by Faiza Ahmad

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

A long time ago all humans were combined of four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but the gods grew jealous of the bond between them. So the great god Zeus, king of all the gods, sent down lightening bolts and split everyone in two, condemning them to spend the rest of eternity in search of their other half to complete them. In his Symposium, Plato gives a beautiful rendition of how soul mates came to be, but the question still remains. Is there actually such a thing as soul mates? That special someone that we dream of finding that will complete us. Do we really have another half?

Some skeptics agree that the term soul mate, and the concept of us having another half, is a mythical propaganda story made up in order to feed the romantic soul. Perhaps they are right, but according to some whom believe in reincarnation, everyone most definitely has a soul mate, someone they've shared other lifetimes with. The proponents of reincarnation believe that a soul mate does not have to come in the form of a lover; they can be a friend, parent, sibling, or business partner, of the same or opposite sex. What is certain is that they are someone who one has a deep feeling of compatibility with another whether it is through friendship, love, intimacy, or sexuality. But how do we find them?

Some will go so far as to turn to astrology, numerology, palm readings, personality types, and magic just to insure that they find their soul mate. Hollywood has cashed in on the concept of soul mates with such films as the 1987 motion picture Made In Heaven where Mike Shea (Timothy Hutton) and Annie Packert (Kelly McGillis) marry in heaven only to be separated when Kelly is reborn leaving Timothy searching high-and-low for her. A more romantic version of the topic can be seen in the 1980 motion picture, Somewhere in Time, where Chicago playwright, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeves), is captured by a stunning picture of a 1912 actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour). Through hypnosis he wills himself back through time in order to find her. A more modern, and darker, version of this concept can be seen in the 1998 motion picture What Dreams May Come where Chris Nielson (Robin Williams) finds his soul mate Annie (Annabella Sciorra) only to loose her when he dies in a car accident. Unable to face reality, Annie takes her own life and Chris begins a desperate search for his beloved that takes him to the deepest most horrible pits of hell.

The question still remains: when do you

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