Is there such a thing often referred to in occult literature as soul-mates, and to what extent can anything be said about them? I can’t claim to know the answer, but there are esoteric interpretations from various sources through which some consistency holds, but nothing substantial can be affirmed. Other than through the same occult literature, my own understanding comes from deep within, and linked to sources I can’t identify. Nevertheless, I feel confident to say something in terms of generalities, but not much more.
Living things house soul that gave rise to sentience; soul was quite undifferentiated and near formless in the beginning, being as simple as the organisms it belonged to. In the animal realm it is thought that every species shares in a group soul that guides the spiritual evolution of that species. The individual trees in an Aspen forest may not have unique souls, because they share in the Spirit of the forest itself. Life is Spirit.
Through eons of time the human species evolved from physical creatures struggling to survive in a hostile world to thinking beings capable of recognizing ethical principles, and assuming moral and Karmic responsibility for their actions. As each physical entity took on its own mantle of spirituality as male or female, mating patterns began. In time, affinities developed between souls that tended to bond together, and the law of Karma began recording the progress of each soul on its journey to ever higher realms of completion.
People tend to think that their soul mate will be the perfect counterpart of themselves, and therefore destined to be with each other for all time. This may be the case, but I also believe that several potential soul mates are always within the sphere or perimeter of other souls, and that ever changing conditions ultimately decide which ones join in union. This doesn't mean that any soul is rejected, but rather directed by their own choices that determine future relationships.
Since each soul establishes its own unique history as it evolves, I think it’s probable that soul-mates occasionally meet in a lifetime together to align their differences before again taking on new personalities in future incarnations. As each soul attains to ever-higher levels of perfection, the time span between incarnations lengthens due to the necessity of reaching the conditions required to work on further refinement.
One might think that soul-mates naturally re-unite in the astral planes between Earth lives, but it is not necessary that both souls be incarnated at the same time, and soul growth may require residence in other areas of vastly different celestial influence. Also, one partner finishing their last physical incarnation may precede the other into the spiritual realms and wait for their soul mate to pass-over; this might not be known to the one still in life.
Once the spiritual Ideal is met, the soul is freed from the round of births and deaths. As with any ideal situation, there are always alternatives, but the law is well established regardless of the outcome, and some unique situations do occur. It’s likely that soul-mates, or twin flames, may try to coordinate their last life experience on Earth, and come together for the final transition to the other side. This would be a very extraordinary relationship. They should be almost perfectly matched, experiencing harmony and peace, and have unusual insights into each other. While they may not pass over at the exact same time, it’s usually within a short time that the other follows after.
When a soul finally reaches master level, no further incarnations are necessary. It's like graduating from hi-school and getting your diploma; until you get the diploma you have to stay in hi-school, but once you graduate your real work begins in a new system. In other words, the soul, including soul-mates, leave this sun-planet system to fulfill their mission; just like a hi-school grad going out to earn his living in the world. [Some ascended masters do elect to stay back in the attempt to teach humanity about its spirituality].
I think it should be mentioned that having a soul-mate is not a requirement, or a necessity. A single soul can be a fully and wholly complete entity unto itself, with all the power that is required to fulfill the mission that awaits it. Nor does it feel lacking, or incomplete in any way.
One further insight does come to my thinking, and I hesitate to mention it since I like to have a positive attitude about all of humanity. It seems that life on the planet Earth is not unlike life on other planets in other systems, and each must face the consequences of its own acts, for better or worse. Karma applies to humanity as well, and the roll it plays-out leading to the future. There comes a time in its history when a final outcome must be decided. Mankind must face and overcome all that is negative, and this includes hatred, animosity, bigotry, and all the evils that man has brought onto himself. It is much like the beliefs of the early Egyptians; the soul was weighed on the scale of destiny, and which way the scale tipped, so did the soul. With mankind, the scale is of humanities own making, and what has been sown so also shall be reaped. The day of reckoning for our world could be closer than we realize, as the means comes ever closer to hand.
Once the citizens of our planet come together to destroy their weapons and share mutual peace, the planet is then safe for real progress to begin. Think of the future world as a paradise, no sickness, no disease, and unimpeded progress. On the other hand, should life lose the battle against hate, and perish by its own hand, there will be no further spiritual growth possible in life-form, because there won't be any new births to allow for further incarnations. The "High School" is gone; no more diplomas handed out. Spiritual evolution is radically hindered for those souls still on the path. Yes, life on the spiritual planes continues, but all those still needing to balance their Karma through one last physical incarnation are quite literally stranded until the sun goes into other phases, and that will be the natural end of this solar cycle, when all souls still here are called back to their source. Think of perfected souls that have earned their escape as seeds most likely to germinate.
The implications for soul-mates can be disastrous under certain circumstances. This is only a hypothetical situation because there is no precedent since mankind has never faced this ordeal before. But a situation might occur in which a soul reaches its anticipated last incarnation; the aspirant would likely have an awareness of this, and begin to wonder about a soul-mate. Suppose this person finds what might be a highly evolved partner that they think may be their twin flame, but that twin is still attached to life’s affairs, and chooses other earthly paths. That soul’s own spiritual Karma might then dictate that it spend another physical incarnation in this system since they passed up the opportunity offered in this life. Now think of the worst happening. The world goes up in smoke, and becomes too toxic to support life. Remember High School graduation day? One gets his diploma and goes on; the other doesn’t, and graduation is put off. This is assuming that the Ideal that all souls strive for must be met before the crucial work outside our solar system can be carried out. It is possible that Soul mates could be cut off from each other for a long time, if not forever. Earlier I said it is not a necessity that they be together for the purposes they serve, but it would still be a sad thing; not to mention the interruption of spiritual evolution in the earth plane as a whole.
Souls are bound up in cosmic processes. The more highly evolved souls having balanced all Karma now have the tools necessary to complete work involving physical processes leading to structures that perpetuate life, mind, and soul throughout the universe. It’s a natural consequence that followed the birth of the universe, which is in a state of internal perpetuation, all inter-connected and of the same purpose. You and I share in this experience, and we contribute in our own way to the larger whole for better or worse. If we fail our own planet, we fail the cosmos as well.
Copyright © 2003 By JohnK Hammelton