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CHAPTER IX

Soulmates, Children, Animals

Soulmates

Most Spiritualist writers agree with Peebles (1909) that earthly marriages are for time, but soulmates are for eternity. Very few on earth find the right mate, and it may take a long time to find one's counterpart even in the spirit world. Marriage in the spirit world is for the purpose of intellectual and spiritual companionship and social interblending. There is no physical desire or contact because there is no need for procreation.

Leonard (1927) explains that two separate individuals were one before they decided to come to earth, and they will become one again, but usually after they leave the earth plane. Reuniting may take centuries in the spirit world. The perfect being has two constitutent parts, male and female, and Randall (1917) says this is not common in earthly life. All in the spirit life marry sooner or later, at which time they progress together to remain in balance.

Very few are truly married until they get to the spirit world and locate their other self or counterpart. It is the soul that marries, not the body. Peebles (1909) describes the reunited soulmates as one glorified sphere of light, but individual attributes are discernible. A reunited spirit can separate and appear as two separate individuals; there is a blending of two minds into one. Randall (1917) assures us that we will know our mates with absolute certainty, that there are no mismated couples in spirit life.

Spirits filled with mutual love can not really be separated, but they can be on different planes of development (Moses, 1949). If this happens, one is instructed and helped to grow. Loving bonds provide an incentive to mutual development, and the two help each other until progress is equal and they are one in thought and feeling. Union is forever with the soulmate. Hare (1855) says there is a greater blending of mutual love in the spirit world marriage than that of any other friendship.

Opinions vary on marriage ceremonies. Some maintain there is no ceremony, others say it can be simple and the couple can just declare their intention to friends, and still others mention that a union can be celebrated with whatever is wanted, even a festival.

Crowell (1879) answers the question of whether we meet our mates on earth in the spirit world by saying that if we are not properly mated on earth, there is no reunion. If there is spiritual affinity, families will be reunited, but if there is no attraction family members will be indifferent to each other.

Children

There are no children in the lower spheres because they have nothing to repent. Infants go directly to a higher sphere where they are cared for and instructed by relatives or those who were childless on earth. No baby lacks mothering; they are surrounded by those who love them. If children are in a higher sphere, they are allowed to visit their parents in a lower one.

Children grow more rapidly physically, mentally, and spiritually in the spirit world. They need education and training to make up for the experience and knowledge they would have obtained in earth life. The natural bent of the child's mind is followed in education (Longley, 1908). What is lost in knowledge by passing early is made up for by not misusing opportunities and retarding progress. There are a lot of children in the spirit world, and many of them are trained as workers to help others.

Animals and Pets

No animals exist in the lower spheres, but they are found in the higher ones. There is some disagreement about whether they are actual objective existences or subjective images. Herbine (1919) states that all flowers and animals, including birds and fish, communicate. Crowell's (1879) sources say that animals are more intelligent and understand each other better than on earth. The only ones mentioned are horses, dogs, cows, deer, rabbits, domestic fowl and birds.

Tuttle (1900) feels that it is not esthetic to think that the spirits of all animal, insect and fish life will be in the spirit world. Others agree that animals do not survive the dissolution of material bodies, although they main retain their individuality for a brief period after leaving the body. They are then merged into a vast realm of elemental spirits.

Animals that have enough mental activity to gain a hold on spiritual vibrations have a place in the spirit state, so pets may be found in the spirit world (Longley, 1908). Some pets can retain their identity by the will of a spirit who can give it component spiritual elements. DeKoven (1920) believes that anything that is evolved enough to possess a semblance of a soul has a counterpart in the spirit world. A spirit can create anything that is wanted for happiness by desire, so earthly pets may be there until their purpose is served. Peebles (1902) goes on to say that there is no organic growth, or animal or vegetable life, in higher spiritual existences, but that can be the result of the immediate action of mind upon the atmosphere.

Conclusion

The early Spiritualist writers and mediums agree that each person does have a counterpart, a true soulmate. It is rare, however, for those on earth to find their mate, and may be difficult in the spirit world; however, we will know when it happens. There is also agreement that children go directly to a higher sphere, and they are provided with nuturing, education and training to make up for the experience they would have obtained on earth. Animals and pets are in the spirit world, but there is no consensus on which ones, and how long they remain. Most believe that if an individual has a spiritual connection with a pet, then that is enough for that pet to be found in the spirit world.

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