Who is SOUL?
October 19th 2010 09:56
I was recently listening to Australian author, Hugh MacKay, who describes himself as a social researcher, on the radio, talking about his latest book: ‘What Makes Us Tick’. He has spoken with and listened to many people talking about their hopes, frustrations, fears, dreams, disappointments and beliefs. One reviewer claims: “Mackay’s conclusions go to the heart of some of life’s big questions.”
Mackay has devised a set of core needs which are very interesting, and which seem perhaps to go a further step beyond Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs set out in his 1943 paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. Maslow had a pyramid structure of 5 basic needs, a hierarchy that puts self actualization at the top and he claimed that until we have all the other needs below this met, this cannot be realised. Lower needs include having basic physiological needs for food and safety met, as well as belonging and being loved.
Mackay has a list of 10. His latest book considers what he has heard from people and puts humanity into a social context where the author tries to explain why human beings do, say and act in ways that may conflict with what they may purport to believe. In the book he examines why people may seem rational in what they say and then behave irrationally. He looks at the need to remain in control of our lives. The complexities of desiring change while seemingly trying to avoid it are explored. He also looks at the concept of falling in love and out of it, sporting obsessions and religions. It would be a good read if you are into this kind thing.
These are all very interesting and I can see how looking at human beings in a social / psychological way can lead to analyses of human behaviour and ‘rational’ conclusions being met.
In 2006, two researchers from Princeton University, economist Alan Krueger and psychologist Daniel Kahneman, said they had found that wealthier people were just as likely to become unhappy with their lives as poor people. They said it is an illusion to assume that money and the relative security that goes with it brings you happiness.
They wrote: “People with above-average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities.''
Further, their findings suggested: "Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.'' This is a quote worth serious consideration don't you think.
There are many rags to riches stories of people who began life in an impoverished state and who, through determination, endeavour, stubbornness, strong self belief and sometimes, a bit of good luck, have become successful and rich. This seems to negate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory doesn’t it? But we all know that for every rule there is a challenge to it.
If anyone wants to, they can research huge amounts of sociological data about human behaviour, social interaction, statistics about marriage, love, divorce, achievements, failures and on it goes. In my thinking, to categorise and box humanity into neat packages of type and behaviour limits us. We are so much more than a body and a mind and while sociology can examine and see patterns in human behaviours, it is equally, if not more, important to take into consideration the other element, that of the spiritual being who is far greater than anything the human mind can imagine or quantify.
The title of this blog is ‘Who is SOUL?’ It is deliberate not to write what is Soul. In ancient Greek times, the philosopher Plato saw Soul as the true essence of a person, the being that decides how we behave. This essence was incorporeal and eternal. As the body died, the Soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. Saying ‘what’ in reference to such a being would simply be wrong.
Throughout history, there have been many views of SOUL. St. Thomas Aquinas believed the Soul to be the most important aspect of the body but it was definitely not corporeal. It could exist without the body and could not be destroyed.
In the 18th century, Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) saw the Soul as the "I" in humanity and that it was not possible to prove nor to disprove inner experiences. "We cannot prove ... the immateriality of the soul, but rather only so much: that all properties and actions of the soul cannot be cognized from materiality."
Contemporary psychology is usually seen as the study of mental processes and behaviour. However, the word psychology means study of the soul. A much admired contemporary psychologist, James Hillman, described what he called the “acorn theory” of the soul in his book published in 1997: ‘The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling’. His writing indicates that each individual person retains the potential for unique possibilities inside themselves, similar to a seed holding the pattern to develop into a full grown plant, the acorn becomes the oak tree. This unique, particular energy of the soul may be displayed throughout one’s lifetime, and when it is actualized, shown in a person’s calling and life's work.
Of course, the concept of SOUL as understood in religious communities and societies is seen in similar ways to the above. In Judaism, God gives a Soul to the body when it takes its first breath after being born. Christianity holds a similar tenet, coming from the ‘Bible’, but there is no clear certainty whether Soul enters the body as a foetus or immediately after birth. The concept of sin teaches believers that punishment of varying sorts may await you in the afterlife, depending on how good or bad your life was. Since Christianity is devolved into a number of branches, there are accordingly varying beliefs about what happens after death. But they all agree that Soul does continue after the body dies.
