Saturday, April 28, 2012

Twin Souls in History, Part 3

     I think that one of the great love stories of the 20th century was the relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and her twice-husband, Richard Burton.  Like two stars slowly crashing into each other, at the same time burning more brightly together while engaging in mutual destruction, they blazed a hole in the night sky that cannot be forgotten.

      Were they Twin Souls? I cannot say for sure, but here's quote from Mr. Burton that suggests that something about her reminded him of a distant memory: ‘She is like the tide, she comes and goes… In my poor and tormented youth, I had always dreamed of this woman. And now, this dream occasionally returns… If you have not met or known her, you have lost much in life.’ 

     That they both attracted and repelled each other is the stuff of tabloids.  I am not here to judge.  But if they were indeed Twin Souls, they might serve as examples of people who met their other half, but could not remain together in that particular life time.  Because of the pressures of their lives, from which they escaped into addictions, they could not find the balance of their mortal and divine selves.  They could not find wholeness, and so they came together as two incomplete halves of one soul.  The result was tragic.  Still, if they are Twin Souls, they will meet again.  I hope for a future meeting that is filled with peace, balance, and the ecstasy of a true Re-Union.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

In the News

     I couldn't help noticing that one of our desert states, the one where much of The Gemini Bond takes place, has been in the news lately.  It's over the hubbub caused by the law passed a couple of years ago concerning the treatment of illegal immigrants. 

      It's really not the purpose of this blog to get into a political fray, but I did want to point out that there is definitely a human side to this problem, one which is described in The Gemini Bond.  

     There are always reasons why people do things.  The Buddhists teach that all people try to find happiness and avoid pain; these are the fundamental driving forces of all beings.  In my novel, I tried to show how the avoidance of pain and hope for eventual happiness caused one the main characters to do some otherwise loathsome things.  There is a human side to suffering, whether that person is receiving it or causing it.  And in all the political wrangling of recent days, I think the human side has been sadly forgotten.

    And with that, I'll get off my soap box. 

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Twin Souls in History, Part 2

     Another famous Twin Soul relationship is that of the 13th century Sufi mystic, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, and his spiritual teacher, Shams of Tabriz.  Despite their 20-year difference, they became so close that Rumi gave his teenage daughter to Shams in marriage.  Sadly, the young girl died, and it is widely believed that one of Rumi's sons assisted in the murder of Shams, driven in part by jealousy and Shams' difficult personality.  Rumi was heart-broken over the disappearance of his friend, and an enormous outpouring of beautiful, sensual, and deeply mystical poetry resulted. 

     Some people think that Rumi and Shams had a homosexual relationship; many others believe that homosexuality is so deeply forbidden in the Muslim tradition that this was impossible.  I think that the unique, deep friendship that they shared broke something inside Rumi that caused him to recognize his Twin Soul in Shams.  In that recognition, however, he realized that his soul was also part of the Divine.  Consider this poetic fragment:

     I want to hold you close like a lute,
     so we can cry out with loving.

     You would rather throw stones at a mirror?
     I am your mirror, and here are the stones. 
              (translation by Coleman Barks)

     What is the lesson here about Twin Souls?   I think that, ultimately, our Twin Soul awakens us to our oneness with our other half, and in doing so, helps us overcome our ego and opens us to understand our oneness with the Universe.  It's all a beautiful mystery.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Somebody Heard Me

     Do you ever feel like what you do in life has no beneficial effect at all?  That you work and work and all the negative forces of the world -- the glorification of violence and ignorance in popular culture, the lack of responsibility among adults, the belief in quick fixes and easy blame -- all conspire to snuff out the little bit of good you try to give?  That you feel like a tiny speck trying to swim against a tidal wave?

     Well, sometimes the Universe hears our bellyaching and frustrations and reminds us that what we do counts and sometimes that tiny speck is a seed which the tidal wave will carry far away, away from our sight perhaps, but still will take root somewhere down the line. 

    I think the Universe heard me and my gripes, because I had two little pats on the back lately which meant a lot.  In one, I heard from a person I haven't heard from in over a dozen years, saying nice things about a work I wrote over fifteen years ago, and the second was a nice email today from a person who enjoyed a different work I wrote about ten years ago.  So, these things that I wrote, and threw to the tidal wave that is Life, came back with some nice sentiments.  That touched my heart.  Thank you.

     Meanwhile, carry on, troops!  You do make a difference!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

New Series -- Twin Souls in History, Part 1

     For the next several weeks I'm going to explore famous (or not-so-famous) Twin Souls throughout history.  It's been a series that has been on my mind for a while, and this seems like a good time to begin.

     This first one is easy:  the subject is both famous and identified his own Twin Soul himself. 

     Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), known as the "sleeping prophet," was a humble and quiet man who became famous because of his ability to tap into the higher realms while sleeping.  People would ask him a question right before he went to a self-induced sleep, and he would answer their questions by channeling higher knowledge.  He preferred to focus on healing others, but often people would ask him metaphysical questions, all of which is transcribed and catalogued at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) Center in Virginia Beach.  You can check out their site here

     One of the questions that came up was that of Twin Souls.  Cayce, in his trance state, told of a family in which the mother was the Twin Soul of the son, and that Twin Souls are not always romantic partners in life.  Cayce then mentioned that his own Twin Soul was not his wife, Gertrude Cayce.  He called her his soul mate.  Rather, he said his Twin Soul was his last secretary, Gladys Davis.  She was one of the major forces in transcribing and cataloguing his mountain of information. 

     The lesson here?  Twin Souls are not always involved romantically, and they often have a mission in life to complete together.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

An Experiment in Bivalve Living

     The other day I came across a situation in which another person was really upset about something and I decided to try this Yah-Weh meditation technique to see if it would clear the air.  As you read in the previous posts, this entails inhaling the emotionally charged atmosphere while whispering or thinking "weh," then exhaling the Divine on the object of meditation while whispering or thinking "yah." 

     Although this is completely contrary to my nature as a self-protective empath, I thought I'd give it a try.  You know, be a bivalve, clear the air, bring divinity to the situation.  I decided I didn't have to get into my yoga position to do it, I could do it right then and there in a mindful, detached manner.

     And, do you know what?  It worked!  And the best part was -- it didn't affect me or bring me down at all.  That's something to celebrate, don't you think?

Saturday, April 7, 2012

A New-to-Me Meditation Technique, Part 4

     As I mentioned earlier, the very idea of purposely taking in other people's pain is really, really difficult for us empaths.  Imagine -- to do the very thing that we spend every waking moment avoiding!

     Still, it is a meditation technique found in Christianity, Buddhism, Kabbalah and other traditions, so there must be something to it.  So, I asked my guides and received an interesting vision.

      First, you need remember my attitude toward channeling in general (for that particular diatribe, click here.)  Channeling and receiving supernatural guidance, I believe, are only as reliable and untainted as the funnel through which the information flows.  'Nuf said.

     Bearing that in mind, I received a vision of mussels.  Yep, those little sea creatures that sit in their shells all day at the bottom of the ocean.  At first I interpreted the vision as meaning that I could open my shell to receive empathic information, or close it so I wouldn't, whatever I chose.  Honestly, that only works sometimes.  The empathic sensations often creep in even when I'm "closed off," just as sea water surely enters the closed shell of a mussel.

     So, perhaps this vision means something else.  Perhaps it means that we empaths are meant to serve as a kind of filter -- taking in stuff from others and then letting it go.  Mussels and other bi-valves, apparently, do an important service in that they filter the water around them and keep it clean of algae and other water-clogging elements.  Are we empaths called to do the same -- to filter out the strong emotions, vibes, thoughts, and body sensations, so that others around us are not affected?  It's an interesting idea.

     Which brings me to the memory of an old Star Trek episode.  Do you remember the original series?  Perhaps you've seen it in reruns.  There was an episode entitled, "The Empath," in which this mute but physically expressive woman was forced to watch as Dr. McCoy was brutally tortured by some weird-headed aliens who had captured him.  This woman was an empath, and her captors were testing whether she could overcome her reluctance to "feel" McCoy's pain, and in feeling it, heal him.  In the nick of time, right before he was to suffer the mortal blow, she does put her hands on him, and all the wounds he suffered are registered on her body.  She cringes at that, but persists and as she begins to magically heal herself, McCoy is healed, too.  Happy ending.

     I'm not saying that we are all called to be healers or magic transformers, but perhaps when we have the courage to open up our shells and filter in the stuff that's floating in our ether, we do our little world a service by cleaning things up a little bit.  Are you willing to try this with me?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Twin Soul Connections and Busy Signals

     Sometimes I feel my Twin Soul as if that person were in the same room with me, or sometimes as if I were looking through my Twin's eyes.  It's an intimate feeling that surpasses even sex, because it's like being inside another person's self. 

     Then there are other times, like lately, when I'm busy or my Twin's busy and the connection fades into a soft drone, like a busy signal on an old telephone (before the advent of voice messaging).  It's not that we're not still connected, it's just that our outer world has taken over our inner world to a great extent.

     I was thinking that there's another possible reason that my Twin Soul and I don't always "feel" each other -- and that is that sometimes we have a growth spurt spiritually and don't match wavelengths.  It's as if I or my Twin suddenly change our radio frequency to the next highest level and have to wait for the other to catch on and catch up.  I think this is normal, especially in these days when spiritual growth has accelerated.  Have you noticed?  It seems as if the people on the planet are either growing by leaps and bounds, or resisting it with all their might.  No wonder we are having trouble getting along. 

     My advice (not that anyone asked it or anything . . . . )?  Keep growing.  Keep believing.  Don't resist the resisters, but show them the way, with kindness and compassion.  Fundamentally, we are ALL connected, so it's just a matter of time until we get to the same place.  Believe it.