Soulmate - wikipedia Soulmate For other uses, see Soulmate ( disambiguation ). For technical reasons, `` Soul Mate # 9 '' redirects here. For that song, see Soul Mate No. 9. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2015 ) The feet of Saint Guénolé ( Winwaloe, Guignolé ) statue, in a Prigny ( Loire - Atlantique ) chapel, are pierced with needles by local girls who hope to find their soulmates. A soulmate is a person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve similarity, love, romance, comfort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, or compatibility and trust. Contents 1 Historical usage of the concept 1.1 Plato 1.2 Theosophy 2 Current usage 3 Speculated term confusion 4 Bashert : Jewish view of soulmates 5 Criticism 6 See also 7 References Historical usage of the concept Plato In his dialogue The Symposium, Plato has Aristophanes present a story about soulmates. Aristophanes states that humans originally had four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces. He continues that there were three genders : man, woman and the `` Androgynous ''. Each with two sets of genitalia with the Androgynous having both male and female genitalia. The men were children of the sun, the women were children of the earth and the Androgynous were children of the moon, which was born of the sun and earth. It is said that humans had great strength at the time and threatened to conquer the gods. The gods were then faced with the prospect of destroying the humans with lightning as they had done with the Titans but then they would lose the tributes given to the gods by humans. Zeus developed a creative solution by splitting humans in half as punishment for humanity 's pride and doubling the number of humans who would give tribute to the gods. These split humans were in utter misery to the point where they would not eat and would perish so Apollo had sewn them up and reconstituted their bodies with the navel being the only remnant harkening back to their original form. Each human would then only have one set of genitalia and would forever long for his / her other half ; the other half of his / her soul. It is said that when the two find each other, there is an unspoken understanding of one another, that they feel unified and would lie with each other in unity and would know no greater joy than that. Theosophy According to Theosophy, whose claims were modified by Edgar Cayce, God created androgynous souls -- equally male and female. Later theories postulate that the souls split into separate genders, perhaps because they incurred karma while playing around on the Earth, or `` separation from God. '' Over a number of reincarnations, each half seeks the other. When all karmic debt is purged, the two will fuse back together and return to the ultimate. Current usage In current usage, `` soulmate '' usually refers to a romantic partner, with the implication of an exclusive lifelong bond. This is to say, the word is used with more rarity than other terms associated with ' romantic partner '. It is a very versatile term, being defined differently by different individuals, as it is related to the concept of love. It commonly holds the connotation of being the strongest bond with another person that one can achieve. Soulmate is not used as often as other terms representing the same idea, and this is likely to lead to its perceived rarity in meaning. The definition ranges widely and can not be pinpointed. It is commonly accepted that one will feel ' complete ' once they have found their soulmate, as it is partially in the perceived definition that two souls are meant to unite. The term `` soulmate '' first appeared in the English language in a letter by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1822. Speculated term confusion According to spiritual teachers like Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, one 's true love, perfect match, or literal other half is a twin flame ; a soulmate is something else. Twin flames are actually a single soul that was created at the beginning of time, but then divided, as in Plato 's idea. The soulmate is a separate entity with whom one has spent many lifetimes as a friend, lover, co-worker or partner, and are usually drawn together to fulfill a specific mission. According to Mark Prophet : `` A soulmate relationship has to do with the seat of the soul chakra, that chakra just above the base '' ( this refers to the Svadhisthana center, which believers locate in the lower back or about three inches below the navel, above the Manipura `` base '' chakra ) at the genitals ). `` The connection is one of parallel and mutual evolution rather than origin. '' Believers describe Svadhisthana as `` the creativity and sexual chakra ''. However, the Prophets claim that a true `` literal other half '' relationship does n't center around energies or activities believed to be related to the sacral chakra, but is a `` profound '' relationship with your direct counterpart -- the twin flame you have known as your other self from the first moment of your creation. '', similar to what Plato describes : he says `` the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover 's intercourse, but of something else. '' In the 1988 released The Ascended Masters on Soulmates and Twin Flames, Mark and Elizabeth Prophet describe the `` one true love '' or `` origin '' based twin flame relationship that is oftentimes referred to as a soulmate relationship by saying `` They are called twin flames because they came out of the original single ovoid. The Electronic Presence of each soul is the exact duplicate of the other. And when they descend into form, one assumes the positive or masculine and one assumes the negative or feminine polarity. '' The Prophet 's ideas about the physical nature of a `` true love '' relationship are not completely inconsistent with the words and ideas expressed by ancient philosophers and in various religious traditions. The Greek philosopher Aristotle is quoted as saying `` Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies '' and the Zohar states that `` Each soul and spirit prior to its entering into this world, consists of a male and female united into one being. When it descends on this earth the two parts separate and animate two different bodies. At the time of marriage, the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows all souls and spirits, unites them again as they were before, and they again constitute one body and one soul, forming as it were the right and left of one individual. '' In Hinduism, the gods Shiva and Parvati fit the `` right and left of one individual '' description given in the Judaism related Zohar when represented in their composite androgynous form Ardhanarishvara. It is said that Ardhanarishvara `` represents a synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe ``. In Christian