Last summer, I was driving to work when I had a sudden vision of a man I feel a strong spiritual connection to. I believe we are soul mates though we have never had an opportunity to be together in this life. We are friendly acquaintances but do not see each other often. In any event, in my mind's eye I saw myself in a kitchen I didn't recognize, and heard knocking. I turned and saw my friend standing outside a screen door. He asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I agreed and went outside with him. During our walk, he told me he loved and admired me but we could not be together in this life because we each have separate major missions to accomplish, he as an artist and me as a mental health professional. As a result, we both need to be in relationships with people who will support us and help us reach these goals. (He has been in such a relationship for years.) This type of devotion was not something we could provide each other (particularly him to me). He went on to say that I would meet another soul mate soon and that this man would love me completely and encourage me to follow my dreams. (Strangely enough, I met my current boyfriend two months later, and he fits this description!) My friend wished me well and the vision ended. I know this friend frequently practices transcendental meditation. Did he send me this vision? If so, what was his intention? The information he provided about our connection was something I already accepted and was at peace with. I am curious to hear your take on this experience. Thanks so much!

-L.

Dear L.,

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the people we love and admire from afar could come to us and tell us everything that we want or need to hear? Then we could go on with our lives as if nothing had happened between us. This would enable us to avoid addressing the magical dreams/visions we have with the other person, and allow us to keep things the way they had been on the surface while we move on with our own individual paths.

I believe your vision was born out of the love that you feel for this man, and that he probably admires you as well. I know a lot about spiritual law and human nature, and while it's not impossible, it's improbable that this person sent you that vision. For someone else to come into your subconscious that way, they would have to be a Guide, Angel or Deity.

Perhaps one of your Guides came to you in that vision and impersonated that person so that you would be able to get on with your life and move in a completely different direction without any regrets. Our Guides and Angels often appear to us in our visions as other people, places or things to show us what will happen in the new beginnings that are coming our way.

We all have free will, and there are spiritual laws that prevent other people from taking over our minds and pushing themselves into our inner worlds. It's possible that you'd been wondering about the strong connection you feel to this man, and your own mind created this vision for you. When you went for a mental walk with your friend, you
heard all the things you needed to hear from your own subconscious mind.

If you were attached to being with this person prior to this experience, this vision helped you release your need to be with him and allowed you to move on with your life. It encouraged you to go in a different direction with a new boyfriend whose goals and dreams are in harmony with yours.

Regardless of the source of this vision, by releasing your need to be with this person, your life has been enriched. Now you'll be able to let this new relationship blossom into what you've always wanted.

Realize that this was a choice that YOU made, not some mystical thing that happened because someone else willed it to be. Your own mind and spirit is stronger within you than anyone else's ever could be. I'm glad you've found someone wonderful and that you're able to build a life together in a way that really works for you both.

Susyn responds:

Dear L.,

Based on the nature of the messages you received during this vision, you can be almost certain that your friend was visiting you in spirit either through transcendental meditation or astral projection. There were specific sentiments and information he wanted you to consciously know even though you were already aware of them in your heart.

Though you had already accepted that you were destined to take different paths in life, his visit via this vision was very important to both of you. He wanted you to know that he shared your feelings. He also wanted to make sure you understood the reasons you could not be together in this lifetime, though both of you had hopes for a different outcome. He felt that sharing these messages with you would bring peace and acceptance to the situation.

One of the greatest challenges we face is the higher awareness that we have shared loving relationships in other lifetimes that cannot be repeated in our current incarnation. However, I sense that in past lives as well as this lifetime, you were separated by various circumstances. The kitchen you saw yourself in during the vision suggested to me a war-time past life. It may have been that in that lifetime, he was called to duty and did not return.

It's highly likely that you have a pattern in your past lives of having great feelings for one another and being unable to express them. If you are willing to do some past life research with a professional psychic, you could discover more than one lifetime in which you had this sort of experience.

The beauty of this relationship is how you two are able to connect on a spiritual level, if not a physical one. He sent you messages of comfort, love and support, and now you can also do the same.

The best way to do this is to write him a letter, sharing any thoughts and loving sentiments you would like to send his way. Then, during a guided meditation in which you focus on him, you can burn the letter with the flame of a white candle. Burning the letter will send it out into the atmosphere where he can receive it. This may happen when he is meditating, dreaming, or having a vision similar to yours.

When we remember that our spirits connect us more deeply than any physical or emotional interactions we might share, and that this type of connection endures through lifetimes, it's easier to accept the human limitations we are destined to operate under during certain phases of our journeys through time.