Many seekers of religious or spiritual release and support come to a religious group in hopes of having their soul touched by a divine or higher power. They are pilgrims on the journey of self-discovery and spiritual communion. They speak of the higher power with loving, reverential adjectives and passion.

This kind of submission to a higher power can often lead to an experience in which you feel your soul has been touched by the divine power of the universe. Depending on the religion, the result of having your soul touched will manifest differently. Some faint and dance and speak in strange languages, others whirl around in circles or shave their heads. Still others will take a vow of poverty and work exclusively on behalf of the needy.

Others will simply be able to face another day with more strength, courage and peace than they felt before. To experience this many times, you need a crisis or a "hitting bottom" experience, which allows you to surrender that which is not under your control to a higher power.

In a relationship, touching souls implies a profound and meaningful connection with another person. This can be interpreted as a divine manifestation or it can simply be thought of as the one person you communicate with the best.

A best friend, lover, or marriage partner can be thought to be your soulmate and to touch one's soul fully and deeply when the relationship feels as if their is an intense underlying connection that cannot be destroyed or explained fully by the intellect.

To touch souls with another, you need to know yourself as deeply as possible. This type of self-knowledge will enable you to be more fully accepting of another's love and more fully able to give love to another. By recognizing your own needs, limitations and desires, you will be more fully developed in your ability to connect with another at a deeper level.

Many of us find ourselves in tears at certain scenes in movies and in some cases even during television commercials. It would not be an overstatement to say that in these instances we're experiencing being touched or moved. Even in watching sporting events, you may be so emotionally and psychologically involved that it becomes a spiritual exercise, a way of connecting on a spiritual level.

Art, music, poetry, fiction, film, dance and drama all have the potential to reach us and touch our souls in ways that make us feel more completely ourselves and connect us with others or with higher ideals that can cause spontaneous emotional reactions. To connect with a work of art means that you are letting down your guard. Take time to open up, breathe deeply and suspend your judgment and your critical mind to experience this type of soul touching.