literature, there is mention of an Ardhanarishvara like `` two into one '' union in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew `` the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh ''. Additionally, in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus reportedly describes a `` two into one '', yin and yang like or Ardhanarishvara like relationship to his disciples as the way to enter the Kingdom. `` Jesus said to them, `` When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter ( the kingdom ). ''. In Islam, it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad once said `` women are the twin halves of men ''. The Prophet 's and other spiritual teachers around the world teach or have taught that one can have many soulmates but only one true love or twin flame. `` You have only one twin flame. But you may have brothers and sisters in various places whom you 're working with. ''. Spiritual teachers like Mark and Elizabeth Prophet ultimately define or describe a soulmate as one of many potential spiritual brothers or sisters `` even though there may be a great attraction and bond between soulmates, fundamentally, in the ultimate sense, you could define it more as a brother / sister relationship, even though soulmates have great marriages and a great union of hearts. '' Bashert : Jewish view of soulmates Bashert ( Yiddish : באַשערט ‎ ) is a Yiddish word that means `` destiny ''. It is often used in the context of one 's divinely foreordained spouse or soulmate, who is called `` basherte '' ( female ) or `` basherter '' ( male ). It can be used to express the seeming fate or destiny of an auspicious or important event, friendship, or happening. The idea of basherte ( r ) comes from statements found in classical rabbinic literature. A proverb that `` marriages are made in heaven '' is illustrated by a story in a midrash collection : A Roman matron, on being told by Rabbi Jose ben Halafta that God arranges all marriages, said that this was an easy matter and boasted that she could do as much herself. Thereupon she assembled her male and female slaves and paired them off in couples ; but on the morrow they all went to her with complaints. Then she admitted that divine intervention is necessary to suitable marriages ( Genesis Rabba lxviii. 3 - 4 ). Even God Himself finds it as difficult an undertaking as the dividing of the Red Sea. Forty days before a child is born its mate is determined upon ( Genesis Rabba lxviii. 3 - 4 ; also Babylonian Talmud, tractates Soṭah 2a ; Sanhedrin 22a ; comp. M. Ḳ. 18b ; `` Sefer Hasidim, '' § 1128 ). In modern usage, Jewish singles will say that they are looking for their bashert, meaning they are looking for that person who will complement them perfectly and whom they will complement perfectly. Since it is considered to have been foreordained by God whom one will marry, one 's spouse is considered to be one 's bashert by definition, independent of whether the couple 's marital life works out well or not. Criticism Some psychologists state that believing that a soulmate exists specifically for a person is an unrealistic expectation. See also Astrological compatibility Interpersonal relationship Physical attractiveness Red thread of fate Romantic love References Jump up ^ Patrick Hanks, ed. ( 1985 ). Collins English Dictionary. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. p. 1390. Jump up ^ Eddie Chandler ( 2006 - 02 - 01 ). `` Do Soul Mates Exist ? - AskMen ''. Uk.askmen.com. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` The Internet Classics Archive& The Symposium by Plato ''. Classics.mit.edu. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 22. Jump up ^ Krajenke, Robert W. ( 1972 ). Suddenly We Were ! : a Story of Creation Based on the Edgar Cayce Readings. A.R.E. Press. Jump up ^ `` What is a Twin Flame ? ''. Soulevolution.org. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Soul mate - Definition and More from the Free Merriam - Webster Dictionary ''. Merriam-webster.com. 2012 - 08 - 31. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 24. ^ Jump up to : `` soulmate ''. Natural Health Magazine. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 16. Jump up ^ Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Soulmates and Twin Flames : The Spiritual Dimension of Love and Relationships. Summit University Press, 1998. ^ Jump up to : Prophet, Mark and Elizabeth, The Ascended Masters On Soulmates And Twin Flames : Initiation by the Great White Brotherhood : Volume 2. Summit University Press, 1988, pg 87 - 88. Jump up ^ For example, http://www.chopra.com/articles/awaken-your-creativity-chakra-svadhisthana. Awaken Your Creativity Chakra : Svadhisthana. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 10 Jump up ^ `` 20 Twin Flame Signs -- Who is Your Mirror Soul ? ''. LonerWolf. 2015 - 07 - 08. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aristotle143026.html. Aristotle Love Quote. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ Ginsburg, Christian, The Kabbalah ( Routledge Revivals ) : Its Doctrines, Development, and Literature. Routledge, 2015, pg 116. Jump up ^ Haviland, William ; Prins, Harald ; Walrath, Dana ; McBride, Bunny, Anthropology : The Human Challenge Fifteen Edition. Cengage Learning, 2016, pg 561 Jump up ^ http://www.biblica.com/bible/online-bible/niv/mark/10/. Mark 10 : 8. Retrieved on 2016 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ http://www.biblica.com/bible/online-bible/niv/matthew/19/. Matthew 19 : 5 - 6. Retrieved on 2016 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ http://gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html. Thomas Gospel 22. Retrieved on 2016 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ Rahman, Jamal Sacred Laughter of the Sufis : Awakening the Soul with the Mulla 's Comic Teaching Stories & Other Islamic Wisdom, Sky Light Paths, 2014, pg 141. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Springer, Shauna ( 2012 - 07 - 28 ). `` Soul Mates Do Exist -- Just Not In the Way We Usually Think ''. Psychology Today. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ Auzeen, Goal ( 2012 - 06 - 06 ). `` Do Soulmates Exist ? ''. Psychology Today. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 24. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soulmate&oldid=803891252 '' Categories : Love Mating New Age Philosophy of love Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from October 2015 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011 Articles containing Yiddish - language text Articles with unsourced statements from September 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Català Deutsch Euskara Français 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 5 October 2017, at 09 : 42. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where does the term soul mate come from
Answer: The Symposium