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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Prologue
In “Prometheus” I stated, just as “love changes everything,” so, too, does the scientific evidence for the afterlife – its reality changes everything. On my Word Gems website you’ll find some of the best examples of afterlife evidence. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with this information, ideally, even before proceeding here as it will serve as veridical basis for what you’ll be learning about The Wedding Song, channeled instruction sent to us from the Spirit World.
How This Book Is Formatted This book is presented as a commentary on the four verses, 189 words, of The Wedding Song. You’ll find explanatory discourse featuring a particular line, phrase, or word of the song. Also, sprinkled within the commentary you'll find “dialogue boxes” of Kairissi and Elenchus, introduced in the "Prometheus” book. Their discussions will begin and end with a yin-yang symbol, like this:
I’ve already encouraged you to seek out the scientific evidence for the afterlife. It will help you even in the next paragraphs, forming an undergirding of authenticity to what you are about to read. As prologue to our study of The Wedding Song, I’d like to offer you various testimonies on the subject of Twin Soul romance. Some of the sources are famous and well investigated; others are relatively unknown; but all speak in unison of the sacred destiny of Twin Soul lovers.
Spirit-Guide Silver Birch, 3000 years on the other side, communicating from the afterlife: “There is a great power in the universe... it is so real that it transcends all other forces ... that love is deathless because it is part of the Great Spirit, the creative spirit of all life, part of the power which has fashioned life; it is indeed the very breath and the very essence of life. And wherever love exists, sooner or later those who are united by its willing bonds will find one another again [implying, the two had been temporarily lost to each other] despite all the handicaps and obstacles and impediments that may be in the way... there is the love, the undeniable love, between man and woman who are complementary to one another; that is, they are two in form, but one in purpose -- they harmonise, they are, indeed, as your poet has expressed it, ‘two hearts that beat as one.’ Now, where that love has found itself, there is never any separation. Those whom the natural law has joined by love can never be sundered, in your world or in mine. Where there is that love - and here I am afraid I am going to be controversial - it is always reciprocated... the real love, that only comes once to each man or woman, whether on Earth or in the world of spirit, is always reciprocal... the two halves instinctively, because they are two halves, must recognise one another. That does not happen in your world always because your vision, regarding things of the spirit, is often blind... Physical things [circumstances in this world of suffering] could stop it [temporarily stop the destined two from coming together] ... but the real love is so magnetic, so overwhelming in its attraction, that it must find itself and claim itself, when once you have got rid of the imperfections of the Earth which were the deterrents to recognition.” “What is meant by twin souls?” Without a pause, Silver Birch replied: “Twin souls are … affinities, which are the two halves of the perfect whole, come together. There are affinities for every soul in the universe... Where there are souls, complementary to one another, who have earned the right to meet the other half of its being … there, you truly achieve heaven on earth. Twin(s) … are at the same stage of growth and evolution and thus will go forward together…” A circle member commented, “I presume twin souls could meet “If there are twin souls who have the same stage of evolution, what is the purpose of some being apart [now, and suffering this loss] …” “You mean they have come together and parted physically. That can only be temporary. If they are affinities [i.e., Twins], the whole urging of their souls will bring them together with the strongest pull that is possible… the magnetic attraction will draw them together because, although two, spiritually they are one.” “It could be part of a twin soul’s development for them to be apart [now],” [stated another]. [The Guide replied] "the essential factor is that if they are two halves of one soul, all other physical [hindrances in this life] cannot affect the fundamental process that brings them together. Don’t confuse physical happenings with spiritual realities. What is of the spirit must endure.”
Professor Frederic W. H. Myers, from the afterlife: “[True] marriage is the uniting of twin souls. This is the only spiritual marriage and the only marriage that survives bodily death. “This is a broad statement, but it will be substantiated by truth... “They shall be one flesh, one spirit, one mind. The multiple-mind transcends the material existence. The two souls blend into one soul. “There shall be no marriage [ceremony] in Heaven - because Nature [itself] is the [officiating marriage] minister of the human family, uniting souls destined to be one [as] each soul has its twin soul. [A natural, magnetic force of soul] cohesion attracts and unites them, as the dawn blends into the day.” Frederic W. H. Myers, in the afterlife, transmitted to Juliet S. Goodenow, Vanishing Night: “You [shall] find whatever you search after. In all the category of experience, you gain what you are searching after — in literature, in art, knowledge, science, invention, love-attainment, in culture, wisdom, riches or treasure… All is accorded you. The spiritual embodiment of your life work is your treasure in Heaven, those laid up by yourself [that is, what you have made of yourself, reflecting your particular talents], your treasures, your mansion, your reward for all you have done on the Earth Plane is laid up by yourself, for yourself, when at last you attain your reward for deeds done in the body. No arbitrary avenging angel awaits you. Creation afforded you in the beginning the implements of industrious labor to satisfy the craving of hunger of the body, and for the satisfaction of the soul. Within your complex organism the Creator placed a guide [that is, your particular desire and sentiment, which reveal destiny] — your passport through the world and through eternity.”
Rose Carson, Two Years In Heaven, channeled from the afterlife: “One subject that interested me greatly was the law of union between the sexes and family life. I always believed there was no marrying or giving in marriage on the other side of life. [I was wrong; indeed, in heaven] I found there was a higher expression of the law of union. “Every soul in that [next] life [eventually] found his soul-companion and together they would go on throughout all eternity, progressing higher through ages of time. The soul-companionship was beautiful and inspiring and intense in its spirituality... “I have attended many grand soul-unions [wedding festivities, not ceremonies, as such, because Twins are already united at the soul level] where [loving and wise Spirit Guides] presided [over the official coming-together].”
Spirit-Guide Margaret, from the afterlife: “Have no fear,” added Margaret reassuringly; “there are no fetters [of a bad marriage] here to bind the soul. The bonds to which we submit are only those of mutual affection and mutual adaptation. An earthly law bound you together, but you are free here, for death is the great divorcer.” “Are there, then, no husbands and wives, no marriages in this “In heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels,” was the reply, given with a bright smile. “But I see you entirely misapprehend my answer. Let me explain. Here among us there are no marriage bonds which bind the soul to the corpse of a dead affection, but there is love fuller and more perfect than the Earth knows anything about. “You [as a new-comer to Summerland] are still tinged with the Earthly ideas, and the whole teaching of Earth is to degrade sexual affection, and sink it to the lowest depths. Men and women who hesitate to take in vain the name of a purely imaginary deity [i.e., superstitious views of God promoted by religion], will not scruple every day of their lives to profane by light word or unhallowed deed the most sacred part of their natures [i.e., the capacity to love romantically in the truest sense]. "Truly, perverted [romantic] love is a terrible demon. It is the embodiment and personification of selfishness. It tears, it defiles, it destroys, and it exults in its destruction. It sends more victims to the lower [dark] spheres than any other single cause. “You must look there in these spheres of lost spirits, if you would know to what depths a man and a woman will sink who blaspheme against the holy spirit of love which should find a pure temple in every heart. “But search out the possibilities of your own soul, and then tell me if love - real [romantic] love - is the impure impulse, the degrading impulse, the subject for jest, which it is so almost universally regarded. Is not pure [romantic] love the very essence of unselfishness? Does it not ennoble the soul and purify the heart? Does it not arouse higher impulses and bring the dawn of a spiritual vision [i.e., a higher level of consciousness] to which one can never attain without it? Is there any earthly happiness which brings mortals nearer to heaven than this sentiment of the soul, which by even good people is underrated and despised, and which by the ignorant and evil is turned into a curse? “I tell you this, a man and a woman who truly love one another on earth are already in heaven, and when you open the door of the Spiritworld to admit them, would you shut it in the face of their [romantic] love? No; let it enter in all its fullness, and glorify their lives here as there.” “But” - “Yes; [I know what you are thinking.] I mean all [facets of their romance, including physical, sexual love]. Do not the flowers bloom, and bloom immortally here? Every opening blossom is a manifestation of love, a sexual union. Would you deny immortality to the flower of life [romantic love], to that which even as we find it, good, bad and indifferent, is, after all, all that makes life tolerable? It is at the source of all action. It is, when unperverted, the deepest and purest impulse of every heart. Editor's note: "all that makes life tolerable" - see the discussion on the Word Gems homepage concerning "what we stay alive for." “It is the constant theme of your novelists, the perpetual inspiration of your poets. It has incited to the grandest and most heroic deeds, and the noblest self-sacrifice. There is no other emotion [as romantic love] which has such power over the human heart, and which has so controlled the destiny of nations and of mankind in general. Yes, I know you have been used to a cant [i.e., the same old song] about [sterile] spiritual love [as the basis for marriage or the highest motivator], which you have not yet forgotten, even with your present experience in the Spirit-world. You have entertained a dim shadowy idea [from past Earth teachings] that spirits stand stationary like spiritual suns, sending out [cold] beams of love, thus enveloping one another; if that is not your precise idea, it is something quite as unspiritual and illusive. But you did not leave your heart behind you with your earthly body. You have the capacity for loving intensified; and, not only that, you have arms with which to embrace. “Would you have been satisfied if, when [upon arriving in Summerland] you first beheld your long lost children, you had stood at a distance and regarded them with your imaginary spiritual affection? No; you instinctively stretched out your arms to them, and took them to your heart, and your kisses were on their lips, their brows, their cheeks. Is the conjugal affection less than the maternal? No; my children, we shall all someday, if we may not now, clasp to our hearts someone whom we love, and who will love us with equal ardor in return; but not until we have entirely divested ourselves of the degrading earthly ideas concerning the purest, most sacred, most spiritual sentiment of the human heart [that is, perfected romantic love]!” “But I thought you said there were no marriages here,” we both “Nor are there [i.e., no oppressive Earthly marriages]. There are no mismated couples; no degrading selfishness [i.e., the male] on one side, no misery and unrecognized self-sacrifice [i.e., the female] on the other. They are as the angels [that is, living in perfect harmony and complete joy, neither party using the other as a means to some other end]. you have not come to the arctic regions “Earthly bonds are perpetuated only as the heart has sanctioned them. But [perfected romantic] love is the atmosphere of this life. You have not come to the arctic regions, but to the region where love is a pervading influence, warming all hearts. No spirit can find its most perfect development who misses from his life the experience which [romantic] love can give him. If he has lived a loveless life on Earth, the possibility is still reserved for him here. The certainty will come to him in the future. His being cannot be perfected without it.” Editor's note: What a remarkable series of comments by Spirit-Guide Margaret! She goes so far as to say that the true romance "is the atmosphere of this life" in Summerland and that we cannot be perfected without it. And notice how she decidedly relegates to second place the "spiritual love," like a cold sun sending out cold beams, so glamorized by the empty godtalk of Materialistic Religion! But there are "neighborhoods" in Summerland which know nothing of, or refuse to acknowledge, this supreme elation. See a full discussion of dysfunctional ones over there, living in their egoic illusions, their empty-shell "hot water-bottle worlds," in the "500 tape-recorded afterlife testimonies" article.
