Ah…the question many of us in the dating world constantly ask ourselves. How many dates must we go on before we meet a person with whom the connection is instant and the attraction overwhelming. Could we be sitting across from our soulmate when such a date does happen?
While writing Saturn Return, I decided to actually do some research into soulmates to see if what I believed existed really did.
When I read, Many Lives, Many Masters, by Dr. Brian Weiss, I was blown away. Dr. Weiss is chairman emeritus of psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. Obviously, no flake. Here is the review of the book on Amazon.com:
Psychiatry and metaphysics blend together in this fascinating book based on a true case history. Dr. Weiss, who was once firmly entrenched in a clinical approach to psychiatry, finds himself reluctantly drawn into past-life therapy when a hypnotized client suddenly reveals details of her previous lives. During one hypnosis session his client introduces the spirit guides who have been her soul therapists in between lives. This is when the story really takes off for Weiss, who discovers that these guides have specific messages about his dead son as well as Weiss's mission in life. No, we cannot verify the truth of this story using the limited scientific tools we have available. However, it is hard to dispute that this well-respected graduate of Columbia University and Yale Medical School has discovered a personal truth that has led him to be an enormously popular speaker, author, and leader in the field of past-life therapy
While I always had a hunch that soulmates existed, reading Many Lives, Many Masters, convinced me.
Before delving into my soulmate experience, first, let me state for the millionth time, that I am not the character Adam in this book. We do share some characteristics and a few of his dating disasters were experienced by me (write about what you know). That being said, the first part of the prologue where Adam meets Zoe at a Jewish youth convention (USY Twin Cities Conclave Feb. 1982, if you’re keeping score), is pretty much the way I discovered that soulmates had to exist. Of course, at 15, I wasn’t so into thinking about soulmates. I mean, there was a gorgeous girl who was into me. I was like a small child who tries frosting for the first time.
Before I met my Zoe that weekend, I didn’t have much experience with girls, romantic feelings, etc. I was still sending girls notes in class asking “Will you go out with me?”, then giving them three choices to check: yes, no or maybe (I now know that “maybe” means, “No, but I don’t have the guts to tell you”). So, on this one weekend I meet the first girl I was really crazy about. The problem with experiencing such a connection at 15 is that I sort of assumed every time I’d meet a girl I’d have that incredible feeling. You know the one: where you can’t think about anything else. Where your life seems perfect all of the sudden. And, where the sight of the other person makes you happier than you can ever remember being.
As I learned (and I’m sure that you already know), someone like Zoe doesn’t waltz into your life every day. I’ve also learned that timing can dictate whether you and your soulmate can end up together.
Luckily, I believe that there isn’t just one soulmate out there for each of us, but several, at least. Good luck finding them, but they’re there.
In my case we were both 15 and lived in different cities. What made this different than some kind of puppy love (that I’m sure all you skeptics are calling it) is that we still have the same connection we had in 1982. My Zoe and I did see each other on and off for a few years (mostly in the summers when we worked at camp), but eventually drifted apart. She got married ,I went off to law school, and life just happened. We almost always call or email each other on our birthdays. Sometimes that is the only time we communicate during the year. But, it’s when we speak on the phone that everything I believe about soulmates is proved true. It can be years in between phone calls, but each time we speak it’s as though we had just talked a few days before, as if no time has passed at all We both have some innate understanding of each other, that I can’t explain. In March of 2005, we talked on my birthday. My Zoe had gone through a pretty bad divorce. We talked about how we felt about each other and both admitted to each other for the first time that yes, we were soulmates and that even though it happened at 15, it was still real.
My Zoe came to town for business in August of 2005 and we spent the day together. We hadn’t seen each other in 10 years, but again it was like no time passed at all. We talked about our deepest feelings about each other, where our lives were going – the kind of things you’d only talk about with those closest to you. Being with my Zoe that night reminded me that yes, it really does exist. That incredible feeling that only the right person can make you feel. No, we didn’t end up together. But, under different circumstances, things would have been different.
If you want some real proof read Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss. It explains why people like my Zoe and I have that amazing connection.
Now if you want to read an excellent novel about soulmates, please buy Saturn Return.