Eckankar defines SOUL as the true self; the inner, most sacred part of each person. Eckists believe that each person is SOUL, a different perspective from a person having a Soul. SOUL exists before birth and after death of the physical body, and chooses to return to another body to complete specific tasks and fulfill karmic obligations. Soul can perceive much that is beyond the mind and emotions and is the creative center of its own world. Over time, through spiritual exercises called contemplations and through other spiritual disciplines, students of Eckankar can become skilled in experiencing the perspective of Soul while still in the physical body.
In Islam, the Ruh is a spiritual body; it possesses the Qalb (Spiritual Heart) consisting of emotions and conscious. The spiritual body resides in blood and heart. After death, a person’s spirit leaves the body and enters an intermediate state known as Barzakh, a parallel universe which humans in the physical world cannot imagine. Here, the spirit will rest until the Judgment Day. The person is either rewarded by going to heaven if they have followed Allah's commands or punished if they have disobeyed Him.
While all the three major schools of Hindu philosophy agree that the Atman or individual Self is related to the Supreme Self of the Universe, they do not totally agree in the nature of this relationship. The individual Self is involved in the process of becoming and transmigrating through cycles of birth and death because of ignorance of its own true nature. The spiritual path follows a process in which one acquires the knowledge of the Self and through meditation and realization one then returns to the Source which is Brahman.
There are other religions and belief systems that define their version of SOUL and what may happen after death, whether it is reincarnation, direct route to a heaven, punishment of some form, or a limbo where Souls wander lost and alone. What is common to most is that there is more to us than a physical body. That there are different names and titles may seem confusing but to me, it is more important to look beyond tenets, dogma or credo and home in on similarities in basic teachings and beliefs.
Who is SOUL? You are; I am; we all are. I may follow a different set of basic spiritual principles to many of those above, but I still respect the right of everyone to make their own choices. I strongly believe in the right to spiritual freedom. From William Shakespeare’s Shylock to Martin Luther King, many great orators have expounded the fact that no matter the colour of one’s skin or the religious belief, all human beings bleed the same colour. Taking a higher viewpoint, all human beings are SOUL and thus all come from the same basic divine principal.
The modern prophet, Harold Klemp, wrote in a small book of inspirational wisdom called ‘Touching the Face of God’:
“We are interested in Soul, each one of us. But as we get this understanding, as we become greater in our own unfoldment and move towards the God Consciousness, we also develop many other traits, and compassion is one of them.”
Mackay has devised a set of core needs which are very interesting, and which seem perhaps to go a further step beyond Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs set out in his 1943 paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. Maslow had a pyramid structure of 5 basic needs, a hierarchy that puts self actualization at the top and he claimed that until we have all the other needs below this met, this cannot be realised. Lower needs include having basic physiological needs for food and safety met, as well as belonging and being loved.
Mackay has a list of 10. His latest book considers what he has heard from people and puts humanity into a social context where the author tries to explain why human beings do, say and act in ways that may conflict with what they may purport to believe. In the book he examines why people may seem rational in what they say and then behave irrationally. He looks at the need to remain in control of our lives. The complexities of desiring change while seemingly trying to avoid it are explored. He also looks at the concept of falling in love and out of it, sporting obsessions and religions. It would be a good read if you are into this kind thing.
These are all very interesting and I can see how looking at human beings in a social / psychological way can lead to analyses of human behaviour and ‘rational’ conclusions being met.
In 2006, two researchers from Princeton University, economist Alan Krueger and psychologist Daniel Kahneman, said they had found that wealthier people were just as likely to become unhappy with their lives as poor people. They said it is an illusion to assume that money and the relative security that goes with it brings you happiness.
They wrote: “People with above-average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities.''
Further, their findings suggested: "Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.'' This is a quote worth serious consideration don't you think.
There are many rags to riches stories of people who began life in an impoverished state and who, through determination, endeavour, stubbornness, strong self belief and sometimes, a bit of good luck, have become successful and rich. This seems to negate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory doesn’t it? But we all know that for every rule there is a challenge to it.
If anyone wants to, they can research huge amounts of sociological data about human behaviour, social interaction, statistics about marriage, love, divorce, achievements, failures and on it goes. In my thinking, to categorise and box humanity into neat packages of type and behaviour limits us. We are so much more than a body and a mind and while sociology can examine and see patterns in human behaviours, it is equally, if not more, important to take into consideration the other element, that of the spiritual being who is far greater than anything the human mind can imagine or quantify.
The title of this blog is ‘Who is SOUL?’ It is deliberate not to write what is Soul. In ancient Greek times, the philosopher Plato saw Soul as the true essence of a person, the being that decides how we behave. This essence was incorporeal and eternal. As the body died, the Soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. Saying ‘what’ in reference to such a being would simply be wrong.