The following channeled information is from Flashes of Light from the Spirit-land, through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant, by Allen Putnam, Frances Ann Conant, 1872. “Q. Do male and female spirits mate in marriage, as on Earth, or analogous to it? “A. There is [an evolved form of marriage in heaven] which is, in itself, so divine and so perfect, that two souls are merged into one, and the harmony is complete... The positive and negative form the whole. The one man and the one woman form the whole, the rounded being. One is imperfect without the other. “The time is coming, but ... in the distance, when you will understand that marriage which is not of the soul is no marriage at all; that which is brought about by external conditions [that is, purely bio-impulse and instinctual, domestic concerns] is altogether unlawful. That which God has joined together [at the soul level] none can put asunder [as it is not possible to separate Twins], but that which is joined together by the conditions of [ordinary Earthly] human life, almost anyone can put asunder; and it is lawful that they should [be separated], because the parties are unlawfully bound together."
Andrew Jackson Davis, nineteenth century mystic-seer of the other side: “[The true, spiritual] marriage is the blending, the entrance, of two souls, each into the other, thus making of two, one perfect being. Every individual is born married; that is, every male and female, affinity with affinity, has a true and eternal [darling] companion. Each, [effectively] will become a messiah and salvation to the other; each is designed to work for the spiritual development of the other [and this mutual helping toward spiritual growth and evolvement is the purpose of true marriage and true romance].”
Spirit-Guide Abu (“Teacher”), 3500 years on the other side, communicating via direct-voice medium, Rick Ricards, circa. 1955 (see the Abu Trust recordings; James Webster, trustee); the following is an extract and condensation of a lengthy discourse: "[In the true marriage] there is a blending in spirit of the masculine and feminine aspects of humanity. In spirit, it is not possible to put on a false face, [to put one’s “best foot forward” in dating and “role play,” as is done on Earth], and so when there shall be the spark of true love between two persons, it cannot be mistaken for anything other than what it is, and neither can anything else be mistaken for it. It is more real, more satisfying, than the unions which occur upon Earth. "If one should be so unfortunate as to pass through an Earthly life without experiencing this specialized love, [which, sadly, is the norm], then he or she may find it in spirit, but it is not always immediately to be found [even in Summerland], and as I have said in the case of Alfred [an individual in Summerland], and of others, I am firmly of the opinion, that there may be quite a lengthy trial-period, as it were, during which [more advanced Troubadour Spirit Guides who superintend the coming together of Twin Souls], by influence, might guide us and will decide, [in their wisdom, for our benefit,] and come to the conclusion that the one in question [a potential mate] has [finally] reached a [sufficiently mature] stage, such that [now] there will be no error, there will be no mistaking true love for external glamour or mere physical attraction, and then the union [in an official sense] will be brought about [by the Spirit-Guides, as there are no mistakes in marriage, the true marriage, in Summerland]. "I would say that unless a marriage is 'made in heaven,' it is no marriage at all. For unless the spiritual component be there, it is merely a form of marriage, a marriage of convenience, [a marriage of merely bio-instinctual response,] and that is no true marriage. It may be of use and of temporary value upon the Earth for your social usage, but it is no true marriage of the spirit [and it will not survive transition to the spirit world]. True marriage, in my view, is necessarily and always accompanied by the spiritual union. "In the case of Alfred and his dear one there is a blending of the mind, and as two, such as these who are spiritually one, will travel together through the spheres of upward progression, with this blending becoming more and more perfect, until the two will merge as one – not one spirit [to the excluding of individuality], but a joint spirit. For they will think together, [their thoughts will become more and more similar], they will be as one, since they have chosen to associate so closely, and this will be a wish-fulfillment for them, and so this closeness of association will result in their becoming more and more nearly one [a greater and greater joyful intimacy]. "Two persons, always two persons, two individuals, [with never a loss of individuality,] but one insofar as the aspiration of the spirit is concerned, one insofar as their [goals of] education and their leaning and their bent are concerned, because of this association of love between them. Editor's note: Abu answers a very important question, and it’s one that’s crossed my mind. How do Twins come together psychologically? What if he’s really into science and math, but she’s so taken by her paintings of flowers and birds? But I have come to see, with Abu here, that any concern in this regard is unwarranted. This is so because Twins do not view the great purpose of life in terms of primarily pursing some science or art. This seeking for pet-projects is not uppermost on the mind – a mind which is a joint mind, a unified mind, immersed in the intimate joy and love of mutual affinity. Abu speaks directly to this concern: their one spirit manifests in “their [goals] of education” and, indeed, their very mental “leaning” and “bent” is directed toward, what is for them, an overarching desire for “association of love.” In other words, they’re going to work this out, and it won’t be difficult. If she’s captivated by the beauty of nature, well then, he can show her that science and math are replete with a beauty of symmetry, harmony, and proportion; and if he’s drawn to the philosophy of math-science wisdom, then she will help him see that highest philosophy, highest wisdom, and God’s very mind, are revealed in all things aesthetic of the universe. As such, they will study all things together, "their [goals] of education" will merge in a natural way. They do not wish to be apart, pursuing separate projects; they want to explore, together, all things of life and love, all things in the universe. To do this alone, very soon, would lead to existential crisis. In 2000, when Word Gems was born, one of the first articles described the love shared by the Ideal Mature Couple. As they retain individuality, each might know a special interest, however "there is no sense of competition in any of this, as each, unilaterally, surrenders to the other, and relegates to secondary status, all things in life in favor of our One-Person devotion. These offerings of fealty - the other's prized possessions and projects - having been received, are then mutually returned, now, forever subservient and second-class to our common love; that common love which ever whispers, one to the other, you belong to me, I belong to you, and no one, or no thing, could ever be as important to me as you!" Abu continues: "In spirit they are parties each to the other’s mind [not as on the Earth where two people often mentally hide from each other and put on a false face in marriage], but it is as if the two had one mind, [a joyful mind,] shared mutually between them, and therefore the heavenly marriage can be a greater, a closer, a finer union than the Earthly marriage." Editor’s note: Let us consider Abu’s comments concerning superintending Spirit-Guides who, at the right time, bring Twins together as we read of The Wedding Song’s Troubadours who, as confirmation of Abu's assertions, also effect marital union for Twins; note, too, Abu's choice of words "will travel together" well corresponding to The Wedding Song's "travel on."
