Karmic & Companion Souls & Twin Flames ~ Shiana ~             It is important to remember that there are many kinds of soul mates and each is very important to the lessons we must learn in this lifetime ... these are lessons we chose before entering this realm and should be given the honour due them ... Soul Mates help us learn these lessons and therefore although we may be seeking our Twin Flame we should never ignore other loves that come into our life for they are vital to our development and growth as spiritual beings ... just as the ostrich that puts its head in the sand out of fear ... our fear of making a mistake and getting hurt can stunt our personal growth ... Pain is a necessary part of life...we can choose how long we hold on to it once and only once it has served it's purpose ... it is necessary however to feel the pain and allow it to teach us the lesson we need to learn ... KARMIC SOULS             A Karmic Soul is a soul that we still have karma to deal with between us. Now this doesn't necessarily mean "bad" karma, it can be good karma as well. A karmic Soul Mate can be a family member (parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.), a close friend, a romantic relationship, basically any relationship that has impacted our lives in any way. With these people, we always have lessons to share and these relationships can at times not be completely comfortable. Although these people invoke deep feelings (positive or negative) we seldom develop a long-term romantic relationship with a Karmic Soul Mate for these are generally more for lessons and growth rather than a life partner, romantically speaking ... COMPANION SOUL MATES             These closely resemble the Twin Flame in-so-far as this is generally a relationship based on romantic love, however there is still karma between the two people involved and although the couple can learn to live within unconditional love the relationship is not based on it. Quite often Companion Soul Mates will come together for a project such as writing a book, starting a business, or even assisting one to get through a particular trial or lesson in this life. Once the project is finished often the relationship ends as well, leaving both parties scratching their heads wondering what happened ... Companion Soul Mates can and do join together as Life Partners, especially when the Twin Flame is not present in this lifetime or when for whatever reason the Twin Flames cannot be together in this life. Companion Soul Mates are still in the teaching each other lessons mode and this is one of the major differences between a Companion and a Twin, but we'll get into those differences further on ... Often Companion Soul Mates are confused with a Twin Flame, for sometimes there is not a lot of karma left between the couple. However, whenever there is any karma left to work out then the relationship is still within the boundaries of the Companion Soul Mate realm. Companion Soul Mates have known each other in many lifetimes and have loved many times. Generally when you meet a Companion Soul Mate there is an immediate attraction, Love At First Sight if you will, although sometimes there is the opposite because of the remembered hurts of the past, but this is far rarer ... TWIN FLAMES             Twin Fames have no karma left to work out between them, they resolved all of it in past lives and come together for no other reason than unconditional love. Twin Flames love each other with no expectation of the other and with no conditions attached to the giving of that love. It is easy to say that you love someone unconditionally but you need to ask yourself could you love this person if for some reason they could not remain with you? Could you give your love to this person with no expectations, not even that the love will be returned or even recognized? Can you love this person for no other reason than there is simply no other option available to you? If you can answer a resounding (and honest) yes to all of the above then you are experiencing unconditional love. But be carful here my friend for Spirit is listening and may put that love to the test. Spirit may require that you prove yourself worthy of this love and place you in a situation wherein you must truly discover if this is an unconditional love by separating you, sometimes only temporarily, sometimes permanently, depending on what lessons you have to learn in this lifetime ... Which brings us to another point, Twin Flames are earned not given, you must prepare yourself to be able to join with your Twin flame, it is not an automatic, it is a gift. And as a gift it is truly a privilege to know your Twin Flame but you must be ready. How do you become ready you ask? Well you will have to learn to love deeper than you ever thought possible and that usually means meeting, loving and losing "near twins" to which are in reality Companion Soul Mates. Are you brave and strong enough to be able to risk loving with your heart and soul just to have the dream shattered? If not then seeking your Twin Flame is not for you for you must deepen your capacity to love before you can know unconditional love and that means experiencing pain as well as joy. The more pain you have experienced the more joy you are capable of holding within. Sometimes the cup of love must be completely shattered before it can be built strong enough to hold the love of your Twin Flame. Steel is tempered through flame and