difficult as it may be for us to believe, each soul actually
chooses its parents - with one exception. If a soul has abused its
gift of free will, then it comes under the strong influence of the
Universal Law and is carried along on the force of its past actions
into present relationships that it simply must face up to. Of
course, no soul is given more than it can handle, not that it won't
suffer, but it won't be totally lost or destroyed by the burdens of
its karma. Generally, however, a soul chooses its parents prior to
entering the Earth.

As we would expect, souls who have had experiences together in past
lives will have a stronger attraction for each other than souls who
have had no past experiences together. Even if souls aren't
particularly fond of each other they still tend to be drawn together
by the force of their past interaction. Furthermore, if the soul has
a specific purpose for incarnating, and most of us do, then it will
be seeking others who are a part of fulfilling its purpose or those
who can at least contribute to it. Again, this doesn't mean that the
childhood family life will be all
hugs and kisses. In every relationship one can find advantages and
disadvantages, and in order to enjoy the advantages one must accept
the disadvantages. In fact, in many cases, the disadvantages lead to
or create the opportunities for the advantages. When a soul is
trying to
decide which channels (parents) would be best for it to enter this
world, it has to accept the limitations of this particular family as
well as the opportunities.

From the spiritual realm Earth-life appears much like a river when
viewed from high above, a bird's eye view. The soul who is deciding
which channels to enter through sees the river in all its vastness,
with many tributaries and branches, and it sees where the parents'
boat is on
this river of life. In this way it has an overview of what life will
be like with these parents. However, because the river of life has
many side-routes, the incoming soul can only see the strongest
current in the parents' lives. It can't be sure that one of the free-
willed parents won't change its mind and begin pursuing a different
course, or that the
currents themselves won't change course and thereby change the
family's future. It can't even be certain that it won't change its
own mind once it gets into the boat.

Destiny and fate do exist, and they exist side by side with free
will. The effects of our past actions have an inertia that carries
over into the present life and shapes it, thereby creating our
destiny. However, nothing surpasses the power of the soul's divinely-
given free will. At any time we can use our will to change
directions, change attitudes, change purposes, change anything! In
this way, our lives are both fatalistically foreshadowed by the
cause-and-effect forces of our past use of free will, and yet
amenable to change by our present use of free
will. Therefore, the incoming soul can see only the general course
of the family's riverboat; it can't be sure the family will stay the
course.

The incarnate parents also have significant influence as to which
soul enters through them. Their daily thoughts, desires and purposes
create a beacon for souls who respond to these energies. This is
particularly true of the mother. Her daily activities and inner
thoughts during the
gestation period create a field much like a magnet would, attracting
souls to the field of opportunity life as her child would offer. As
you would expect, more than one soul may be attracted to the same
mother-to-be. In such cases, the forces of cause and effect, the
will power and desire of the mother and the souls wanting to
incarnate combine to make the selection. The souls who were not
chosen for the present entry may well come in through a later
pregnancy if the opportunity is presented. Thereby becoming siblings
of the souls who entered first; or they may go on to other families
with whom friendships or other blood relationships would naturally
form and be maintained with the original channel family.

The soul generally enters the baby body at or near the time of
birth. In one unusual case in the Cayce readings, the soul did not
enter for two days after the birth of the baby. When asked about the
delay, Cayce responded that the soul was all too aware how very
difficult life would
be should it choose to enter, and it wasn't at all sure it wanted to
go through with it! Cayce was then asked what kept the baby's body
alive for two days while the soul wrestled with its decision, and he
responded, "the spirit." For Cayce, the soul was the entity, with
all its personal memories and aspirations, and the spirit was the
life
force.

According to the metaphysical work of Rudolf Steiner, the soul
actually incarnates in four stages. 1) A first level of
consciousness enters at or near the time of birth. 2) A second and
greater level of consciousness enters around the time the child cuts
it first teeth. 3) A third level enters during puberty. And, 4) The
final and complete entry
of the soul occurs close to the age of twenty-one.

Most sources agree that the first couple of years of life are
primarily devoted to developing the physical body and that the years
from two to seven shape much of the child's sense of self and its
view of the world. In addition to the well-known physical and
emotional changes that occur
during the course of puberty, Cayce and other metaphysical sources
add that this is the time when karmic influences begin to take hold,
coinciding with the release of hormones. This perspective sheds so
much light on the otherwise baffling or incomprehensible changes in
personality and behavior that sometimes accompany this stage of
physical development. Around the age of 21 the individual begins to
assume its major course through life. Then, life progresses through
a series of experiences and decision crossroads. These occur in
natural and identifiable cycles, the most influential being the
Seven Year Cycle: 1-7, 8-14, 15-21, 22-28, and so on. Notice how
these cycles coincide
with the general metaphysical cycles of: Birth; seven years of age;
puberty (though puberty usually occurs before age 14, it is
fulfilled at or near this age); and twenty-one years of age.

Furthermore, each soul experiences life in two primary arenas 1) The
inner world of self, which includes one's mental and emotional being
and physical body. 2) The outer arena of life's unique
circumstances, including the social, economic, racial, national and
religious environment, all of which are generally set at birth and
the outer world has pre-structured in specific ways.


http://edgarcayce.org/ps2/soul_life_past_lives.html