Emanuel Swedenborg, one of the most famous men of the 18th century: statesman, physicist, musician, inventor, engineer (with an estimated IQ of 200 or more), and mystic-seer of Summerland, whose visions and writings would influence intelligentsia for the next hundred years: “[Romantic-spiritual] love is peculiar to man because only he [of “There is provided in heaven a marriage with one whose soul inclines to mutual union with the soul of another, so that they no longer wish to be two lives, but One … the delights of [romantic spiritual] love are superior to all other delights in heaven and in the world … “Each married partner becomes continually a more interior spiritual person; for that love opens the interiors of their minds [i.e., to new levels of consciousness]; and as these are opened, a man becomes more a man, woman becomes more a woman [as they find their true selves in mutual, sacred intimacy.]" Editor's note: A constant theme of Swedenborg is that both the spiritual eternal marriage and, indeed, all of God’s creation represent a manifestation, a union, of Love and Wisdom: heart and mind, feelings and intellect, goodness and truth, right-brain and left-brain, kind intention and strategic plan. During his out-of-body travels to Summerland, Swedenborg reports that he was taught by Spirit Guides that God created the universe as an outgrowth of altruism, divine Love, tempered by Wisdom, skilful design. The spiritual eternal marriage is meant to mirror God’s workings in the cosmos with the sacred couple, female and male, expressing Love and Wisdom, their heartfelt service toward the disadvantaged led by a keen sense of what works. It's what "made in the image" is all about, with Love and Wisdom making the complete person, the celestial One Person, which is becoming more and more like Mother-Father God. Much could be said on this important topic, and Swedenborg devoted whole volumes to the discussion. The Swedenborg Foundation, referenced on the “Other Sites” page, the anti-reincarnation writing, and in the “Holodeck” article, is a good source of information concerning these issues.
Lillian Walbrook, psychic, channeled testimony from the other side: Q. If a man or woman has not found true sympathy in Earth-love, is it found in the next sphere? A. Decidedly, and there are many who have gone unloved on Earth who find, when here, mates whose [essential soul] vibrations are in perfect accord with theirs. These entities become mated in a spiritual sense and … dwell together in harmony. Q. If married people have been unsuited here, do they meet together in the next plane? A. They may meet, but certainly are not fated to be constantly with one another, and, more likely than not, each will find [another] congenial spirit (male or female, as the case may be) with whom to dwell…
Charlotte Dresser, psychic, channeled testimony from the other side: “You say you have no disappointments?” “We have no disappointments that grieve. If either of you were to turn away from us, we would be deeply grieved, our love would have a shock. Yet we would know that it would pass and that you would return to us. Love here is not disappointed. Those who are meant for each other always come into loving companionship.” … [A testimony from a person in Summerland:] “We are two who loved, sorrowed, and were separated in our Earth life, one of us preceding by a long time the other into the spirit world… I, who came first, sadly wondering, and filled with false theories and spurious wisdom, could find no immediate joy. At last she came, [however,] and all sorrow disappeared in the complete happiness and companionship of this life.”
Robert James Lees was a famous London psychic-medium of the latter 1800s. He was involved in solving the Jack The Ripper case and claimed to know the identity of the sought-for criminal. Lees wrote a trilogy, the first of which, “Through The Mists” (1898), offers excellent information concerning Summerland. I praise him because, unlike so many reporters who are part of a dysfunctional group over there (see “the 500 tape-recorded messages from the other side” writing), Lees gets it right on virtually all major points of natural law. I offer the following as credential of credibility regarding an excerpt from his book. A Spirit Guide is speaking: “You must now learn to draw a distinction between relationships of the body and those of the spirit; the latter being the only ties we recognise here.” “What the future holds I know not, but, develop as it may, I can see only the possibility of forming groups of twin souls in the one great family of heaven... Such kindred souls are by no means unusual, and in their influence act and re-act upon each other and so are drawn together in a communion of which the Earth friendship [ordinary romance] can form but a very faint conception. There [on Earth], relationships are rightly termed blood-relationships, but flesh and blood cannot enter this life, and therefore kinship has to be lifted into another and more spiritual bond… God, who is Spirit, gives birth to such relationships, and whatsoever God hath joined together [at the spirit/soul level] no man can put asunder.”
From “The Vital Message” (1919) by the great afterlife researcher, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of "Sherlock" fame: “Now let me epitomise what these assertions [of the next world] are. They say that they are exceedingly happy, and that they do not wish to return. They are among the friends whom they had loved and lost, who meet them when they die and continue their careers together. They are very busy on all forms of congenial work. The world in which they find themselves is very much like that which they have quitted, but everything keyed to a higher octave... [and] Every man or woman finds a soul mate sooner or later."
Caroline Larsen, testimony from the other side: She had been there only for a short time and meets two advanced, radiant spirit-entities, Twin Souls, probably many thousands of years in the next world, now having achieved the appearance of gods: “The mere sight of these majestic spirits, even from afar, was enough to convince the beholder that they were the rulers and controllers of the whole universe, of matter and of spirit. The overpowering dominance of their personalities subdued my spirit so that, staring and stupefied, I trembled and shrank at their presence. "Two in particular, a man and a woman spirit, burned with the light of two flaming suns dimming all others near them with the intense lustre of their white radiance… Dazzled, I cowered, raising my hand to my forehead in an involuntary tribute of humility and awe. It is impossible to say how far I was from them since space does not limit the astral body. But, near or far, I could clearly distinguish every expression of their countenances. They were dressed in magnificent robes of pure white. "The dress of the female spirit was a long flowing robe rippling from her form in loose and graceful lines, as she floated in a perpendicular position, inclined with knees slightly bent. "The dress of the male spirit was a close-fitting toga that reached to his feet. He moved in a similar posture, but his head was thrown further back. His eyes, following the direction of his outstretched hand, were focused upon some great distant star. As he expounded to his companion some great mysterious truth, he seemed the embodiment of authority and wisdom. But on his features played the soft light of spiritual love which tempered his austerity with its ethereal glow. To me he seemed all-powerful, fitted to command instant obedience from any forces, material or spirit. His companion, though possessed of much of his spiritual power and authority, displayed these same qualities but they were subdued by a feminine grace and loveliness which rendered her face sublime in its serene nobility. "They appeared to be gods rather than perfect spirits, yet I was informed that they had once dwelt in human form, somewhere. Whether their union began then or later I did not know, but now they were bound for eternity by the ties of spiritual attraction and love. By spiritual development ["travelling on," as "the Wedding Song" uses the phrase] they had risen to the highest power, and, as my guide explained, they were now a part of that Supreme Power that rules and guides both the material and spirit universe. "The host of spirits gazed intently after them with respectful admiration and awe. It was a glorious moment for me when I beheld these marvelous beings, and knew the happiness of their close presence. For a time I stood motionless [frozen in awe] and gazed after the disappearing glory, which lessened as these two beings passed from sight, till my eyes beheld in the distance only the white light that enfolded them.” Editor's note: Is this not the most amazing report of the future of Twins? In Caroline's description, right here, we see the awesome destiny of Twin lovers, entering the ranks of those who control and rule the universe!! Is there anything more stupendous than what we see here? See the article on the "super-powers" of the Guides.
The following is channeled, via automatic writing, from the other side, published in “Claude’s Second Book,” by L. Kelway-Bamber: “… when the ‘drop’ of God-force that makes the spirit of man separates from God and comes to the [Earth] world, it divides into halves and goes to two separate mothers, and thus a boy and girl are always born from each ‘drop.’ In fact, on the Earth plane things are generally constituted with a ‘counterpart,’ an opposite; they are male and female, positive and negative. The union of these creates the proper balance and produces something. The ‘bit of God’ in man is ‘im-’, or rather, ‘un’-personal; it is sent to become personal, and to so develop... It is a ‘bit of [God-]life’ [which comes to the Earth] but has no individuality — that it has to grow and develop here.”
Editor’s note: The process by which Twin Souls are created is shrouded in mystery. It seems to be orchestrated on a much higher level of "management" than enjoyed or known of by message-givers in Summerland. Different reports explain it variously, but often with the common theme of a single “God-cell” dividing into the female and male Twins. We are led to wonder if the Earth-world cell division relating to physical organisms might serve as metaphor of the grand celestial coming-into-being of Twins. ‘my sister, my spouse’ Song Of Solomon, 4:10: “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse; how much better is thy love than wine, and the smell of thine ointments than all spices.” (KJV) As I produced the above comments, I was suddenly taken by the memory of a scripture not reviewed for many years. The writer of the Song refers to his beloved as “my sister, my spouse.” He may have had his own reasons for such nomenclature but, strangely, if Twin Souls derive from a single “cell” of God, then, on a cosmic level, they constitute, to each other, a kind of brother and sister. I believe that when we finally gain the full truth of these matters, we shall be more than a little astounded concerning how things truly work in the universe.
