I love the new name and About page, which I look forward to reading thoroughly.
I also love this essay and the questions it calls us to consider. At the recent burial of my parents ashes my cousin asked me if I would be sad that they are so far away from me (they were interred about 10 hours from where I live) and I replied "No, because they are everywhere". Between every atom in our body, and every other thing in existence, there is space. A lot of space. I believe this, in part, is where our soul lies. The other part of where it is cannot be explained.
This is a bad answer🤣 for a question I love but I am dashing off to work and wanted to respond. I look forward to dropping back into the comments later.
Raised in the western world and immersed in western philosophy and religion, I believed the soul was separate. Like the Teilhard quote, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." A beautiful quote but there is a sense of separation in it. What if the last line was changed to, “A spiritual being having human experiences.” Even still, it separates the human body and the soul. I agree with you Jenna, there is no separation between the material and the spiritual. Comes back to the liminal and the mandorla for me. The place of unification. As you said, “There is no soulless part of anything.”
I love this, Julie, and I feel the same way! I had been thinking that this idea of one nonphysical soul per person came about with monotheism. But I'm deeply into a fascinating book called "Jewish Views of the Afterlife" by Simcha Raphael (you and I may have talked about this already) and have learned that it's not quite so black and white. It might even be something that evolved more out of christianity.
Love the new name, Jenna! It really resonates with me.
I'm totally with you on this one... for me the Soul is an everywhere phenomenon. This is a fun philosophical question, because it brings in questions of duality and paradox. Are soul and Spirit the same? Is there only one great Spirit that appears to be in different forms, or are there separate souls? Fun ideas to play with!
Thank you, Allysha! 🤗💖 You and I are such kindred...well, I was going to say "souls" but then stopped as a million questions about the word ran through my mind. Lol. You and I are such kindred tapestries. I'm right there with you in pondering and playing with all of those questions.
Nice recap of the philosophers and a great little essay. Thank you for it! Fwiw. It’s a kind of “everything is everything” view -- if I may put it that way -- that puts me in mind of Walter Russells revelations. I am currently, slowly, getting through his “Secret of Light” (are you familiar with it?) and it seems to also present a profound case for a unity of the physical and spiritual “soul” within a thorough scientific and spiritual metaphysics. (All my words, not his).
Cool! I started reading it online at archive.org and got so excited that I stopped and then ordered a hard-copy. Whether he is "right" about everything, who knows? But it sure seems he's more right than wrong, at least, and that's a great place to be. Enjoy -- you'll probably finish it before I do.
And that's before one runs into the Ancient Egyptians and their division of the soul into five...
After experiencing someone's death, its hard for me to see the soul in terms other than that animating, connecting energy without which there's simply dead, inert matter.
I agree, Gabriel, the body is not the same after death, after the animating force is gone. Lately, I've been thinking in terms of the very tiny, the building blocks, the elements, and how each of these particles is alive and has consciousness and is a soul. I've been holding an image of these building blocks, along with other parts of the soul, weaving together to form a living being for a bit of time, and then unweaving when that being's life is done. And then I wonder if all of one element is a single being in many forms. Like, is all water one, conscious being that is continually changing forms? Is the great soul of carbon having all these different experiences? When I think about the really tiny, atomic level beings, I find myself wondering just how inert are these "dead" things really? Thank you so much for leading this inquiry, Gabriel! I love wondering with you!
Love the rebranding, think it well captures the entirety of your vibe here 🫡
As to the Koa ('soul'), I think it is the energy which animates the Temporal vessel we call the 'body,' thus saturates every fiber of the physical form we inhabit. Humble opinion, natch ☺️
Thanks, Stone! ❤️ I'm SO glad you brought up your experience of the Koa. I remember falling in love with your idea of giving this entity/energy/essence a name, a term other than soul or spirit, etc. All those terms are so fraught with confusion and misunderstanding. Thank you so much for reminding me of this!
Hi Steven! 🤗 For sure, the story doesn't begin with the Greeks. I've been slowly making my way through a fascinating book called "Jewish Views of the Afterlife" by Simcha Raphael and it's made me so curious about the ways all ancient cultures related with the soul and the afterlife. I have some friends in a Mesopotamian polytheist group who taught me about the Sumerian belief in a tripartite soul too. It sure seems like the idea of the soul as multi-parted (versus a sort of single entity that we each "have") was the norm across many ancient cultures. What do you recommend as a starting place for me to learn more about the Egyptian understanding? Thank you so much!
The Jewish Cabbala also came from Egypt where it was known as KA BA Ankh. Jewish folk traveled to Egypt and took it home with them. Christian and Jewish ideas are often not original.
One of the tripartite legs of soul is simply the various concepts of the soul. This is a weaker point formed by Ego but the reason for the confusion. Because of this, one can say that humans have more than one soul. I will introduce new information about the Soul that lives past death.
I *Love* your new name and look! Very clean and fresh. And your article Where is the soul? is wonderful, and very similar to one I wrote recently for my Inner Circle about Ensoulment. So, I know we are on the same track. Many Blessings to you and your new adventure.
I love the new name and About page, which I look forward to reading thoroughly.
I also love this essay and the questions it calls us to consider. At the recent burial of my parents ashes my cousin asked me if I would be sad that they are so far away from me (they were interred about 10 hours from where I live) and I replied "No, because they are everywhere". Between every atom in our body, and every other thing in existence, there is space. A lot of space. I believe this, in part, is where our soul lies. The other part of where it is cannot be explained.
This is a bad answer🤣 for a question I love but I am dashing off to work and wanted to respond. I look forward to dropping back into the comments later.
