Twin flame

One of the last books I read was probably about some of the inspiration for the twin flame idea. I also like stories, as @attic mentioned about herself and concepts like this.

It's called The Forest of Enchantment and it's about Sita and Rama. If you don't know, they are Hindu gods and goddesses that are also consorts/mates of each other, and so they reincarnated many lifetimes, and found each other as they are each the other half of each other. (that's my poor understanding, as I'm not Hindu and not that knowledgeable about it)

@Antiparticle you might like it if you like fiction--though Sita's life was a very difficult one, as one of the incarnations of Lakshmi.

There is also the concept of fate though, maybe--or destiny. I guess my idea falls a little closer to what @Ms. Aligned said, in that I don't want to view physical reality as the enemy or conflicting with the intangible. So I think that, instead of stories of tragedy, there should be an aspect of things working out. I do not know about past or future lifetimes, only this one. And so I feel that anything that is so elevated, should also be in harmony with this lifetime as well.

So I wouldn't want to see someone who didn't work out as my "twin flame", but rather the concept of the soul mate also works in this life in my life--in a very real and concrete way. And I feel like that fuzzy concept I have is closest to some kind of "fate" or "destiny" in a more Western sense, as if it's just magically the perfect time for something--no other explanations necessarily...something outside of my control. Perhaps along with the idea of the fates spinning out a wheel of thread--it just happens to be fated for my life that I have a perfect loving relationship or else not.

And whether it is good depends on whether it is good for this world also--the people living in this world, because we can make it a better place.

But that is also what the story about Sitta And Rama is about, because they both make the world a better place by being in it together--so there's a lot I don't understand about Eastern philosophy and religions as well as western. So idk just some random thoughts

since people are talking about their mystical views and oneness,

I do feel connected to all of life, but I wouldn't be able to fathom that type of connection, as it is simply too much at once. It is already painful to experience the suffering of the world (or to imagine it) and someone who did that all the time would likely have a lot of trouble coping.

Buddhist monks just devote their lives to causing less suffering and generally accepting that they are connected but they do not always have to have their attention on that experience of other living beings in the world.

Look at people who "Feel too much" and now imagine what it would be like to feel everything that everyone is feeling all at once--they would be in immense pain and likely have experienced ego-death, be unable to tell what was going on in their own life etc. Perhaps this is why some Buddhist paths focus so much on meditation and peace of mind, because compassion and empathy (and understanding our interconnectedness) is such a central part in some.

Basically, we are all drops of water in an ocean--the ocean is actually where our souls are from, but we are separate entities trying to realize something.

My personal belief is that we are the universe evolving and trying to understand itself. That is why we have individual identities--because we are in the process of unfolding and creating and manifesting possibilities as part of the universe constantly birthing itself and evolving as well.

However, I also believe in romance and interconnection--I don't think that's been explored enough and it may be because most major religions in the world (including Buddhism) are a bit patriarchal.

There is a missing peace between the tangible and the intangible...it's not a conflict--it's perhaps that moment of creativity...um yeah, I think I'd have to think about this part more.

Interconnectedness...

But it requires an ego to understand that I am different than you, and therefore I can learn from you or the two of us can create something new (similar to how evolution works in sexual reproduction)

We no longer clone ourselves like the first organisms probably did. We are not invested in finding and creating new complexities together, diversity, and realizing all the different paths that life can take.

Antiparticle said:

I also think very similar to this, in lower and higher levels of consciousness. Human minds are constantly evolving, consciousness can’t stay on the same level, always has to expand further.

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I have issues with concepts of heirarchy, and while it makes sense in evolution that creatures evolve...I think it's important to acknowledge that even with biological evolution, they are evolving to environmental pressures usually--to fit harmoniously into a universe...or something. Basically, they need to find some kind of balance between their internal needs and the external environment.

So there's no real "lower or higher" evolution--it's all based on what is needed.

If a butterfly evolves to be white because the treese are white in that area, it's not "more" evolved from when it was green, back when it had to blend in with green treese. And if it evolved back into green again, it also wouldn't really be higher or lower evolved.

So it's one issue I have with the idea of reincarnation and the idea that there are higher and lower life forms.

I wonder about Native American mythology, which often featured other animals and plants as equals to the people--or sometimes as gods. So this idea that humans are fitting in to a larger system, that does feature other creatures--but there was no need to call the creatures lower or higher.

That being said, there's a lot about Hinduism and Buddhism I admire. I just am also really interested in stuff like Shintoism and find that agrees with me more for some reason--as little as I know of Shintoism. Or animism.

Like I really like the idea of the Kintsugi--of sealing up a broken piece of pottery with gold, thus making it more materially valuable than it was before it broke. I think we would tend to think of a non-living object as being a lower level of consciousness...and I don't know whether there are shinto roots in this practice of kintsugi, but I like the idea of not bothering about where you are in the heirarchy or justifying things with heirarchy, but spending more time appreciating and valuing others around us.

Even a fly is more evolved than us when it comes to buzzing around and landing on rotten fruit. If I was expected to fly around and drink rotten fruit I would probably totally fail, because I'm simply not evolved for that--I'm way too big and I don't have wings, and I get addicted to alcohol easily. But those fruit flies do it like pros!

So I think that's another slight discomfort I have with some of the dogma around reincarnation--while it does make sense, I prefer to learn from other creatures rather than have to hold myself and humanity above them? Obviously we do look after our own best interests, and I'm not a vegan so I can't pretend I act as if other species are somehow the same species as me. I do survive in this world. But I don't like the idea of having to justify that survival by putting other species down. I just do so because the nature of my body, not because I am really superior to other creatures.