André Luiz, communicating from the other side: “The [marital] home is the sacred summit, the converging point “Most Earthly couples pass these sacred hours together in an environment of indifference and cruel selfishness… In their social contacts, both wear masks, but in the privacy of their home they strip them off, sadly exposing their lack of mutual understanding. “If we only knew all this while still on Earth!” “A mere question of experience, my friend,” she replied, “suffering and tribulations will slowly teach mankind these unavoidable lessons. At present, few realize that the home is a divine institution, within which one must live with all one’s heart and soul. It’s often said that all creatures are beautiful when truly in love. Indeed, this is true. During the enchanting period of betrothal, [i.e., they ‘put their best foot forward’] plain creatures display their most charming traits. Any subject seems enchanting even in the most frivolous conversation. Man and woman meet, radiating the full measure of their sublime forces. "But when they enter wedlock [of the Earth], many rend the veil of desire [the mask comes away] and fall back under the influence of the old monsters [of the ego] that tyrannize weak hearts. Gone is all tolerance, and sometimes even brotherly cooperation. The luminous beauty of love gradually dies out, and the couple begins to drift apart, avoiding each other’s company, losing the joy of friendly conversation. Henceforth, the well educated ones [of John and Mary] respect each other, while the ill-bred ones outwardly manifest their mutual animosity. They don’t try to come to a conciliatory understanding; questions and answers are formulated in dry phrases. "Physical intercourse may still be carried on, but the minds are already divorced and following opposite directions.” “How true your words are!” I cried out with feeling. “But what can we do, my friend?” my kind hostess continued, “In the present phase of the planet’s evolution, unions between twin souls are rare, and marriages of kindred or even sympathetic souls are tremendously outweighed by a remarkable percentage of ‘probation ties’. Most human couples are made up, so to speak, of handcuffed prisoners.” … “How are marriages made here [in Summerland]?” I asked, availing myself of a pause. “Through [soul] vibratory combination,” Tobias explained kindly, “or to make it clearer, by perfect attunement.” … “When I married Tobias, a widower, I should have known that our union would probably be [merely] fraternal [and not last]. Yet it cost me much suffering to understand that. In fact, it is only logical to conclude that when a couple suffers from restlessness, incomprehension, and sadness, their marriage is only a physical union, not a spiritual bond… keeping in mind that true marriage, a union of souls, can never be broken."
Joudry and Pressman, afterlife-researchers; Twin Souls: “For 30 years I lived intimately with the twin-soul principle, meditating on it, studying it inwardly, seeking other sources … it had become a part of me from my deep conviction of its truth. … I met Dr. Maurie Pressman, psychoanalyst and man of the spirit. … As we pursued the subject together, the book that had eluded me all those years finally took shape. … As you read you will have insights of your own. Trust them. They will be the voices of your intuition. In Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the Inquisitor challenges Joan with: ‘Your voices are only in your imagination.’ She replies: ‘Of course. How else does God speak to us?’ Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. He is more myself than I am! … I am Heathcliff. “This pure twin-soul utterance was made by Cathy in Wuthering Heights, a classic love story written by a lonely spinster with no apparent experience of love. Emily Bronte’s inspiration came from her soul. This same soul-knowledge has inspired all the great love stories of literature and opera. Such works endure because their central truth touches the deeply buried truth in all of us: we are incomplete and there exists somewhere a completing other who will make us whole, as we were whole in the beginning. “The spiritual philosophies of the East, contained in the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu Vedas, [the Genesis account, discussed below,] and other writings of the ancient masters, teach us that the soul was created containing both masculine and feminine in one, reflecting the dual nature of the Creator. “The idea of the soul’s division into two genders has come down to us through the ages … the nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer described it this way: Polarity or the sundering of a force into its equal and opposite halves is a fundamental type of all the phenomena of Nature, from the crystal and the magnet to man himself. “The twin-soul image was graphically portrayed by Plato 25 centuries ago … In the Symposium Aristophanes speaks [of] … how Zeus struck the soul into two opposite halves, each to wander the earth in search of the other: And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. These are the people who pass their whole lives together, yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For 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 which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment. If Hephaestus, son of Zeus, were to ask the pair: ‘Do you desire to be wholly one, always day and night to be in one another’s company? For if this is what you desire, I am ready to melt you into one and let you grow together, so that being two you shall become one, and after your death in the world beyond you will still be one departed soul instead of two – I ask whether this is what you lovingly desire?’ – and there is not a man or woman, when they heard the proposal, would not acknowledge that this melting into one another, this becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of their ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love. “Myth exists as a means of conveying truths too mysterious and complex for ordinary language. The Plato legend depicts a spiritual reality of deep significance to all men and women, one that holds the key to their fulfillment. The twin-soul concept illumines the true nature of love and indeed perhaps the purpose of the soul on earth. “The soul craves completion and return to its creative source. It is our belief that the way of return is first through the spiritual development of the individual, as far as is possible in the divided state, then the union of the soul with its missing half, its twin, and then a reuniting with the group souls from which it separated long before… Seemingly alone in the universe, filled with longing for the soul families from which they have been cut adrift, these entities must suffer yet another loss. There is a last, fateful division: each is struck in two, their masculine and feminine forces gathering into equal halves. Yet each retains the seed of the other, creating the polarity that will bring about the ultimate reunion. “This final severance completes the descent, whereafter the law of attraction begins the reassembling of the whole. The soul at last has a clear direction: toward the lost half of the self. The divided soul must now evolve … male and female seek each other ceaselessly… “When sufficiently evolved as human beings we will be ready for the twin meeting. At that stage we will come into contact with some of our group souls. The group souls, or soul mates, are encountered before and after the twin reunion. There is a general in-gathering as response to the call from above... “The following comes from the sacred literature of Sufism [of] the eighth century: Out of the original unity of being there is a fragmentation and dispersal of beings, the last stage being the splitting of the one soul into two. And consequently love is the search by each half for the other half on earth or in heaven, a search that can become desperate … As twin souls are so alike to start with, it seems necessary for them to go their different ways before they can complete each other. Identity and complementarity are the two driving forces and axes of love. … For the complete being there must be a blending of the two. “This is to say that an individual must be strong in identity before being able to complement the twin. When the twins meet, their complementarities are not entirely fulfilled but open to further advance. The two have achieved sufficient security within themselves that they are not dependent on another for a sense of self. Then they are ready to recognize the other, to stand with the other, and to surmount the inevitable conflicts that arise in the course of human relationships. “Twin souls have been described … by ... Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov [in his book] Love And Sexuality… Every human being has a twin-soul. When man leapt like a spark from the bosom of his Creator he was two in one, and these two parts complemented each other perfectly, each was the other’s twin. These two halves became separated … took different directions … evolved separately. [When] they come to recognize each other, it is because each carries the image of the other in the depth of his being … The image may be blurred but it is there. For this reason, everyone … has a vague hope that he will meet … a soul who will be everything he needs, and that with this soul he will find indescribable harmony and perfect fusion. Twin-souls complete each other; no other person in the world can so complete them... Two souls whom God created together are absolutely made for one another, and nothing can separate them; they have no fear of being separated. In a [merely physically-bonded] married couple, when one or the other is afraid that someone may rob him of his partner ... it is because that partner was not really the beloved, not the true beloved, the twin-soul. [In our world] a woman loves a man, he leaves her for another; a man loves a woman, she abandons him ... but twin-souls, on the contrary, recognize each other with absolute certainty and can never leave one another [and would never want to]. “When such glory awaits every one of us, we might wonder why the principle of twin-soulship is so little known. We can only deduce that we have not been [spiritually] ready for it. … The twin may be very near, awaiting the last steps of growth, which both must take to be ready for reunion. Readiness is everything. The meeting can take place only after … arrival has been achieved within ourselves… “The paradox of twin-soulship is that two become as one, and yet, in so doing, increase their individuality. In twin-soul unity we never become bored but are held in the fascination of perpetual growth… The eyes of the soul holds the vision of the perfected being. Each twin, in gazing at its opposite, can glimpse that perfection, and through the power of love, help to manifest it… “It could almost be said that the twin appears … when least needed, when each half-soul has reached its highest point of independence in the divided state. This is also the pinnacle of aloneness. Every man and woman must climb the mountain alone, able to stand firm against the high winds that buffet the elevated soul. It is then, out of the mist, that the twin appears, not in response to emotional need but to fulfill the deepest need of the soul. … [It is] the end of loneliness forever. “This is not like the [ordinary, Earthly] fall into love. Falling in love generally means that one person becomes lost in the other, abdicating self and entrusting it to the heart of the beloved. The twin-soul reunion is a descent into the depths of the true self, the dwelling place of the soul… “On the way [to reunion,] there is bound to be suffering. The [best teachers] affirm that we evolve through suffering [only] until we [finally] learn to evolve through joy. "It may be that [twins'] evolution is being forced. Perhaps they have been resistant to growth. By cosmic law we evolve willingly or by force ... If we are unwilling, our evolution is forced upon us and brings the sorrow and tragedy that will wake us up [i.e., help us to enter a higher level of consciousness]... We awaken through love. Without love we would sleepwalk forever... "Co-author Dr. Maurie Pressman tells of a woman being treated by him for depression. She had been married for many years and borne three children. All this time her husband [it was clear to her, had not truly wanted her, as she endured a loveless marriage.] The woman reported [emotional abuse] but showed no anger ... [but, strangely, despite the husband's detachment, she praised her putative mate as an ideal]. It became clear that the patient was [repressing] hostility toward [her husband]. By making him perfect, she had [given herself] no cause for anger and could continue in the illusion that she was happily married. In so doing, she was delaying her progress in life, and [her husband's,] as well -- and also that of her twin soul, who is affected in absentia... "By whatever means, the soul will have its way. If intolerable restrictions are present, it will [find a way to] break through... It cannot be stopped by any force but its own. [The entire universe, and destiny, is on its side; assuredly, it will have its way, and he will find her, and find a way to reach her mind.]"
