Soul Mating: A Review of the Book by Jon D. Harrison

Soul Mating is a book about finding your soul mate, but not in the way you would normally think. It is a book about how to pursue an eclectic, but authentic path of self-discovery. It is both a personal account of Jon D. Harrison's spiritual journey and it is a rough guide as to how you can embark on your own path.

Soul mating is about directly engaging with the spiritual realm that exists within each person. Harrison relates his journey as it existed before and after meeting a teacher whom he calls Ayame (the Japanese word for iris). This spiritual realm opened up a broader inner consciousness and makes healing possible for Harrison on emotional, physical and spiritual levels.

Harrison gives this statement as the book's purpose: "..I envisioned the main purpose of this work as helping you find your own injuries and turn them into lessons to free you from guilt and self-denial, it also gives insights in dealing with relationships as well." He gives books, meditation methods and experiences has has had in surmounting his own injuries and open his heart. Some of these resources are given below as examples.

Putting the process of soul mating into words is nigh impossible, because it involves personal experience. It is not an intellectual process. It is rather a process of feeling, sensing energy and connecting with one's self in a way that is quite unusual for most people. It is a process of letting go of attachments and confronting inner demons. It is energy work.

Harrison discusses some of his methods in detail in this book. He likens "soul mating" with connecting with your heart. Connecting with that energy requires letting go of the mind. Energy connections are not only made with the heart energy, or the middle dantien as it is know as in Taoism. Cultivating and collecting energy in the lower dantien also is part of the process. Qigong exercises and mediation methods facilitate this connect with the whole energy grid of the body and spirit.

The author recommends attunements via Reiki treatments to assist one in healing and opening up spiritually. It is seen by Harrison as the fastest route. Another path that one can take is by the practice of Taoist qigong (Ch'i Kung) meditation methods. Meditation methods from Buddhism also assist in the path (see below). The Bhagavad-Gita also provides vital references to internal energy work via the practice of Yoga. Also referenced by Harrison is a book on the secrets of Taoist Immortals, shown in the Amazon section below.

Each person will differ in what path he or she will take on their journey. A lot of it has to do with quieting the mind so you can hear your soul mate. And, Harrison encourages each person to seek their own path of spiritual realization of their internal soul mate. There are many different roads.

The author had the benefit of the assistance of his teacher Ayame for 22 years. Ayame used methods drawn from yogic, Buddhist and Southern Taoist qigong practices without using the terms. Not all of us will have the possibility of having a such a talented, realized teacher, but if you do, consider yourself fortunate. But as the saying goes, if you are ready, the teacher will appear.

The Tara chant is a method that Harrison has found particular helpful for opening the heart and moving energy. It implores the Buddhist deity Kuan Yin to be at the center of your being. The chant goes as follows:

"Kuan Yin, please be the center of my hear, the outer edge of my universe and all that lies between."

"....the energy of the second soul is safe and exists entirely for the sake of love."

"We want the one we share our life with to be the one. There is one fatal flaw in this wish: Your true soul mate is you. If you discover this fact and absorb it, you will find loving the woman or man of your life less difficult, less intense and more filled with peace than you had ever hoped."

"Creating a loving relationship with you and creating a loving relationship with another person is the same act."

"Self-love, then, becomes something far broader than any teaching allowed in the Christian Church or most other religions. It transcends simple self-respect. It allows you to begin to feel this higher form of you, you also begin to feel the connection you have with the Whole. Narcissistic love disappears."

"Quan Yin I also see as the ZPEF (Zero Point Energy Field), and therefore is everything, including you and I, and it is absolute loving compassion."

The book that follows behind this work is called "Soul Mating with Your Sacred Twin." Its theme is about sharing your united energies with a partner as a means of enhancing intimacy. Harrison cautions that the methods given in this book are not like those given in Mantak Chia's qigong teachings, they do not involve sexual practices.