I’ll do you one better….why is the soul.
😂😂😂 I had that exact line in my rough draft of this one!
Raised in the western world and immersed in western philosophy and religion, I believed the soul was separate. Like the Teilhard quote, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." A beautiful quote but there is a sense of separation in it. What if the last line was changed to, “A spiritual being having human experiences.” Even still, it separates the human body and the soul. I agree with you Jenna, there is no separation between the material and the spiritual. Comes back to the liminal and the mandorla for me. The place of unification. As you said, “There is no soulless part of anything.”
I love this, Julie, and I feel the same way! I had been thinking that this idea of one nonphysical soul per person came about with monotheism. But I'm deeply into a fascinating book called "Jewish Views of the Afterlife" by Simcha Raphael (you and I may have talked about this already) and have learned that it's not quite so black and white. It might even be something that evolved more out of christianity.
Love the new name, Jenna! It really resonates with me.
I'm totally with you on this one... for me the Soul is an everywhere phenomenon. This is a fun philosophical question, because it brings in questions of duality and paradox. Are soul and Spirit the same? Is there only one great Spirit that appears to be in different forms, or are there separate souls? Fun ideas to play with!
Thank you, Allysha! 🤗💖 You and I are such kindred...well, I was going to say "souls" but then stopped as a million questions about the word ran through my mind. Lol. You and I are such kindred tapestries. I'm right there with you in pondering and playing with all of those questions.
Nice recap of the philosophers and a great little essay. Thank you for it! Fwiw. It’s a kind of “everything is everything” view -- if I may put it that way -- that puts me in mind of Walter Russells revelations. I am currently, slowly, getting through his “Secret of Light” (are you familiar with it?) and it seems to also present a profound case for a unity of the physical and spiritual “soul” within a thorough scientific and spiritual metaphysics. (All my words, not his).
Oooooooh, I don't know of Walter Russell! But I just ordered "Secret of Light"! I'm so intrigued and can't wait to read it. Thank you SO much! 💖
Cool! I started reading it online at archive.org and got so excited that I stopped and then ordered a hard-copy. Whether he is "right" about everything, who knows? But it sure seems he's more right than wrong, at least, and that's a great place to be. Enjoy -- you'll probably finish it before I do.
And that's before one runs into the Ancient Egyptians and their division of the soul into five...
After experiencing someone's death, its hard for me to see the soul in terms other than that animating, connecting energy without which there's simply dead, inert matter.
I agree, Gabriel, the body is not the same after death, after the animating force is gone. Lately, I've been thinking in terms of the very tiny, the building blocks, the elements, and how each of these particles is alive and has consciousness and is a soul. I've been holding an image of these building blocks, along with other parts of the soul, weaving together to form a living being for a bit of time, and then unweaving when that being's life is done. And then I wonder if all of one element is a single being in many forms. Like, is all water one, conscious being that is continually changing forms? Is the great soul of carbon having all these different experiences? When I think about the really tiny, atomic level beings, I find myself wondering just how inert are these "dead" things really? Thank you so much for leading this inquiry, Gabriel! I love wondering with you!
A beautiful discussion post by @Jenna Newell Hiott about What is the Soul?
AND A BEAUTIFUL OFFERING…I would highly suggest you read and join..Jenna is such a divine goddess.
Thank you, Sam!!! 💖💖💖
Love the rebranding, think it well captures the entirety of your vibe here 🫡
As to the Koa ('soul'), I think it is the energy which animates the Temporal vessel we call the 'body,' thus saturates every fiber of the physical form we inhabit. Humble opinion, natch ☺️
Great piece, thanks for sharing it!
Thanks, Stone! ❤️ I'm SO glad you brought up your experience of the Koa. I remember falling in love with your idea of giving this entity/energy/essence a name, a term other than soul or spirit, etc. All those terms are so fraught with confusion and misunderstanding. Thank you so much for reminding me of this!
Thanks.
The Egyptian understanding is deeper, which fed the Greek ideas, of course.
Hi Steven! 🤗 For sure, the story doesn't begin with the Greeks. I've been slowly making my way through a fascinating book called "Jewish Views of the Afterlife" by Simcha Raphael and it's made me so curious about the ways all ancient cultures related with the soul and the afterlife. I have some friends in a Mesopotamian polytheist group who taught me about the Sumerian belief in a tripartite soul too. It sure seems like the idea of the soul as multi-parted (versus a sort of single entity that we each "have") was the norm across many ancient cultures. What do you recommend as a starting place for me to learn more about the Egyptian understanding? Thank you so much!
Until I get back to you with soul info, you might enjoy
reading The Neural AUM, which contains important new discoveries.
I posted it a few days ago on SS or you can find it in Stevenakey.com Key Blogs.
Understanding the neural flow of the Upanishads and Neuropsychology is important, imo.
Modern neuroscience is swaying off course and getting lost. Iain McGilchrist is still very good.
The Jewish Cabbala also came from Egypt where it was known as KA BA Ankh. Jewish folk traveled to Egypt and took it home with them. Christian and Jewish ideas are often not original.
I will drop a post within a few days. Peace and Health.
One of the tripartite legs of soul is simply the various concepts of the soul. This is a weaker point formed by Ego but the reason for the confusion. Because of this, one can say that humans have more than one soul. I will introduce new information about the Soul that lives past death.
I *Love* your new name and look! Very clean and fresh. And your article Where is the soul? is wonderful, and very similar to one I wrote recently for my Inner Circle about Ensoulment. So, I know we are on the same track. Many Blessings to you and your new adventure.
Thank you so much, Melissa! 🤗❤️ I love that word "ensoulment"!