The following channeled information is from Flashes of Light from the Spirit-land, through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant, by Allen Putnam, Frances Ann Conant, 1872. Q. Are sex and affections recognized in the spirit-land? If so, to what extent? A. Yes, to be sure. There is there the male and female distinctly defined ; and since affection does not belong to the body, but to the soul, of course the soul carries it with it after it leaves the body.
[Reported by Michael Tymn in his blog:] On October 18, 1929, Sir Oliver Lodge, a distinguished British physicist and pioneering psychical researcher, delivered the first Frederic W.H. Myers Memorial Lecture to the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in London. Myers, one of the founders of the SPR, had died in January 1901. He and Lodge had become good friends. The following is … from that talk, as set forth in the November 1929 issue of “Psychic Research,” published by The American Society for Psychical Research. Lodge’s wife, Mary, had communicated this from the other side: “There is one thing I wanted to explain to you. When people belong to each other through long association through love, [or even] through freshly [or recent] relationship, there is no difficulty in contact between those people, either from one plane to the other, or between them when they have both reached the same plane. The links exist.”
The Universal Spiritual Brother&Sisterhood and their principle book Spiritual Light: Universal Teachings “Twin souls is a term used for the two halves of one soul - using soul in the sense of a human being; a person... "For some purpose or purposes unknown to us, all souls were at one time divided into two, to go their separate ways for varying spans of time before eventually reaching the stage where they can reunite for good… "For while we may attract or be attracted to many, we have only one affinity - our twin soul, whom few of us meet on earth. People often say they have, or feel, an affinity with someone, when it is actually just an attraction to someone - a vastly different thing. The Law of Affinity is definite: one has an affinity to one - and only one. "It is not unusual for twin souls to accept different pathways for literally ages. They may not meet even if they both live on earth. And unless at least one of the pair is aware of its eternal tie to another, and thus naturally longs and reaches out for the other, they may not meet even if both live in the spirit world… "The love between twin souls of profound spirituality is truly the great love, the romance magnificent, the passion sublime - dwarfing all other loves, beautiful and wonderful though some of those other loves are. "Can there be a greater incentive to evolving as rapidly as we can, than the knowledge of an affinity and the matchless love that only twin souls of high spiritual stature can experience?"
Channeled testimony via the mediumship of William W. Aber; presented in the book “The Dawn Of Another Life” by William Denton: A lady on the other side speaks of her sorrowful experience of having lost her Twin mate when she was a young girl: “Each soul must in Earth or Heaven have a mate, and when that mate is [spiritually] centered and attracted no power can prevent it from finding its other half. There never was a soul that was complete in itself … but finding its other self, it reaches at last, a whole within itself. Then the two selves, or twin souls, are ready to progress together… “He is still on Earth … and that is why I linger here, waiting always, waiting for him… "[She explained that] in the flush of their young girlhood and boyhood life, how [at times] very happy they had been [but that] a shadow [of separation] passed between them and gradually grew and stretched into a gulf so wide and deep that neither of them in Earth life could ever cross it, and so in dreary bitterness they had parted … Editor’s note: This “shadow of separation,” this "dreary bitterness," occurred at a rather tender age, the “flush” of youth, likely before the traditional time for dating. This means that this proto-Twin couple set themselves up for what Kairissi and Elenchus called “the ludicrous proposition.” He went away thousands of miles … Slowly but how surely her grief had claimed her, until on hearing of his marriage, she died suddenly and awakened to sorrow in the first experience of her spirit life… “He will come to me and then we will be happy together. He feels already that he will come to me, but he knows not how or where. He is not happy in life, but very miserable and often he cries to his Maker to let him die, and be done with all! … How little he knows of the life he will meet here...”
Andrew Jackson Davis: speaking of the ideal marriage: “Each individual needs this all-supporting, ever-watchful, beauty-giving, nuptial unity. Joy, enthusiasm, inspiration come with true marriage. Like a sweet aroma from a garden of immortal flowers cometh the love of the nuptial partner of our present and future progression. Each unto the other is the whole world — shall I say, God manifested in the flesh? The words of true love are words of God.”
Channeled testimony via psychic-medium, presented in the book GLIMPSES OF THE NEXT STATE: the education of an agnostic, by British Vice-Admiral W. Usborne Moore. Admiral Moore, a conscientious afterlife investigator, offered these prefatory remarks: “There is a great deal of fraud in the practice of spiritism – fraud intentional and conscious, and unconscious fraud [on the part of psychic-mediums]. There is no doubt that the trickery imposed here and in America had deterred thousands of people from investigation of the subject. Some instances will be given in the body of this book. In the following pages I shall make an attempt to contribute my share to the general stock of information on the subject of spiritist phenomena by recording those of my experiences which I have every reason to believe are genuine manifestations of power exercised by discarnate beings who once lived on this earth plane.” Q. “Are people living in pairs of male and female in spirit life?” A. “… The congenial flock together. Yes, they do.” Q. “You misunderstand me. I mean, supposing two people are joined here, can they live in close union there?" A. “By all means, if the soul is twin. Two people may be joined by a mummer [“actor”] in a church, and be as wide apart as the antipodes.” Q. “But many worthy people here imagine that, in a future life, the high ideal should be universal, equal affection all round?” A. “…I know what you mean; you dislike the ideal of spiritual universal love - it would rob love of its value” by making it a mass-production event and separating love from the element of individuality. Q. “Supposing two souls on Earth strongly united, but on widely different planes as regards spiritual development. Do they not live together when both have passed over to the next state?” A. “… I have this to say. Man who loves singly and with an isolated devotion will gravitate toward her, just the same as he would buy a railroad ticket to the house of his affinity. Church nor Churchmen do not make marriage lawful, only in the human sight. The marriage that is based upon baser instincts and for ulterior purposes are soiling their souls; by this method the lives of human marriages are prostituted. The Divine marriage is the soul knowledge of each other ... [But, concerning your question as to different levels of development, that is only temporary, although, in worst-case scenarios, true lovers can find themselves separated for a long time before finding their way back to each other.] You go from one phase to another [because they've been out of phase with each other]. There are twin souls that have been separated centuries [before] finally [being] reunited. The separation was caused in the first instance by a crime against that love union … Infidelities are punished in this manner. There are many unfaithful soulmates, separated, seeking through space and the infinite distance for each other - groping in the dark,” so to speak, trying to get back to each other. Editor’s note: Notice that, from a cosmic standpoint, Twins who inauthentically marry others are deemed to be "unfaithful soulmates," having engaged in "infidelity." Note, too, the phrase “crime against that love union” reminds us of Spirit Guide Margaret’s words, “sin against holy romance.” Twin Souls, in this “sin” or “crime,” violate not only each other’s right to each other but commit affront to their “One Person” status, that is, their sacred destiny, that for which Mother-Father God created them. That destiny will not let them go, as it will torment them, even for "centuries," until they've had enough suffering, decide to forgive each other, and make their way back to each other.