Throughout history, there have been many views of SOUL. St. Thomas Aquinas believed the Soul to be the most important aspect of the body but it was definitely not corporeal. It could exist without the body and could not be destroyed.
In the 18th century, Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) saw the Soul as the "I" in humanity and that it was not possible to prove nor to disprove inner experiences. "We cannot prove ... the immateriality of the soul, but rather only so much: that all properties and actions of the soul cannot be cognized from materiality."
Contemporary psychology is usually seen as the study of mental processes and behaviour. However, the word psychology means study of the soul. A much admired contemporary psychologist, James Hillman, described what he called the “acorn theory” of the soul in his book published in 1997: ‘The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling’. His writing indicates that each individual person retains the potential for unique possibilities inside themselves, similar to a seed holding the pattern to develop into a full grown plant, the acorn becomes the oak tree. This unique, particular energy of the soul may be displayed throughout one’s lifetime, and when it is actualized, shown in a person’s calling and life's work.
Of course, the concept of SOUL as understood in religious communities and societies is seen in similar ways to the above. In Judaism, God gives a Soul to the body when it takes its first breath after being born. Christianity holds a similar tenet, coming from the ‘Bible’, but there is no clear certainty whether Soul enters the body as a foetus or immediately after birth. The concept of sin teaches believers that punishment of varying sorts may await you in the afterlife, depending on how good or bad your life was. Since Christianity is devolved into a number of branches, there are accordingly varying beliefs about what happens after death. But they all agree that Soul does continue after the body dies.
Eckankar defines SOUL as the true self; the inner, most sacred part of each person. Eckists believe that each person is SOUL, a different perspective from a person having a Soul. SOUL exists before birth and after death of the physical body, and chooses to return to another body to complete specific tasks and fulfill karmic obligations. Soul can perceive much that is beyond the mind and emotions and is the creative center of its own world. Over time, through spiritual exercises called contemplations and through other spiritual disciplines, students of Eckankar can become skilled in experiencing the perspective of Soul while still in the physical body.
In Islam, the Ruh is a spiritual body; it possesses the Qalb (Spiritual Heart) consisting of emotions and conscious. The spiritual body resides in blood and heart. After death, a person’s spirit leaves the body and enters an intermediate state known as Barzakh, a parallel universe which humans in the physical world cannot imagine. Here, the spirit will rest until the Judgment Day. The person is either rewarded by going to heaven if they have followed Allah's commands or punished if they have disobeyed Him.
While all the three major schools of Hindu philosophy agree that the Atman or individual Self is related to the Supreme Self of the Universe, they do not totally agree in the nature of this relationship. The individual Self is involved in the process of becoming and transmigrating through cycles of birth and death because of ignorance of its own true nature. The spiritual path follows a process in which one acquires the knowledge of the Self and through meditation and realization one then returns to the Source which is Brahman.
There are other religions and belief systems that define their version of SOUL and what may happen after death, whether it is reincarnation, direct route to a heaven, punishment of some form, or a limbo where Souls wander lost and alone. What is common to most is that there is more to us than a physical body. That there are different names and titles may seem confusing but to me, it is more important to look beyond tenets, dogma or credo and home in on similarities in basic teachings and beliefs.
Who is SOUL? You are; I am; we all are. I may follow a different set of basic spiritual principles to many of those above, but I still respect the right of everyone to make their own choices. I strongly believe in the right to spiritual freedom. From William Shakespeare’s Shylock to Martin Luther King, many great orators have expounded the fact that no matter the colour of one’s skin or the religious belief, all human beings bleed the same colour. Taking a higher viewpoint, all human beings are SOUL and thus all come from the same basic divine principal.
The modern prophet, Harold Klemp, wrote in a small book of inspirational wisdom called ‘Touching the Face of God’:
“We are interested in Soul, each one of us. But as we get this understanding, as we become greater in our own unfoldment and move towards the God Consciousness, we also develop many other traits, and compassion is one of them.”
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Comment by Anonymous
I remember seeing my body lying on the bed (as mentioned, very much alive) and feeling no real connection to it at all. The 'outside' state I was in was much more like the real me and I could travel freely. I sat on the roof of my house and looked towards a beautiful city with golden buildings, and I just wanted to go there but knew the time was not right then to do so (I have since experienced travel to such cities). So yes, for me, I can say I AM SOUL.
I have also read the book you mention: Touching the Face of God, and found it very inspirational.