your heart must be tempered through pain before it is strong enough to protect the love of your Twin ... When Twin Flames come together they become one, they are not like each other, they are the mirror image of the other. They think alike, they hold the same values and often their life experiences are very similar, sometimes they will actually look like each otehr. By that they will have similar builds, bone structures and features. This is not however a guide as to whether you have met your Twin Flame or not ... Twin Flames do not teach each other, they learn together and help each other learn the lessons that have been set before them in this lifetime. When Twin Flames come together they join forces and are capable of overcoming obstacles the average mortal could not begin to face. They are so filled with unconditional love they literally glow with it and have much to share with others. They are the inspiration that poets write about and singers sing about ...             If we go through this life measuring each possible romantic partner by some yardstick that we believe represents the Twin Flame two things will happen ... one ... we miss out on many beautiful experiences that will help us grow to our full potential and two ... we will not have developed enough emotionally and spiritually to meet our Twin Flame ... This is not to say that there is no way you will meet your Twin Flame for if it was pre-determined that we meet then we shall but the "joining" will be that much more traumatic because we were not prepared ... My Twin Flame said to me once that we have been in training for 40 years for this relationship and although he isn't aware of it, (he is not consciously fully conversant with this subject) he was and still is right ... we have been in training and we still are for this relationship ...             One really important lesson for those seeking Twin Flames is how to share your energy with each other without becoming addicted to the energy of each other ... this is well addressed in the Celestine Prophesies and I would strongly recommend that if you haven't already read this book that you do so ... Twin Flames share energy ... and they do so with unconditional love ... when twin flames join ... although at first they are totally absorbed with each other ... they find they have an increased capacity to share their love and energy with everything and everyone they encounter ... they see life with new eyes ... when they see a squirrel playing on the street they feel and send love to it ... sharing its joy and beauty ...             Addictive energy causes one to actually feel physically ill when that energy is removed because the one who has lost the energy has either forgotten how or never knew how to accept the gift of energy from all of life surrounding them ... and like any other addiction ... once it is removed you have withdrawls ... there are many people out there who will mistake an addictive energy relationship with a Twin Flame because that is what we all want so desperately ... the trick here (if there is indeed a trick) is to always stay alert as to whether you are doing karma together ... karmic relationships are important ... don't get me wrong ... for they assist us with important growth issues and karmic relationships should never be walked away from for it brings with it some wonderful gifts and some karmic relationships will even turn out to be your life partner if the Twin Flame is not available ... however these are not a Twin Flame although they are a Soul Mate ...             Most of us will spend our life with a Companion Soul Mate and this is nothing to sneeze at for they too are a beautiful experience ... so although we are all seeking that Twin Flame ... again I really can't emphasize enough that you should never walk away from a relationship simply because there is karma involved ... you will do yourself a dis-service as well as the other person involved ... the only time to leave a relationship is because there is nothing left in that relationship for you and your partner ... if you are desperately unhappy ... then and only then should you leave ... or if there is abuse ... mental, physical, spiritual, or emotional ... and only you can make that decision ... only you know if you can no longer do that relationship ...             I have had people come to me and tell me that they don't believe that a relationshiop without karma can survive because karma keeps the relationship alive and interesting ... if that is where you are at ... then that too is okay ... however ... consider this ... what if you and your love have no karma left to work out between you ... you are now in a position that you can turn your energy outward and do wonderful things for others that you encounter ... together you can learn lessons that you would not have had the energy to learn before because of the karma that you were working out ... imagine how much more growth you can achieve as you join forces to learn the tougher lessons together ... and how much of a difference you can make to other people and things because together you are more than you were alone simply because there is no karma left to work out ... just sharing ... Reference: These are notes from a lecture taken from a discusion group led by a woman who calls herself Shiana ... (submitted by an enlightened traveller and visitor to the Wizards' Realm) Copyright ©1997, Shiana - All Rights Reserved