Channeled testimony via the mediumship of William W. Aber; presented in the book “The Dawn Of Another Life” by William Denton: From teachers on the other side: “There never was, nor yet ever will be, a complete feminine soul without the masculine counterpart; nor vice versa. The feminine represents tenderness, pity, shyness, truth and love; while the masculine is truly composed of boldness, undaunted courage, strength, firmness and stubbornness of purpose, and the very fact of all these very fine elements so mingling and inter-blending as to make a complete whole, introduces to you the philosophy of soul-mating. “Therefore no soul stands alone as a whole, for somewhere in the finitude is the other half, the twin soul. The counterpart of each other, and these two-in-one must each be so constituted as to possess qualifications that exactly fit each other, and when that great immutable law can do its work without a single line of cross-vibration, then these two half souls find each other, and form a whole soul… “If there is such a law as the law of soul-mating, why does Nature allow so many to unite upon earth [as "John and Mary"] who are not truly mated, and hence, all the trouble and sorrow that now exists be left to continuously happen at will?” “We answer, in the great laboratory of Nature are especial workmen, who only perform her wonders and mysteries upon certain existing laws that she possesses. But before any law of Nature can be enacted upon, there must certain conditions arising that are perfectly and properly conducive to the consummation of such ends and until these conditions are ripened and ready there can be no complete action of these truly wonderful laws. There is no undertaking of spirit or mortal, but what rests on a certain vibration of conditions to perform its accomplishment. "Now within the laws of attraction and repulsion there are ... certain forces that attract, and certain ones that repel… “The law of repulsion oftentimes works so strongly in the elementary conditions of mortals [i.e. the early years of youth] that much of their success in life is denied them until they ascend to advancing years. The action of this same law is responsible for holding apart soul mates upon the earth plane. While the law of repulsion is sometimes a great trouble to [lovers] in taking away from us what we most desire, yet without it the great law of attraction would be almost powerless, for the objects which are repulsed very often, and at last come into a vibration with the law of attraction, this law becomes, under such circumstances, very much stimulated, and taking up these adverse vibrations feeds upon them, and becomes mighty, and traveling with the velocity of lightning brings together the objects desired… Editor’s note: Let us pause to consider what these Guides are saying. Not all Twins meet in this world, but, if they do, and if they had contact from an early age, it probably didn’t go well for them. They probably didn’t like each other so much right off. But, the Guides insist, this very “repulsion,” as they put it, creates a mental and spiritual capacity for wanting each other in the future. We smile at this proposition to consider what we thought to be a too-predictable plot in the old movies: If a girl and boy were fighting as the story began and ensued, well then, you just knew they’d be crazy about each other and wild to be married by movie’s end. “When soul mates [finally] meet [again, they] unite the lost aspirations, aims, and desires, which each have given up as dead, are enlivened and awakened to full life… Editor’s note: We are jarred by “given up as dead.” When Twins go their separate ways, having “repulsed” each other in the early years, then, more often than not, they will send themselves on a very long journey, likely, marrying others and entangling themselves in all manner of domestic duties. In the midst of this emotional chaos and suffering, the lost Twin will not be forgotten; even so, it all happened so long ago that "what good is any of it now?" - that lost one is “given up as dead.” All this forms the matrix of abject despair issuing as the “ludicrous proposition.” "... awakened to full life, and they, in each other, become perfected in ideals, which could never have been dreamed of on any other condition or plane of existence. Notice: their sense of harmony, found "in each other," is so overwhelming, they "never could have dreamed" of finding this kind of total-immersion love! “The law of soul-mating is a permanent living law - always has been, is, and always will be, and because great numbers of earth and heaven yet are unaware of its existence is never any proof that such a law is not [in existence]. “We of the higher spheres have attended many profound lectures on the subject of ‘The Philosophy of Soul-Mating,’ and we are making a valiant effort to give our knowledge to the world of mortals as soon as they are able to receive it.”
Emma Hardinge Britten (1823 – 1899) began to exhibit mediumistic abilities as a young girl. Later, as a writer and public speaker, she would become an advocate for the Spiritualist movement. In 1864 Abraham Lincoln’s re-election campaign asked her to speak on behalf of the President; she did so; and also provided a eulogy at his death. The following item, from one of her books, which, we presume, represents mystically-derived information, is a treatise on the various bases of marriage. After establishing that many marital unions of this world center about the transitory physical attraction and also mere friendship, the discussion turns toward authentic, enduring romance: "It is soul affinity … the realization that man and woman have no actual existence apart from each other; that they are, in fact, counterparts, without which their separate lives are imperfect and unformed. Life is dual … and love, true soul-love, is the bond of union which reunites the severed parts. It exists independent of personal charms or mental acquirements; subsists through sickness or in health, through good or evil report, lives on for the one beloved … and realizes heaven only in the union which death may interrupt but can never sever [or "be sundered" as Jesus used the phrase]. Divine spiritual affinity survives death and the grave, unites the two halves of the one soul, and in eternity perfects the dual nature of man and woman into one angel." Editor’s note: Emma, here, really gets it right. She lights upon major aspects of truest love. It exists, as Elizabeth Barrett used the phrase, “not for a reason.” It is not a reactive stance or attraction based merely upon “personal charm,” bodily health or the lack of it, or other aspect of the illusionary perfect resume; instead, and quite anomalously, true love persists “through good or evil report.” Truest love well survives even if the two, for a time, don't even like each other so much. Deepest heart overrules head. In other words, true love is not lessened when there is cause, even just cause, not to prefer the counterpartal one in question. The underlying soul affinity is neither bothered nor suspended in the wake of reason for antipathy. This kind of love, commented on by Elizabeth Barrett, is "one of the world's immortalities" because, she said, it contains its own vitalizing agent within itself! - it is not dependent on external bolstering. It exists "not for a reason." Having been founded upon such sure footing, it will endure, cannot be "severed," no matter the raging vicissitudes at the surface of personality: he would love her, and want her, as much, as he might have at age 17, even when she's 90, possibly, suffering with mental infirmity. And, in the life to come, as Emma rightly perceives, in line with many afterlife teachers, true love serves evolutionary development, “perfects the dual nature of man and woman into one angel.”
not for a reason reprinted from the page devoted to the sonnets of Elizabeth Browning Editor’s note: In the Brownings' love letters (as opposed to her sonnets), as featured several times on the WG site, Elizabeth sees and discerns one of the very most important precepts of true love; that, it must be built on a foundation of “not for a reason.” And now, here too, in sonnet 14, she returns to this vital understanding: “If thou must love me, let it be for nought.” We stand amazed, for many reasons, concerning Elizabeth’s perspicacious wisdom. In the first thirteen sonnets, she presents herself as emotionally erratic, alternating, sometimes quickly, between sublime ecstasy and depths of despair. And yet, despite this nightmare world of malaise, or maybe because of it, Elizabeth, as very few others, clearly perceives one of the unshakeable pillars of eternal romantic love: love, not for a reason, love for nought.
Emanuel Swedenborg, one of the most famous men of the 18th century: statesman, physicist, musician, inventor, engineer (with an estimated IQ of 200 or more), and mystic-seer of Summerland, whose visions and writings would influence intelligentsia for the next hundred years: Swedenborg reports of witnessing a conversation between Spirit Guides and three young men, newly arrived in Summerland. The young men are anxious to learn if heaven allows the pleasures of female companionship. The Guides answer positively, but in a manner suggesting that the love is of a higher grade. The young listeners found this answer disappointing. The two newcomers said: “This means there’s no love between the sexes in heaven. Chaste love between the sexes is nothing but a love emptied of its vital essence. Isn’t this kind of companionship between young men and young women dried-up joy? We aren’t stones and sticks, we’re living feelings and impulses.” When they heard this, the [Guides] answered indignantly, “You have no idea whatever of what chaste love between the sexes is because you aren’t chaste yet. That love is the essence of delight for the mind and therefore for the heart… A genuine love of marriage is a chaste love that has nothing in common with [earthly] unchaste love. It is a love experienced only with one member of the opposite sex apart from all others. It is a love of the spirit and then of the body, not a love of the body and then of the spirit. That is, it is not a love that attacks the spirit.” [The Guides summarized] “It is not a love for the opposite sex in general [not for any pretty face] but a love for one member of the opposite sex. It arises only when a young man sees the young woman [God] has provided and the young woman sees the young man. Both feel the kindling of marital feelings in their hearts. He senses that she is his and she that he is hers. Love comes out to meet love and makes itself known, uniting their souls immediately”… The three newcomers asked, “Is there the same kind of [sexual] love between married partners in the heavens as there is on earth?” “Exactly the same,” the two [Guides] answered.
Jesus’ discourse on marriage in Matthew 19 Editor’s note: I would encourage you to study my commentary, Parts I and II, on Jesus’ teaching concerning marriage. As one surveys his entire presentation, it becomes clear that Jesus is not focusing on the Earthly, bio-instinctual, domestic-contract version of marriage but has eternal Twin Soul love in mind. READ MORE
The following was reported in "Mary Anne Carew,” channeled information via the mediumship of Carlyle Petersilea (1844-1903). The author, an accomplished American concert pianist, developed psychic abilities later in life. Mary, Carlyle's mother, offers her testimony from the other side: The new-arrival Mary comments: “I never thought that marriage existed after the death of the body, but that all heavenly beings were like brothers and sisters." "Well," replied Annie [her sister], with a smile, "all the answer I can give is, that a man remains a man forever, and a woman a woman; that the man and the woman, when rightfully mated, constitute one perfect soul, and when separate are but the sundered halves of a rounded or perfect thing.”
'she is your reward' The following is channeled information, via the mediumship of A. Farnese, recorded in the book “A Wanderer In Spirit Lands.” An Italian man, Franchezzo, had died young after seducing and using many women. However, before he died he met the love of his eternal life. In the Dark Realms he embarked upon dangerous restitutionary charitable works in order, not only to recover himself but, to later be with his true love in Summerland. His supervising Guide emphasizes the importance of her love in his journey back to spiritual health: “I leave you again, my son, to follow still your pilgrimage which will soon, however, draw to its close, and I bid you be of good cheer since your reward shall come from her whom you love, and who loves you, and sends ever her most tender thoughts to you." Throughout his extremely difficult missionary work in the dark spheres, Franchezzo was ever keenly aware that her mystical presence constituted his primary impetus to grow and change. In this we find dramatic example of what Spirit Guides teach, that God has given Twins to each other for their mutual aid in reaching higher levels of maturity; without which encouragement, male and female would likely perceive little reason to evolve as they were meant to. See Francezzo's story featured on the Dark Realms page.
