“The choice of souls was in most cases based on their own experience of a previous life... Knowledge easily acquired is that which the enduing self had in an earlier life, so that it flows back easily.”
― Plato
When you meet someone you shared a past life with, you just know. The synchronicities are undeniable, and what seems like absurd coincidences are actually divine, orchestrated experiences that were outlined by the universe. Similar interests, coinciding actions, mirrored passions and purposes. Those are some things you may experience with twin flames. Likewise, it isn't uncommon for most of the closest people in your life to be souls that have reincarnated with you in multiple lifetimes. Most of all, you feel drawn to them. Driven by an undeniable, inexhaustible tie- an invisible string. When I met my life partner, before I even got to know him deeply, I felt drawn to him on a cosmic level. I had this unexplainable feeling that he would change the direction of my entire life for the better. And when we communed- it turned out to be the only healthy relationship I had ever experienced. Just like that, the trajectory of my life shifted. That's what it's like when you meet a soulmate, twin flame, or karmic tie that has been entwined with you in past lives. Oddly enough- when we got to know each other more we learned that we were complete opposites in most regards. Although we held the same values, he was logical, and I was creative. He was drawn to dark tones, and I was vibrant. He was passive and I was emotional. We were quite literally yin and yang. In my perspective, twin flames take many shapes within the people you connect with- with similar purposes and interests. Soulmates however are romantic ties that make you a better person, a complimentary soul who has been entwined with you in every lifetime, someone you were fated to be with, who leaves an irreplicable imprint on your life, in every life.
“ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἡ φύσις δίχα ἐτμήθη, ποθοῦν ἕκαστον τὸ ἥμισυ τὸ αὑτοῦ συνῄει… - So, when their natural form was cut in two, each half, longing for its counterpart, would come together…”
— Plato, Symposium 191a
Karmic ties on the other hand are fated disasters, they are in your lives to teach you the lessons of your past lives that haunt you in this current life. They exist to either deliver the karma that has built up from your past incarnations, OR they are negative representations of the archetypes and lessons you need to overcome in this life to break the cycle in every life after this one.
My point is that when you meet the people who have been with you in previous incarnations, you just know something about them is different. Your connection is jaw-dropping and life-altering, whether it be good or bad.
“Maybe love at first sight isn’t what we think it is. Maybe it’s recognizing a soul we loved in a past life and falling in love with them again.”
― Kamand Kojouri