Soul Groups...

When you meet a person who is a soul relation, let the connection be what it is. It may be five minutes, five days, five years, or a lifetime. Let it manifest itself the way it is meant to. It has an organic destiny. This way, if it stays, or if it leaves, you will be made softer for having been met this authentically – Author UnknownI chose to use this quote today to honor a group of old soul friends that the Universe has returned to my life after a lengthy time of absence. One of these soul friends, David, I have written about a few different times- I met him at a Funeral Industry trade show nearly twenty years ago and we have meandered around a working friendship for two decades… We have never quite managed to pull the odds and ends of our professional selves together, but in the last week we have once again started holding our vocational worlds end to end to see what (if anything) might match up and blend together. ( ...And yes the backstory to our meeting is just as fascinating/creepy/awkward and haunting as it sounds … I mean the trade show, NOT him!!)In addition to David emerging onto the landscape of my world this week, I have also had a very happy collision with an amazing group of women who ferried my two oldest children through their middle school years a decade and a half ago- and as of Monday they will begin to ferry our caboose through this same life stage. (Being the mother of three, there have been plenty of teachers that have wafted through our academic experiences, but this small handful of women…they are different…. They touched my soul back then (and touched my belly too, because I was preggers with Ajay while Sutter and Laney were in their classes.)So…this handful of humans…. Collected through death related trade shows and the vagaries of middle school - all popped into my world together this week… and I loved the congruency of this. It may seem random and unrelated on the outside- but in my world there is an undeniable sense of  ‘Organic Destiny’ at work- Yep, I am having a moment, so to speak, experiencing my own little cosmic cocktail party with a few of my Soul Group Peeps!The phrase ‘Soul Group’ is not commonly used by many, while the term ‘soul mate’ seems to get tossed around an awful lot these days- and the phrase is typically accompanied by the notion that there exists a singular ‘be all- end all’ romantic partner for each of us. Such a flimsy and limiting notion- and one with which, I respectfully disagree.I have always been very attracted to the concept that we travel in ‘Soul Groups’ – a notion I first learned about in my early 20’s when I began reading the esoteric writings of people like Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) and Alice Bailey (1880 -1949.) The 'Soul Group' theory in its simplest form, just extends the soul mate notion from a singular entity into a larger group context.I stumbled into these dated and quite deep teachings because I was trying to make sense of the relationships I was experiencing with some of my dying clients. Working with those at the end of life is deep work and there are often heart connections that form- but with certain clients, what I experienced went far beyond simple empathy and compassion. I remained in observer mode to these inexplicable types of connections- until one day- my belief in them was cemented by a client named Lance, who I wrote about in my book ‘Halfway Across the River.’As Lance stood on the precipice of his own death, he shared with me that he could clearly see that he and I were part of the same soul family- and that our meeting at the end of his life, was anything but random. It was necessary for both of us, for his growth, and mine. I only knew him for 6 weeks- but he left an indelible mark upon my belief system and imparted a wisdom in me that I still rely on today.Today’s quote speaks this same kind of wisdom- nudging us to see the ‘players’ in our lives with a broader vision; urging us to understand that some of the most important people we ever meet, might wear very peculiar disguises and pass in and out of our world in mere hours.It is not just the family members, the lovers, the children, or the besties who belong in this etheric family system- it can also be the newspaper delivery guy, the next door neighbor, or even the archenemy. We cannot always measure the depth of our connection to someone by the shortsighted variables that the outside world keeps track of. When someone in our soul group crosses our path- something deep inside of us will stir. We may not understand it, and we may not be able to articulate it, but  if we are awake at all, we will feel it in a way that is undeniable.Today’s quote is a great reminder that while we sit at the edge of that pond called 'Organic Destiny' and fish around for the meaning in our life experiences, that we have to be mindful- like master angler’s keeping a finger on the line while awaiting a bite. Remember that when a soul connection bubbles to the surface it can be anything from a little nibble on the line to the full on whizzzzz of a ‘gut hook’- one of those gulps that goes down in the Universe- leaving no doubt that we have just taken the bait on a cosmic transaction.Soul connections are complicated- they can leave us nourished, or they can drag us into the depths. But whether gentle or cruel, these interactions with 'soul mates' don't happen by accident....they are simply the natural consequence of casting our lives across that big old pond called ‘Organic Destiny.’