Antiparticle said:

Hierarchy in a way I mentioned it is only “wrong” if you attach negative terms such as superiority, instead of responsibility or protection of other life forms. I agree that in many ways this is not a real hierarchy, e.g. bees are more important ingredient for the ecosystem. Bees have swarm intelligence and their own communication, it’s a different type of “collective consciousness”.

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Yes--and we know so little about animal consciousness as well as plant and fungal consciousness!

That is one thing that stories and myths about animals might teach us--that we can learn from them if we aren't looking at ourselves as superior.

Like fungal mycelium is often compared to the way the internet works--as a way of communicating information.

I think that Taoism would use a lot of natural metaphors? And then I think of um...Kung Fu which developed from Shaolin temples? I'm super ignorant about this so take it all with a grain of salt. I mean, I learned this from Kung Fu Panda.

Dragon: Exercises to cultivate spirit, flexibility, and graceful movements. The dragon is a mythical animal associated with courage and energy. Dragon exercises stress this animal’s flowing spirit.

Tiger: Exercises to strengthen the bones. Read more about the Tiger and Crane in kung fu.

Crane: Exercises to strengthen the sinews and promote vitality. The crane style stresses balance and fast foot movements. Read more about the kung fu crane technique.

Leopard: Exercises for developing strength, power and speed. Read more on the kung fu leopard style.

Snake: Exercises to cultivate Chi, correct breathing to strengthen internal power and to strike an opponent’s vulnerable areas.

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But when we stop looking down at others for being inferior, we can learn from them.

I also think that's one of the bigger strengths of empathy as well--because empathy does allow us a window of education and understanding that nothing can teach in a dry textbook way. We immediately gain some insight from others--from the lack of understanding we have about them and their life. We are humbled by our own ignorance, and we are able to benefit from learning something new, even if it's from a bee or a worm, which others might think below humans.

So yeah, totally agree--and it also seems like empathy is almost conflicting with this idea of heirarchy--and that empathy can be a source of knowledge and information, and that can help us evolve and develop as individuals as well as to evolve disciplines like kung fu or other philosophies that use nature and other species as a source of inspiration and as a teacher?

but I'm super ignorant about this and IDK anything about kung fu and I usually don't spend a lot of time reading philosophy or anything mystical.

ENTJudgement said:

So once you have advanced spiritually, you’re taken out of the reincarnation cycle and become a God or something, how is that soul then replenished? Do all new fetasus also create a new soul once sentient? How are new souls created under this system of recycling souls?

Lastly since you don’t remember your past life, how are you supposed to continue progressing your soul? It’s like I went to school, my memory was erased, now I’m back at first grade again.

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Ok--playing devils advocate here:

Once you advanced spiritually you ARE taken out of the reincarnation cycle in some religions. Then you become enlightened--however, people who are enlightened are still compassionate about the other beings who are trapped in this cycle, and so they come back to earth as Bodhisattva who help others reach enlightenment. Kwan Yin is an example.

I don't know where the souls reside--but the twin flame idea actually offers an explanation for how new souls are created, if your soul splits apart and then it's now inhabiting two different bodies after you die--you become two people. This could happen over and over again, but I don't know if anyone believes this--but it could work with the twin flame idea, and explain why there are twin flames.

It's possible there is another dimension in which the souls all are part of a pool, and then say when a body develops on earth, someone ladles out a drop of soul and puts it in the body--then when the body dies, the soul returns to this giant pool again, and is ladled out into a new body. Or it could be solid (which I guess one soul/one identity seems more like) and then the rock could be cracked apart to make multiple different souls...though not sure about combining them. I guess the idea of marriage could be a uniting of two souls, like gluing two rocks together, and then in the next life they could inhabit one body (I've heard of this in some religious beliefs).

Plato had an idea (I think) that all of knowledge is actually recollecting--we basically just remember things we knew from back when we were in some other dimension of ideal, perfect beings. Otherwise, we could just have a feeling.

This is all a mix of inaccuracies because I barely remember, and speculation--but all of these questions could make sense with the idea of reincarnation and twin flames.

Red Panda said:

Yea you might have but I meant you didn't come to the thought "we're soulmates" at the time when you were experiencing it, right? That's why I mentioned that F can create a whole worldview out of those feelings especially when they feel meaningful and existential (prob related to F+N more than S), coz in my experience with myself and other people I know this tends to happen to F dom+auxs a lot more easily (not exclusively tho). Usually goes something like "this intense feeling/experience feels so meaningful like the universe coming together it is something greater, etcetc" so voila the idea that we've always known each other and been together in some way beyond this lifetime.

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I relate to this a lot. Which is one reason I'm hesitant to embrace these ideas as truth--because it's basically how I feel every time I get a crush/fall in love/get infatuated with someone.

I've experienced this feeling so many times, and I've also had others experience it with me (friends as well) that I don't feel like entertaining this type of worldview after I find out it doesn't work. Otherwise I could spend my whole life in unrequited love with another person, or trying to make a relationship fit with someone who doesn't belong with me.

I'm more interested in it all falling together perfectly IN THIS LIFE as the litmus test for soulmates.

Not to say anything about people who enjoy a good tragedy--but I FEEL TOO DEEPLY or too much to enjoy a tragedy or want to participate in that in this life. My entire life might be like a tragedy in some ways, but my love life will not be defined by that. Soulmate will have to rise to the occasion of this life and make the love a beautiful thing that works, or I'm not going to consider it soulmate. So it hasn't happened yet and while I may be interconnected with everone on earth, I haven't met the proper soulmate yet. I'm fine with people wnating to ejaculate tears while watching the notebook--but that's not my idea of true love in this life, and neither is some kind of romeo and juliette teenage infatuation. It's just too important to me and I've got thin skin. Go find some other girl/woman to be your tear jerk off sesh. Everyone gets to write their own stories though. But I'm sticking to mine for now.