I’ve added yet another running series “Q/A” to my blog. It’s…well…about answering questions I get through the internets and sharing those answers with others as they may help others feel inspired and more connected to the God they are.
Question: What does it mean to have a soul?
I personally don’t use the word “soul”, but what it attempts to mean is the non-physical counterpart that is a part of the wholeness that is “we”, the oneness of all things.
What “soul” points to comprises a boundary-less component of all of us. It is that “oneness” new-agers casually reference. I prefer “Broader Perspective” in describing the place from which we all emerge from and return to.
Even “emerge from and return to” distorts what really happens. No separation exists between us here in physical reality and that broader part of us remaining in non-physical reality. So we don’t emerge or return. Instead, we shift perspectives from one to the other. And that shift happens constantly.
Distortions abound…oh my!
Besides, when some people use “soul”, it automatically conjures a “belief constellation”. And that constellation of beliefs includes other words, values, meanings, judgements and conclusions. All of these distort one’s understanding.
Here are other words conveying distorted understanding:
- God
- The devil
- Heaven
- Hell
- Salvation
- Damnation
- Sin
- Forgiveness
- Separation
- Subservience
- Less than (God)
- Deservedness
- Undeservedness
- The need to earn love/acceptance
- The failure to ean love/acceptance
- Worthiness
- Unworthiness
- Right
- Wrong
- Good
- Bad
- Evil
- Holy
- Possession
- Ownership
- Losing the soul
- Selling the soul
All these concepts offer distortions. And all these distortions start with the world “soul”.
That’s why I don’t use the word “Soul”.
Don’t distort what is
Most words listed represent distorted human beliefs layered over All That Is’ purity. They don’t belong in conversations about All That Is because they give wrong impressions about All That Is.
That’s why I say “soul” usually muddies the conversation. Two people rarely hold similar frames of reference. Especially regarding “soul”. Because of that, “soul” frustrates understanding more than it illuminates.
I also know people use words like these as expedients. After all, many find difficult talking about nonphysical. Probably because verbal descriptions fall short in describing All That Is magnificence.
And maybe that’s a clue. Maybe, instead of talking about it, we could just experience it in silence and let it be within us all.