It is the part of me that leads me on my wildest
explorations. It is the guide to seeming unpredictability. It is the call to
awaken before the dawn. It is the seat of desire. It is the source of
unconditional love. Most of all, it is the part of me that yearns.
It is the soul.
The soul is the part of the self that remains to be fed after all else is said and done. It is that part of self that humanity tends to cower from and attempt to silence.
Yet, the soul cannot be silenced, for it is everywhere. My soul is the part of me that remains in good health when the rest of me is sick. For it is the soul that has created these conditions, and thus the soul that can create anew.
The soul is that part of self which delights in things deemed “useless”—poetry, painting, literature, long walks through the woods, and even dancing in the rain. Why, it seems there is nothing that is useless to the soul.
The soul has often been deemed as an uncontrollable tyrant, primarily for its role as the birthplace of feeling. Feeling, of course, includes desire. The soul has thus been deemed responsible for such “irresponsible” activities as travelling, exploring nature, going for any sort of “adventure,” and, above all, lovemaking—and, really, any sort of play in general.
It is this darned soul, it seems, that gets humans off the “right” path and into a boiling cauldron of troubles. Who, then, could stand to live from the soul—to even consider the very idea? All it does is make a mockery of the strengths of the body and the genius of the mind, and allows for their practical abilities (the mind’s, especially) to decay.
Is it not the soul that is the rascal who is always asking for more? Is it not the soul that is the Devil who walks out on job and family, and seeks to live only for the self? Is it not the soul that is the lustful lover who cannot let up on its untamable attractions? It is indeed the soul that is often responsible for all manner of things which it has been accused of here. And it is the mind that has done the accusing, for it is the mind and only the mind that is capable of interpreting the soul in this way.
The mind is indeed misguided, in this interpretation, by the information given it over the years—and at no fault of its own. Yet it also is limited. Even for the immense power of the human intellect- not to mention the subconscious that underlies it- the mind is incapable of comprehending the sheer vastness of the soul, for the soul is infinite. The soul is all things physical and spans all things beyond the physical. Yet, it is beheld also in a single grain of sand, for the soul is in and around all things—much like the completeness of reality itself.
The soul is the part of self that ultimately cares little for the hours put in, the dollars earned, the points scored, the possessions acquired, or the number of lovers taken to bed. The soul, in fact, does not care for the facets of your day-to-day life at all—not even your greatest accomplishments.
Yet, the soul relishes in every detail—in all the richness of your life. It is the soul which is invested fully in the process of life itself, yet not at all in any individual set of results.
‘Tis no wonder the soul produces so much trouble in the lives of men—it cares not for our values, our morals, our rules, our conventions, nor even our health! Surely this thing is the biggest obstacle facing humanity… It is an everlasting threat to our progress as a civilized species!
Ah, but it is not so, for the soul is the part of self that comes to this place with a purpose. It is a purpose which can be grasped by the humans who hold it, yet cannot be folded up by the fancies of the intellect, nor toasted in the lustings of the body—at least, not when these things are taken separately.
The ultimate purpose of the soul- not just of individuals, but of the whole of humanity itself- is to know itself fully. The soul, in other words, seeks to expand. It seeks to expand our ideas about right and wrong, and then to transcend them. It seeks to expand our philosophies, and then to leave them behind. So too it is with our economy, our politics, our education, our technology, and with all the other activities of man. For the soul, the objective outcomes of these activities matter not—yet, these activities are, collectively, the perfect set of outlets for its infinite set of expressions. For the soul, all things are tools, and no thing is wasted. Nothing can be wasted on the soul, for the soul not only sees, but creates, all.
When you live from the soul, life is no longer a mad and unforgiving dash for survival; instead, it is a grand exploration of life itself. There remains nothing to fear except for that which you choose to be afraid of; and even that choice may be so that you get to enjoy the experience of facing and moving past the fear. In the soul’s eyes, you cannot make a wrong decision, for the soul loves you dearly. It seeks only your expression of your self—wholly.
The soul is the part of self that seeks to grow. It seeks to experience more fully, express more highly, the essence and totality of who you really are—the creator of life. It is the soul that yearns for new directions, looks for new ways, blazes new trails, makes new plans, and conjures up new ideas.
The soul is the part of self that burns with desire. It can be convinced of no thing, nor can its yearnings be justified. When the soul is sure it cannot be perturbed. The soul’s desires may not be understood until after they have been explored and experienced—that is, after body and mind have said “Yes” to them and agreed to make them so. Where is it, after all, that these desires lead? Always, they play into the soul’s ultimate desire—to be itself.
The soul is never in search of profit or material gain- and if it is, it is only for the experience of such. Indeed, the only profit the soul knows- the only thing it lusts after- is experience itself. It will accept no less and aspire for no more.
Body and mind are at their best when they work as servants of the soul, realizing its desires in the physical world. The mind makes the desire happen, by orchestrating the necessary parts of reality, and the ultimate “happening” is experienced through the body. This does not suggest that one live mindlessly, as though a robot on wait for the soul’s every command. For just as it is the seat of desire, the soul is also the house of free will. It is the ultimate will of the soul, in fact, that you choose—and do so consciously. Such deliberate living is the greatest source of nourishment for the soul.
Yet, on what basis are you to decide, when choice is free? That, too, lies in the hands of choice—choice which can transcend all experience and all matters of intellect. For it is this experience of choosing for which the soul ultimately desires most.
Experience, Desire, and Choice—these are the three realms of the soul, just as Body, Mind, and Soul are the three realms of the self. This is why, after some time of experiencing the same set of events over and over, for the sake of imagined desires, against the backdrop of having “no choice,” the soul begins to scream, and the self begins to feel dead. Giving up these three distortions of the soul one by one does indeed feel like dying—as though all of life as one knows it is being surrendered. Yet in this surrender is crafted a new birth, for death is always the giving of new life. Indeed, life itself is change—and this, alongside the experience of free choice, is what the soul craves for most deeply.
I will not tell you how to live from your soul, for there is only one place where such information can be known—inside your soul itself. Yet, know this: that in this place, in this very moment, your soul and mine meet and converge, for in the realm of souls- of all that is- there is only one. I know that your soul and mine desire the same things, for in the realm of souls- when two or more come together- they are whole. Whatever forms and experiences we may choose- no matter how different they appear to be- you and I both seek, and are, the same thing. It is the very thing that underlies the whole of this reality, and, therefore, the whole of the soul. It is the only thing there is. It is pure, unconditional, everlasting love.
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