After a difficult split ten years ago, I started to look into it. I was interested in linking the different versions of the soulmate ideal across time as a historian of religion and culture with a background in the history of ideas.
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In a letter dated 1822, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes, “To be happy in Married Life… you must have a Soul-mate.”
Coleridge believed that a successful marriage required more than just economic and social compatibility. It necessitated a spiritual link.
Plato, the Greek philosopher, authored a treatise several centuries before Coleridge “Symposium” explored the causes for people's desire for a soulmate. According to Plato, Aristophanes, all humans were once united with their other half, but Zeus divided them apart out of fear and jealously. The transcendent sensation of two soulmates reuniting is described by Aristophanes as follows:
“And when one of them meets his other half, the real half of himself… the two are engulfed in awe of love, friendship, and closeness, and neither of them will remain out of the other's sight for even a second.”
Where did the idea of a soulmate come from?
The idea of finding one's “soul mate” has about as much validity to it as the idea that each of us has a doppelganger (an “evil twin”), and that if we happen to cross paths, a bloody duel will always ensue, because one of us must die.
The concept of a soul mate originates with Aristophanes, a humorous playwright and Plato's contemporary. He narrated a fable about two-headed hermaphroditic giants who were cleft apart by a jealous Zeus and were doomed to seek their other half for the rest of their lives. If you can get over the unromantic image of two-headed giants lumbering around on four legs, I suppose the idea of a one-in-a-million quality in one's alleged soul mate has some romantic appeal.
When were soulmates created?
After studying in Egypt, Plato wrote the modern version of soul mate theory around 400BC, according to which the formerly-known supreme god Atum, who became Atum-Ra in the Early Kingdom, Amen-Ra in the New Kingdom, and Zeus, or Amen-Zeus, as Alexander the Great (332BC) subsequently legally designated him,
Is soulmate in the Bible?
There is no such thing as a true “soulmate” according to the Bible. While there might be a soul tie or link formed when a person is intimate with another person, the Bible does not explicitly state that a predestined relationship exists between two people.
Is soulmate really exist?
Soulmates are real and can be confirmed by science, according to the very out-there website The Science of Soulmates. However, after reading through the lengthy, wordy site, you'll discover that the “scientifically verified” hypotheses stated on the site to illustrate that soulmates are real are quite woo-woo.
TL;DR: Soulmates appear to be one manifestation of the energy patterns that run through everything in the universe. “Scientific instruments recorded proof of a fundamental energy pattern that exposes the source of existence and the phenomena of soulmates,” according to the website.
Despite the fact that this “proof” is muddled and difficult to understand, it appears that some people believe that soulmates can be discovered by researching energy patterns. I'm open to this idea I was raised in an unconventional household and am open to many transcendental concepts but I'm not certain that this website actually provides any concrete proof that soulmates exist, at least according to science. As a result, it's back to the drawing board.
What is Plato's theory of soulmates?
Plato's ‘Symposium' is a philosophical book in which famous people give lectures at a banquet on love. It's a conversation about what love is, what love's purpose is, and much more.
“Love is a desire for beauty – a value that transcends the particularities of the physical body,” Plato writes in his ‘Symposium.' “One ached for its other half, and so they would fling their arms around each other, weaving themselves together, desiring to develop together,” Plato says of soulmates. “Love is neither mortal nor eternal, neither beautiful nor ugly,” Socrates tells Diotima, “it is the desire to possess what is beautiful, and one cannot desire what one already has.”
Check out ‘Allegory of the Cave' quotations and Greek quotes if you're looking for more related quotes.
Where do soulmates meet?
If you're anything like me, you'll look like a clammy, wet trainwreck after every workout. The gym isn't the place to flaunt your gorgeous side, but you don't have to look like a swan all of the time if you're serious about someone. If there's a regular at the gym you'd want to meet, go up to him or her when you're ready. Not to go all schoolgirl on you, but if approaching strangers makes you anxious, bring a friend with you. You're not the only one who feels this way.
Why do we need a soulmate?
