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winreyplace---
Disclaimer: I want to preface this by saying that I am not trying to deny anyone's experiences or invalidate different interpretations. I fully accept, support, and believe individuals about their soulbonding, whatever it may be. The following is more about the revisionism I've seen around what soulbonding is, what it originally meant, and how it's been used in the community since then.
For some years now, this post has been simmering inside of me, and I think it's finally time to let it loose. I've noticed that every time I go looking for resources and community around soulbonding on Tumblr, Discord, etc., there has been a heavy emphasis on soulbonding being a spiritual/metaphysical experience, which is not entirely the full picture. The fact is, there are multiple ways to approach soulbonding, and one such perspective is that of thoughtforms. Thoughtforms are psychological constructs that become real, autonomous, living entities through the power of creative imagination, conscious or subconscious intent, and the thoughts, feelings, and knowledge of the host. This type of soulbonding is the kind Mel and I practice, yet it is often overlooked and overshadowed within the modern remnants of the soulbonding community.
The exclusive focus on soulbonding as a spiritual phenomenon is not only revisionist of its original history, but it also may be excluding people who are already soulbonders (in a thoughtform way) and just don't know it or who would jump at the chance to love, connect with, and understand a character until they are alive. If we bring back the broadened definition of soulbonding that includes all experiences and perspectives, we have the potential to help the soulbonding community survive and thrive with a new crowd of selfshippers, creatives, immersive daydreamers, neurodivergents, and more!
The concept of soulbonding, though coined by Amanda Flowers in the Just for Writers mailing list, is a phenomenon which has long existed for writers and lovers of fiction: that fictional characters—when created, written about, and understood until the level of affinity—will often take on a mind of their own, "coming to life" inside the individual's head, and start interacting with them in a more direct capacity.
One study from the early 2000s referred to it as "The Illusion of Independent Agency" According to the study, 92% of the 219 participants reported that their fictional characters displayed varying levels of independence or autonomy in the author's mind, often without the conscious effort of the author. Another study conducted in 2014 surveyed 1,500 readers of fiction, with 19% of them mentioning experiencing the voices and personalities of characters staying in their minds long after finishing their stories. A quick search on the topic of "characters coming to life" shows writers and roleplayers, both of fanfiction and original fiction, sharing their experiences of characters seemingly telling their own stories or becoming "real" in their minds. Renowned authors such as Phillip Pullman, Cornelia Funke, the TERF who shall not be named, and so many more have also discussed their characters speaking to them or taking on a mind of their own as they write about them.
Regardless of when spiritual soulbonding first got introduced, we psychological soulbonders have always been a part of this community from the beginning (arguably, we were the beginning), and we deserve to have our perspectives and ties to this community, this framework, this terminology, respected as much as any other kind of soulbonder. Please, if you discuss soulbonding, keep in mind the origins of this concept and strive to be inclusive of all interpretations and explanations. Clarify where you can that what you are writing is just your personal experience/interpretation, one of the many within this unique phenomenon.
To any spiritual soulbonders out there, I want to assure you that your experiences are real and valid, just as viewing them as thoughtforms is real and valid. If that idea—of "soulbond" meaning both spiritual/metaphysical and thoughtform—distresses you, it may be worth considering whether a different label with a more narrow definition that aligns with your interpretation might be a better fit. Whether a soulbond is a fictional character "come to life" or "an external entity traveling across the universe like spirits", what truly defines their realness and validity is the impact they have on our lives, how much they care for us, and how deeply we feel for them, not their point of origin.