The following was reported in “OCEANIDES, A Psychical Novel” (1892), by Carlyle Petersilea (1844-1903). The author, an accomplished American concert pianist, developed psychic abilities later in life. Some of his books offer directly channeled information from known entities on the other side; However, “Oceanides” is billed as a novel, a fictional narrative; even so it seems clear that Petersilea employed the novel-format to present information concerning Twin Soul love which he had gathered via his mediumistic abilities. The protagonist encounters a Twin Soul couple in the spirit realms: “She seemed to issue from his personality as though there had been two beings blended together which now divided, something as a rainbow divides itself... The lady was an exact counterpart of the man… ‘We are an angel; one angel,’ said the male Twin, ‘and not two; she is myself, I am herself. She is the half of an angel, I am the other half, and two halves make one whole; we blend so completely together that at first you did not perceive we bore two forms, and we can appear in two forms, or as one. We are male and female; one angel'. Editor’s note: Petersilea’s vision of Twin Souls as so completely blended that, at times, to an observer, they might appear to be one person. This extraordinary expression of intimacy and unity was, I believe, also given to me in a dream. I recounted this realization in the Introduction to “Prometheus”: "About twenty years ago, in the middle of the night, I suddenly found myself jarred from sleep, catapulted into an upright position. An unfamiliar phrase, two words, immediately accosted my spirit: SOULMATE, MYSELF." "His form showed strength and power, hers showed love and grace; where her features reflected love, his reflected wisdom… [the male-Twin advises] ‘Obey me implicitly in one thing. Do not marry for any consideration [of wealth, comfort, status, or physical beauty]; if you do, bitter woe will be your portion, and a lifelong misery on earth; every morning you will desire death, and every night your pillow will be wet with tears… wait for the counterpart of your own soul… If every man and woman on earth would listen [to this advice from] their [own] inner being, there would be no wretched, unhappy marriages.’” The narrator reviews his own life: “I had nearly come to the conclusion to ask someone among [the many women he knew] to be my wife; but an indefinable something always restrained me, and I well knew that if one were to be my wife, still I should be alone. There had been engraven upon my soul, from my earliest manhood, the ideal picture of one whom I could love and worship, and I had cherished a secret hope that someday the ideal picture would be actualized… [Later, catching a glimpse of his ideal female image] It was the first time in my life that a sense of home and complete rest had filled my soul.” Editor’s note: The "restraint" of which he speaks will issue as a deadening feeling of profound emptiness at the thought of being with the wrong person: there is the aloneness of being with oneself but, far worse, is the aloneness though with another person. Concerning the “engraven ideal image,” in my own writings I refer to such encounter accompanied by “sparks in the head.” And the author's “sense of home and complete rest” I have alluded to as the great “coming home,” the “utter familiarity,” the perception of “you are just like me,” and, of course, “soulmate, myself.”
The following is channeled information via the mediumship of William W. Aber, the Psychic Research Society, as reported in “The Rending Of The Veil” (1898), compiled by J.H. Nixon. Testimonies were offered by numerous spirit-persons by means of full-form visible materialization. A question was asked of visiting spirit-visitor, former Spiritualist minister, Ebenezer Vespasian Wilson (1818-1880): "What relation does woman bear to man in the spirit world?" "The relation woman bears to man in the spirit world is the law of affinity, and through this law you are brought together in love and harmony with each other. We endeavor to bring together those who are best adapted to each other, not only on earth, but in the spirit world… There is but one true marriage; and, when once formed, is never sundered. It is a natural and harmonious union: I want to say here that we have no 'free love'—that is, no promiscuity; promiscuous sensuality in the higher life is not advocated here, and belongs only to a low and sensual plane." Editor’s note: Wilson is compelled to directly deny “free love” because he and his fellow Spiritualist ministers were accused of promoting such, a threat to traditional marriage, it was said, by advocating rights of oppressed women in abusive and loveless unions. See on the Andrew Jackson Davis page a report of a conference promoting rights of women which the materialistic press pejoratively labeled as the “free lovers.”
Dr. Joseph Campbell's lecture on 'the troubadours' and the true marriage
the troubadours invented the modern concept of heart-to-heart, individualistic, soul-based, romantic love, without concern for church dogma, societal expectations, or property interests It is not by accident that "The Wedding Song" makes reference to the troubadours. The troubadours were the first in the West who thought of love the way we do now, as a person-to-person relationship. Amor is something personal that the troubadours recognized, but Eros and Agape are impersonal loves. (Agape loves all, the just and the unjust; and Eros is not so particular regarding with whom it sleeps.) The true marriage is based upon a personal love, that which springs from the soul's recognition of identity in the other. It is the love for one woman, one particular woman -- not romantic love in general. The greatest tragedy of the inauthentic marriage revolves about accepting or seeking for a mate who is not one's soul affinity.
MOYERS: Love is such a vast subject that – well, if I came to you and said, “Let’s talk about love,” where would you begin? CAMPBELL: I’d begin with the troubadours in the twelfth century. MOYERS: And who were they? CAMPBELL: The troubadours were the nobility of Provence [a region of SE France] and then later of other parts of France and Europe. In Germany they’re known as the Minnesingers, the singers of love – Minne is the medieval German word for love. MOYERS: Were they the poets of their age? CAMPBELL: They were poets of a certain character, yes. The period for the troubadours is the twelfth century. The whole troubadour tradition was extinguished in Provence in the so-called Albigensian Crusade of 1209, which was launched by Pope Innocent III, and which is regarded as one of the most monstrous crusades in the history of Europe. The troubadours became associated with the Manichean heresy of the Albigensians that was rampant at that time – though the Albigensian movement was really a protest against the corruption of the medieval clergy. So the troubadours and their transformation of love got mixed up with religious life in a very complicated way. Editor’s note: Innocent III was threatened by the rising popularity of a religious group called the Cathers. His mafia-solution was to exterminate them, by which sordid process the first Inquisition was initiated, along with the order of the Dominicans, defenders of the Catholic faith against heresy. It seems that the troubadours were “extinguished” as collateral damage of Innocent III’s brutal quest to eradicate something else.
MOYERS: The transformation of love? What do you mean? CAMPBELL: The troubadours were very much interested in the psychology of love. And they’re the first ones in the West who really thought of love the way we do now – as a person-to-person relationship. MOYERS: What had it been before that? CAMPBELL: Before that, love was simply Eros, the god who excites to sexual desire. This is not the experience of falling in love as the troubadours understood it. Eros is much more impersonal than falling in love. You see, people didn’t know about Amor. Amor is something personal that the troubadours recognized. Eros and Agape are impersonal loves.
Editor's note: The question will be asked, why is it that romantic love, in terms of the personal element, was unrecognized before this point in world history? True romance represents a higher order of consciousness and soul-development. It seems that by the twelfth century collective humankind had advanced enough to be able to perceive, in a beginning way, this elevated and spiritual view of romance.
MOYERS: Explain. CAMPBELL: Eros is a biological urge. It’s the zeal of the organs for each other. The personal factor doesn’t matter. MOYERS: And Agape? CAMPBELL: Agape is love thy neighbor as thyself – spiritual love. It doesn’t matter who the neighbor is. MOYERS: Now this is not passion as Eros mandates it, this [Agape] is compassion, I would think. CAMPBELL: Yes, it is compassion. It is a heart opening [an expansion of consciousness]. But it is not individuated as Amor is. MOYERS: Agape is a religious [that is, spiritual, not legalistic] impulse. the highest spiritual experience CAMPBELL: Yes, but Amor could become a religious [spiritual] impulse, too. The troubadours recognized Amor as the highest spiritual experience. You see, the experience of Eros is a kind of [glandular, merely animalistic] seizure. In India, the god of love is a big, vigorous youth with a bow and quiver of arrows. The names of the arrows are “Death-bringing Agony” and “Open Up” and so forth. Really, he just drives this thing into you so that it’s a total physiological, psychological explosion. Then the love, Agape, is a love of the neighbor as thyself. Again, it doesn’t matter who the person is. It is your neighbor, and you must have that kind of love. But with Amor we have a purely personal ideal. The kind of seizure that comes from the meeting of the eyes, as they say in the troubadour tradition, is a person-to-person experience. MOYERS: There’s a poem in one of your books about this meeting of the eyes: “So through the eyes love attains the heart…” CAMPBELL: That’s completely contrary to everything the Church stood for. It’s a personal, individual experience, and I think it’s the essential thing that’s great about the West and that makes it different from all other traditions I know.
Editor’s note: The Church, one of the collective-Ego institutions of the world, attempted to stamp out, minimize, or demonize, anything that it could not control. Churchmen sought to regulate marriage as it offers much power and control over the masses. People are never more free, never more likely to follow their own hearts, never more persuaded to spurn despotic government and dogma, than when they're in love; therefore, the Church, sensing this potential nest of rebellion, sought to legalistically define morality in terms favorable to its power-grasping ways. It is the individualism, the humanistic flight of the spirit, that all Dear Leaders truly hate and fear; because, How shall we keep them from wandering off the plantation once they realize who they really are?
