For me a soulmate is your dream friend/partner. It's your ideal fantasy with all the trimmings included. You connect physically, emotionally and mentally and in this day and age it's hard to find. So if you get somone who meets this criteria hold on tight whether it be your mum, dad, friend or of course LOVER
They do exist, as Einstein so beautifully described. My husband is my soulmate and we both knew instantly and married soon after meeting, over eleven years ago.
Soulmates can also be friends (of either sex), family members or even pets.
I have always believed that, by definition, a soul mate is somene withwom your relationship is platonic. My soul mate was my first proper girlfriend, the first girl i ever kissed. That was thirty-one years ago, and apart from a short(ish) gap, we've remained close ever since. She is the keeper of my secrets - everyone should have someone to keep their secrets.
There are two types of soul mates. The technical type means you have to accept reincarnation as they are others who have agreed before you were born to help you in this life and maybe more. There is no element of love or friendship at all.
The other sort is the common usage, and is often pure luck if you ever come across them (ie no limit on numbers). Mine (in the sense of similarity) could well be Jon Tickle from Big Brother, a true meeting of minds, though he has no awareness of my existence. I may be an only child but if I had a brother, it could well be him.
Its the person who when you think of them, you dont think about sex with them, but if you died without being with them then you would have felt your life unlived.