A heart connection is a universal kind of love, which we can experience with anyone we feel open to, even a passing stranger. Yet is does not account for the special attraction we feel toward certain individuals with whom we sense a deep, un-nameable resonance. This is the sign of another type of affinity, which we might call a soul connection.
Two kinds of deep affinity are essential for a conscious relationship. The first is a heart connection – that quality of pure, open presence, being to being—which we experience most vividly when we are in love. A reliable indicator of a heart connection is the sense of warmth and nourishing fullness that we feel in another person’s
presence.
A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other’s individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level. This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy. It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials. While a heart connection lets us appreciate those we love just as they are, a soul connection opens up a further dimension—seeing and loving them for who they could be, and for who we could become under their influence. This means recognizing that we both have an important part to play in helping each other become more fully who we are.
Someone who loves us can often see our soul potential more clearly than we can ourselves. When this happens, it has a catalytic effect; it invites and encourages dormant, undeveloped parts of us to come forth and find expression. Indeed, we are often most strongly attracted to those who we sense “will make us live—and die—most intensely…Sister souls recognize each other,” as the French writer Suzanne Lilar points out. A soul connection not only inspires us to expand, but also forces us to confront whatever stands in the way of that expansion.
