If you're looking for your soulmate or your twin flame, then you probably pay close attention to any extra interest or resonance you feel when you meet certain people. Twin flame signs can be very similar to soulmate signs, so it's important to pay attention to the differences, which are subtle but unique.

What is a twin flame? While a soulmate can be many people in your life, your twin flame is the person who shares a piece of your soul. So the stages of twin flame love can be significantly different than all other types of love — including soulmate love.

Four main characteristics make twin flame relationships distinct from all other types of relationships — including soulmate bonding.

After exploring each of these qualities, you’ll understand why the attraction between twin flames is so powerful. And you’ll be able to use this understanding to your benefit.

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Here are 4 tiny signs you've found your twin flame:

1. Twin flame relationships are magnetic, meaning they can both attract and repel

A twin flame connection can occur as an inexplicable, positive pull that you feel toward someone. This attraction could take the form of instant chemistry or a strange sense of familiarity.

Maybe it’s an overwhelming feeling of curiosity about this person and a desire to get to know them better.

But just as often, these powerful relationships begin with a genuine feeling of discomfort or even revulsion.

Hate is not the opposite of love, and revulsion is not the opposite of attraction. Both are magnetic forces that act upon you in powerful and often unconscious ways.

But one thing you’ll never feel with a twin flame is indifference. Whether you are magnetized to them by how much you love them or hate them, they get your attention.

Think about the mentor who pokes and prods you to the next level of mastery in your field. Or the family member who refuses to buy into your limiting story and demands greatness from you instead.

Oftentimes, those who frustrate, antagonize, or exasperate you are also twin flames. Something about them causes unrest within you. And surrendering to the evolution they trigger within you is the only way to regain your balance.

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2. Twin flame relationships awaken your latent potential and unrealized possibility

Whether you view them as an enemy or ally, your twin flame will awaken something deep within you. Perhaps being with them alerts you to aspects of yourself that you’ve previously repressed or denied.

Or maybe this person embodies a particular quality that your soul is ready to express.

But it’s not just that you admire this person’s qualities. Their positive qualities awaken you to a possibility of who and how you can be that you’ve never seen before.

Your twin flame holds a piece of your future — that’s why you’re so attracted to them. Acknowledge this and accept the information as a gift.

3. Twin flame relationships are divinely inspired, not personality or ego-driven

Ego-driven relationships are built primarily around external circumstances: You choose partners because of their physical stature or financial status.

And you look for conditions in others about which you can have a good-feeling response. In these relationships, both partners tend to favor the status quo, and individual differences are seen as threatening.

If one-half of a couple begins to focus on his or her individual growth, the relationship may start to unwind.

In contrast, most twin soul relationships may erode your "ego-personality," but will inspire your spiritual growth.

A twin flame will act as a catalyst for your spiritual growth — and you to theirs. Chances are your relationship will be tumultuous at times as you navigate your shared and individual journeys.

Remember that your first responsibility is to find harmony, peace, and alignment within yourself. And if taking your path of least resistance results in a temporary or long-term uncoupling, have faith in this process.

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4. Twin flame relationships may break apart and come back together many, many times

This is the kind of relationship that just won’t go away but keeps resurfacing in new forms over time. This is because as you evolve, you find more points of dissonance between you and the connection diminishes. But as you continue to evolve together, you eventually find more points of harmony as well.

As a result, those with a twin-flame connection may split apart and come back together many times. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s usually not the result of game-playing or manipulation.

You break apart because you aren’t yet ready for the growth that your togetherness would demand. It’s true spiritual ambivalence.

A part of you is ready for the challenge, and a part of you is terrified by it.

When conflicts arise, time alone provides an opportunity to reassess what’s important to you in partnership. If your relationship feels too painful to continue, it may be a sign to release some old emotional baggage.

Whether you run away or they do, know that the separation isn't personal. It doesn’t mean the relationship is over; it just means there's more growing to do.

Surrender to the ebb and flow of this relationship. Know that it is always leading you in the direction of your growth. It is your readiness for or resistance to that growth that will determine how joyful or miserable the ride is.

RELATED: 8 Types Of Soul Connections Explained

Christy Whitman is an energy healer, transformational leader, celebrity coach, and New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Having It All: A Woman’s Guide to Unlimited Abundance.

This article was originally published at Christy Whitman's website. Reprinted with permission from the author.