In our language we have the word “friend” and the word “soul mate.” But how would you describe someone who falls in between?

What would you call someone who is more than just a “best friend” but doesn’t have the romantic and sexual attraction of a “soul mate”?

It’s about time we create some new words to express these complex relationships. Here are a few words that will help to distinguish these deep connections we have in life. How many can you relate to?

1. Soul Friend

This is the most common type of relationship connection. Soul Friends are the people in our lives who we choose because our ego, intelligence and/or emotions are harmonious with the other person’s. Essentially, we share the same tastes, interests, beliefs, sense of humor and values.

2. Soul Teacher

Soul Teachers are composed of all the people in our lives who have come to teach us a lesson. Soul teachers don’t necessary teach us intentionally, but they do often provide us challenging situations to overcome and learn from.

Soul Teachers often come in the form of family members, friends, acquaintances, old lovers, momentary drifters and even enemies. We attract them into our lives because we need to learn something from them. For example, some Soul Teachers help you to cultivate patience for the guy who doesn’t signal before changing lanes, others help you to stop lusting over the “bad boys” who keep crossing your path, and still others help you to develop greater compassion and understanding for another person’s way of life and beliefs.

3. Soul Companion

This would come closest to what we commonly define as a “soul mate” with the exception of romantic attraction. Soul Companions can be males or females, friends or family members. While Soul Friends are bonded with us through similar personalities, Soul Companions are bonded with us through soulful connection. The nature of a Soul Companion is much more long-lived and stable than that of a Soul Friend for this reason.

Many times the relationships you develop with Soul Companions will feel as though you’ve known them for centuries or even from past lives. If you have a Soul Companion in your life, you will feel a deep understanding of the other person, as though you are both on the same “wave length” of thoughts and emotions. These connections often last for a lifetime.
Soul Companions share both attributes of Soul Friends and Soul Teachers in that they experience ego harmony with us. They also teach, help us to learn and grow without the friction of a Soul Teacher, as Soul Companions lovingly share with us the journey.

4. Soul Twin

The ancient Greeks believed that our souls were once whole and that the gods divided them into two different halves. It was said that once we found our other halves, we would become whole and complete again. That is the essence of the Soul Twin.

Finding our Soul Twin often feels like finding a piece of ourselves that was missing. Many describe the feeling as “returning home” or developing a greater sense of wholeness in the presence of the other person. Soul Twins share complementary and compatible life goals and their spiritual natures are often in sync with ours. If you have a Soul Twin, you will experience an immense level of comfort that cannot be experienced in any other relationship.

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In the end, it’s important to remember that none of these relationships are better or worse than the other; they each serve a purpose in our spiritual growth and healing.

There are many types of Soul Mates we will encounter during our lives. While some come to teach us something new, others come to share our joys. While some last for only a few months or years, others last for a lifetime.

When we are capable of seeing other souls as “mates” (including our enemies), as members of our family that are there to teach us life lessons, then our whole perception and relation to other people changes entirely.

Soul Mates serve as mirrors of who we are: what we see in another soul reflects our own soul. Remember this beautiful truth the next time you connect to or deflect a person in your life.

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Author: Don Mateo Sol 

Editor: Caroline Beaton

Photo: Google images for reuse/George Romney