A
human life is a series of experiences. When we have little awareness of our
predicament, experiences feed our attachments and condition our desire for more
experiences. Our perspective changes when we begin to sense, even momentarily,
the unity of all things and our identity with the Self.
- Ram Dass (Be Love Now)
The
word and concept “soul” has so many meanings and variations that things can go
the wrong way quickly when we mention it.
Do we “have” a soul? When we ask
this way then “soul” might seem to be some kind o abstract metaphysical
mumbo-jumbo. Certainly this was the way
I tried to understand it as a kid growing up in the Catholic Church. What is this “soul” that I am presumed to “have”
and can lose? I was worried more about
losing my toys. Such was my Catholic “education.” Still the patter of the priests made me
uneasy. It wasn’t until my teens when I
began to deviate into the “Hindu” scriptures that I got a clue as to what my “soul”
might really be.
And
actually the Church had it kind of right but was teaching it very badly. “Soul” is not something that we have but the
deepest essence of who we are. Many,
many years later this was pointed out by Chagdud Rinpoche on a retreat. Someone asked about “soul” and he replied
that the Buddhist perspective does have a concept of soul but that it is not
something that can ever be lost or gained.
On our most immediate level we are soul-beings. We are, in Yogic language, purushas – the Divine
Indwellers. Pure awareness is our home
and our essence. Everything else is just
phenomenal appearance.
Don’t
get upset. Don’t think that you have to
remove yourself from everything and everybody.
Instead we can appreciate the unfolding reality as it is – with love and
understanding. We are souls who are
beyond the conditions of time and space.
At the same time we seem to love to play in this theatre. And why not?
Compassion is the central resonating, identifying and stabilizing aspect
of our soul-beings. “Love is all and
love is Everything,” thus spake the Beatles.
The individual soul can consist of memories of past and present life experiences and our ability to consciously connect with the collective soul of life through feeling and communion with others of like mind through the principle of like attracting like. This can be through harmony or conflict, love, devotion or hate. We begin to realise the impact of our thoughts, feelings and actions on our self and others and the 'Karmic' repercussions of the the 'seeds' of sown actions and thoughts because every life form and being is connected and related to the source of life and being. This becomes gradually more apparent in the next dimension of existence in the so called 'Astral' realm. In this state of existence we feel the full impact and implications of our thoughts and feeling and desires. We gradually begin to realise what is short lived and subject to change (the transient) and what is unchanging and constant. We also gradually attune to the greater relationship of life in the light of love and understanding and greater more complete affinity to the whole of life and being one with all creation and creator. We can start this process before we leave this demanding realm of life incarnated in dense form by learning to create a more balanced state of body, mind and feelings via various 'spiritual' practices that lead to more complete understanding and insight of the relationship of life of form, thought and feeling. Then we gradually begin to wake from 'The sleep of ages' and remember why we came to this school of incarnated Earth life and experience. Our intuition becomes more alive, and love, understanding and compassion flows and is more abundant as we reach out to life and relate more consciously with the whole relationship of life and being. Then we realise that there are many (psychological) 'deaths' to work through to die to our conditioned ignorance of the whole relationship of life. With each death there is more sense of joy, abundance, love and freedom of being at one with all life without narrow discrimination or bias to any aspect of life. This creates a blissful state of being and others in their ignorance may perceive one as a fool intoxicated with the nectar of life. Are you ready to die to the old conditioned ways of living and existing?
ReplyDeletePaul Sanyasi wrote the comment above regarding the nature of the soul and ways to be more attuned to of the whole relationship of life.
ReplyDeleteI have a page on Google+ and also Face Book linked to my name : Paul Sanyasi
Thanks for interesting thoughts and reflections. I will be return soon for more 'food for thought' cause "Man and woman cannot live by bread alone"
Thank you for your comments! Wow, a lot there to digest. The ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls, as did the Upanishads. As we go deeper into our own beings we shed our identification with each until we reach the central atman. The soul is the witness and the one who experiences. We have to resort to the witness awareness first - this is the connection to the whole. Judgements based on ego-identification are based in attachment and dualistic thought. Pure Being is who we are and it is a fire which burns away all false conceptions.
ReplyDeleteThe soul is a silent witness to all our actions, thoughts and feelings. In the next dimension of existence we can relive all this existential experience, if we so wish, and learn from this encounter to progress deeper in harmony with the source of our being.
ReplyDeleteThere is the notion of 29 mansions or degrees of soul awakening, symbolised by the moon and it's progression in our birth chart pattern. The moon indicates our sensitivity, feelings, habits patterns, need for security and nurturing and how we are able to nurture others also,and create empathy and rapport with others.
Soul music is regarded as emotional music with feeling of expression.
The personality is a mask of the soul (persona)hiding our true identity and relationship with the source of our being. Sometimes, the mask of personality acts as a defence against sensitive and emotionally insecure feelings.
The ego (I, Me sense) of identity is a psychological construct of cultural and social conditioning and reinforcement.It can give rise to feeling superior or inferior to others. This is a delusion that prevents us from realising our true connection with the source of our being. As we 'work through the layers of our conditioning, and die to old attachments, negative habits, and self limiting illusions, we begin to feel more free from the ego limitations and narrow self interest. With more freedom comes more responsibility as awareness increases of our need to nurture self and others and serve the spirit of life with joy and gratitude with an increased sense of sustainable abundance, giving and receiving the 'breath' of life the source of our being one with all creation and Creator. Gradually, we begin to let go of that which is not really necessary to our well being. To be able to differentiate the non essential from the essence of being. Like a Phoenix rising from the 'fire' of transformation as out worn ideas and notions dissipate and are replaced by a renewed sense of true identity of being, we are able to take flight into the realms of light and ever sustaining love, soul to soul transcending in never ending blissfulness.
It's great to be home! although we never really were any where else except sleeping and dreaming: to be or not to be awake to the source of our being one with all that is.