MOYERS: So the courage to love became the courage to affirm one’s own experience against tradition – the tradition of the Church. Why was that important in the evolution of the West? CAMPBELL: It was important in that it gave the West this accent on the individual, that one should have faith in his experience and not simply mouth terms handed down to him by others. It stresses the validity of the individual’s experience of what humanity is, what life is, what values are, against the monolithic system. The monolithic system is a machine system: every machine works like every other machine that’s come out of the same shop. MOYERS: What did you mean when you wrote that the beginning of romantic love in the West was “libido over credo”? CAMPBELL: Well, the credo says “I believe,” and I believe not only in the laws, but I believe that these laws were instituted by God, and there’s no arguing with God. These laws are a heavy weight on me, and disobeying these is sin and has to do with my eternal character. MOYERS: That’s the credo? CAMPBELL: That’s the credo. You believe, and then you go to confession, and you run down through the list of sins, and count yourself against those, and instead of going into the priest and saying, “Bless me, father, for I have been great this week,” you meditate on the sins, and in meditating on the sins, then you really become a sinner in your life. It’s a [self-]condemnation, actually, of the will to life, that’s what the credo is. MOYERS: And libido? CAMPBELL: The [enlightened] libido is the impulse to life. It comes from the heart. MOYERS: And the heart is - CAMPBELL: The heart is the organ of opening up to somebody else. That’s the human quality as opposed to the animal qualities, which have to do with self-interest. MOYERS: So you’re talking about romantic love as opposed to lust, or passion, or a general religious sentiment? CAMPBELL: Yes. You know, the usual marriage in traditional cultures was arranged by the families. It wasn’t a person-to-person decision at all… In the Middle Ages, that was the kind of marriage that was sanctified by the Church. And so the troubadour idea of real person-to-person Amor was very dangerous. MOYERS: Because it was heresy? CAMPBELL: Not only heresy, it was adultery, what might be called spiritual adultery. Since the marriages were all arranged by society, the love that came from the meeting of the eyes was of a higher spiritual value. For example, in the Tristan romance, Isolde is engaged to marry King Mark. They have never seen each other… [But Tristan and Isolde are] overtaken with love. But they had already been in love, they just didn’t know it… The problem from the troubadour point of view is that King Mark and Isolde, who are to be married, are not really qualified for love. They have never seen each other. The true marriage is the marriage that springs from the recognition of identity in the other, and the physical union is simply the [venue] in which that is confirmed. It doesn’t start the other way around [sexual contact first, then spiritual recognition]… It starts from the spiritual impact of love – Amor. MOYERS: Christ spoke of “the adulterer at heart,” the violation of the union that takes place spiritually, in the mind and heart. CAMPBELL: And every marriage was such a violation when it was arranged by the society and not by the heart. That’s the sense of courtly love in the Middle Ages. It is in direct contradiction to the way of the Church [which was] justifying marriages that were simply political and social in their character. And so came this movement validating individual choice, what I call “following your bliss” … [Tristan is told that he will die for interfering with the marriage of King Mark] Tristan says, “If by my death, you mean this agony of love, that is my life. If by my death, you mean the punishment that we are to suffer if discovered, I accept that. And if by my death, you mean eternal punishment in the fires of hell, I accept that, too.” Now, that’s big stuff. MOYERS: Especially, for medieval Catholics, who believed in a literal hell. So what’s the significance of what Tristan was saying? CAMPBELL: What he is saying is that his love is bigger even than death and pain, than anything. This is the affirmation of the pain of life in a big way. MOYERS: And he would choose this pain of love now even though it might mean everlasting pain and damnation in hell. CAMPBELL: Any life career that you choose in following your bliss should be chosen with that sense – that nobody can frighten me off from this thing. And no matter what happens, this is the validation of my life and action. MOYERS: And in choosing love, too? CAMPBELL: In choosing love, too… [Romantic] love is the meaning of life – it is the high point of life. MOYERS: Is that what Wagner meant in his great opera on Tristan and Isolde, when he said, “In this world let me have my world, to be damned with it or to be saved”? CAMPBELL: Yes, that’s exactly what Tristan said. MOYERS: Meaning, I want my love, I want my life. CAMPBELL: This is my life, yes. And I’m willing to take any kind of pain for it. MOYERS: And this took a courage, didn’t it? CAMPBELL: Doesn’t it? even to think of it. MOYERS: “Doesn’t it” – you put it in the present tense. CAMPBELL: Yes. MOYERS: Even now? CAMPBELL: Yes. MOYERS: You have said that the point of all these pioneers in love is that they decided to be the author and means of their own self-fulfillment, that the realization of love is to be nature’s noblest work, and that they were going to take their wisdom from their own experience and not from dogma, politics, or any current concepts of social good. And is this the beginning of the romantic idea of the Western individual taking matters into his or her own hands? CAMPBELL: Absolutely. You can see examples in Oriental stories of this kind of thing, but it did not become a social system. It has now become the ideal of love in the Western world. MOYERS: Love from one’s own experience, taking one’s own experience as the source of wisdom? CAMPBELL: Yes, that’s the individual. The best part of the Western tradition has included a recognition of and respect for the individual as a living entity. The function of the society is to cultivate the individual. It is not the function of the individual to support society. MOYERS: But what happens to institutions – to universities, to corporations, to churches, to the political institutions of our society – if we all just run off and follow our love? Isn’t there a tension in this? Individual versus society? There has to be some legitimate point beyond which individual intuition, the individual libido, the individual desire, the individual love, the individual impulse to do what you want to do must be restrained – otherwise, you’d have tumult and anarchy, and no institution could survive.
Editor's note: At this point in the interview, Campbell asserts that some institutions -- meaning, the Great Despotic Church -- would serve us better if they did not survive: "There are some societies," he said, "that should not exist, you know."
MOYERS: Are you really saying that we should follow our bliss, follow our love, where it leads? ... The troubadours weren’t aiming, were they, to dissolve marriages or the world, nor was their aim carnal intercourse, lust, or even the quenching of the soul of God. You write, “Rather, they celebrated life directly in the experience of love as a refining, sublimating force, opening the heart to the sad bitter-sweet melody of being, through love, one’s own anguish and one’s own joy.” They weren’t trying to destroy things, were they? CAMPBELL: No, you see, motive of power [which was the motive of the Church] was not what was in them. It was the motive of personal experience and sublimation… The idea was to sublimate life into a spiritual plane of experiences. MOYERS: Love is right in front of me. Amor is the path directly before me, the eyes – CAMPBELL: - the meeting of the eyes, that idea. So through the eyes, love attains the heart: For the eyes are scouts of the heart. MOYERS: What was it that the troubadours learned about the psyche? We’ve heard about the psyche – Eros loved Psyche…
Editor’s note: “Psyche” is the Greek word for soul. In this Greek myth we are offered the hint of advancing human consciousness which elevated romantic love from mere Eros to that of loving another’s soul, one’s true person.
CAMPBELL: What they discovered was a certain individual aspect of it that cannot be talked about in purely general terms. The individual experience, the individual commitment to experience, the individual believing in his experience and living it – that is the main point here. MOYERS: So love is not love in general, it is love for that woman? CAMPBELL: For that one woman. That’s right… CAMPBELL: Marriage is recognition of a spiritual identity. If we live a proper life, if our minds are on the right qualities regarding the person of the opposite sex, we will find our proper male or female counterpart. But if we are distracted by certain sensuous interests, we'll marry the wrong person. By marrying the right person, we reconstruct the image of ... [Mother-Father] God, and that's what marriage is... I've been amazed at the number of my friends who in their forties or fifties go apart. They have had a perfectly decent life together with the child, but they interpreted their union in terms of their relationship through the child [not] their own personal relationship to each other. Marriage is a relationship. When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you're sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship... You're no longer one alone; your identity is in a relationship. Marriage is not a simple love affair, it's an ordeal, and the ordeal is the sacrifice of ego to a relationship in which two have become one."
the image of God is the joy shared by one particular woman for and with one particular man Editor's note: As Dr. Campbell used the phrase, "that one woman." This is the radical message of the troubadours – to love one woman only, one particular woman.
Editor’s note: (reprinted from above) Notice that, from a cosmic standpoint, Twins who inauthentically marry others are deemed to be "unfaithful soulmates," having engaged in "infidelity." Note, too, the phrase “crime against that love union” reminds us of Spirit Guide Margaret’s words, “sin against holy romance.” Twin Souls, in this “sin” or “crime,” violate not only each other’s right to each other but commit affront to their “One Person” status, that is, their sacred destiny, that for which Mother-Father God created them. That destiny will not let them go, as it will torment them, even for "centuries," until they've had enough suffering, decide to forgive each other, and make their way back to each other.
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