Due to wishful thinking and idealism, there are many misconceptions about soul mates. Let's play a game, for example. Here's the deal: for the next few seconds, attempt to define what a “soul mate” is… one, two, three… pause… contemplate.
Most people (and most likely you) think of soul mates as someone who stay by your side for the rest of your life. They're portrayed as folks who complete you and make your life immensely better than it was before. While this is true in certain cases, it is not true in others.
What exactly is a soul mate? This, in my opinion, is what truly characterizes a soul mate:
- Your best pals are your soul mates. They're also your sexual and romantic companions. (You can also have really deep relationships with friends, family members, and animals I call these soul friends, while some call them soul mates.)
- Soul mates serve as reflections for you. They reflect your own flaws, insecurities, dreams, and strengths back to you to help you grow to your greatest potential. You can count on them to be absolutely honest with you, even to the point of not sparing your feelings because they care so much about you.
- Your spiritual catalysts are your soul partners. They don't make you whole, but they do assist you in becoming the finest version of yourself. Why don't they make you whole? Because you are already whole in your core, and you are in the process of rediscovering that throughout your life.
- Your soul mates are both teachers and confidants. The lessons they teach are sometimes purposeful, but they are often unintended and a by-product of your interaction with them. Soul mates become great confidants because they understand you so well. They can help you get through difficult times and inspire you to do and be your best.
- Soul mates have a strong sense of “comfort.” This could be due to the fact that you have spent many previous lives with them. Something about you two just clicks, like if you've been friends and lovers for a long time.
- Soul partners frequently have a better understanding of you than you have of yourself. As a result, they can relate with you on a fundamental level.
- Soul mates have the same vibrational frequency as you. This is just a fancy way of expressing that soul mates share your inner life values, beliefs, and dreams in addition to your likes, interests, and goals. On a DNA level, you both “get” one other.
- Soul mates adore you and are always there for you. You also have an unwavering love for them. While soul mates may not always be able to be together, it is hard for them to carry thoughts of hatred for one another for lengthy periods of time. You still love them, and they still love you, no matter what they do.
- Soul partners aren't always ideal. They have unpleasant flaws, disgusting habits, and bizarre peculiarities, yet they are still beautiful individuals on the inside.
- Soul partners aren't usually easily identified. Although love at first sight is not a myth, it isn't the only way to find your soul mate. Soul partners frequently present in numerous “guises” in our life.
- Soul partners aren't constantly with you for the rest of your life. This is a dangerous fallacy that I'd like to debunk once and for all! Soul mates don't usually stick around till the end, which isn't necessarily a negative thing. We find it reassuring and sentimental to believe that our lovers would always be there for us. However, life has other plans for us from time to time. Unfortunately, the demise of this ideal has resulted in untold amounts of pain in people's lives, which I have personally witnessed. Sometimes soul mates are only with you for a season, and other times they remain with you for the rest of your life. But, whatever the case may be, have fun on the voyage.
- Although it is possible to find numerous soul mates, most people only meet one person with whom they are deeply matched. I've never had more than one soul mate/twin flame, so I'm not qualified to comment. However, I've met others who claim to have had several profound relationships.
What did the Greeks believe about soulmates?
It is stated that when humans were first created in the beginning of time, they had a different form than they have now. They possessed four limbs, four legs, and a single head made up of two faces, and they were both male and female.
In addition, “Plato had Aristophanes, a well-known Greek theatrical and comic writer, relate the story of the Soulmates in “The Symposium.”
“Humans were created with four limbs, four legs, and a head with two faces, according to Greek mythology. Fearing their strength, Zeus separated them into two half, sending them on a lifelong quest to find their other halves.”
How are soulmates made?
Effective and polite negotiation of issues has become regular for a couple in the later phases of a fulfilling marriage along these lines. Love and respect for one another have been practiced so frequently that thoughts of divorce or separation are unthinkable. One's spouse could never be replaced because the relationship has gotten so complex and the compatibilities so intimately intertwined. Soul mates are two people who have become perfect for and irreplaceable to each other.