What is the soul?

If you believe we have a soul, then you must also believe that there is a very real explanation for its existence. I believe our soul is the electric impulses in our bodies. Our brain and body are our way of interacting with the rest of the world. After all, everything our body experiences is turned into an electrical impulse, right? Our memories aren't etched into a brain like an old vinyl record, rather our brain and different senses create pinches in our electric soul.

What do you guys think? It's the fire that's resting in the water. The electric fire!

I pretty much have the same theory as you do. I believe we just use our bodies to accompish things on this world. I belive our souls are lights, which would make us beings of light. When you look at UFOs, you dont see a solid object most of the time... all you see is a bright glowing light-perhapst an out of body experince, or a transportation method. I m sure you have read about out of body experinces and people meditating for so long and reaching a certain point where they are really not present in their body but use their soul to visit other dimensions and stuff. I say GOD only knows the capabilities and posibilities we have. At this time we really can not comprahend these capabilities because our mind and soul are not ready for it. Plus we only use about 10% of our brain, makes you think of the possibilities of 100%. This is all part off the evolution process. I took us billions of years to be where we are now, and to reach pure consciousness it might take us even longer than that. I hope i get to experience something in my lifetime.

Hello there:
From my studies, and they have been extensive on this topic, but there are essentially three parts that make up the human existance. The physicall, the body that we see and move around in. The spirit, which allows us to connect with the soul. The soul is what makes a being what they are. Most beliefs of a religious nature, will state this. I would believe, that the soul is where the divine spark of life exists.

That is just my take on it. I do way too much reading.

Yeah, but in our world everything has an explanation. The spirit, the soul, the physical body, the spark of life: right. There's an explanation for the soul, though. It has to have a very real physical foundation in our plane of existence. Prophecy has to have something to do with our souls, and looking around the Bible and ancient history, there are all sorts of awesome things going on with electrical conductors and stuff...

EXO 37:7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;
EXO 37:8 One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

And then we read things like:

2SA 6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

OoOOOh, interesting... And the Great Pyramid? The Great Pyr-mid ("fire in the middle") most likely had a gold cap stone, which would of made it a giant lightning rod. The fire in the middle would have been the green electric fire, and thus the priests would have done all sorts of awesome prophecy and attempted to accomplish who knows what sort of goals.

The answer to your question can be simple but has occupied philosophers and religious pronouncers for over 1500 years.
The simple explanation, if one insists upon using a term so ill defined, is that spirit can be used in place of the term soul and you’d be OK in general conversation.
The term is man made and, much like religion can mean almost anything to one or more persons. The idea becomes complicated when religious soothsayers assign qualities to the word (concept) such as the ever popular “everlasting life” sought after by so many and promised by various religious dogmas.
The realistic answer is that during no autopsy in human history has a soul, part of a soul, the last resting place of a soul ever been dissected or located so we can be pretty sure that the concept is man made along with the multiplicity of contradicting definitions purported by those who claim or have claimed to be, in the know, over the centuries.
A better question might be, why do modern people with a world of knowledge available to them not questions ancient assumptions like the “soul” or the “devil” or “god” or “everlasting life” or one of the worst ideas of a sick mind, that of “original sin”?
My idea is that we learn a lot more asking questions about origins than spending time debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
The term 'soul' can be reasonably used in conversation to represent the essence of a person but spirit, known and accepted by almost everyone, not to exist, is a more defensable term, IMO.
But that’s just me/
sayswho

Well a year or so ago, I thought that the soul was like a separate part of a human body, somewhere not seen, yet known and I thought the mind and spirit and even essence were also separate. But damn if that isn't complicated to think that we are mind, body, spirit, essence, brain, soul and whatever else, even astral energy.

Today, after reading a great deal more in the bible and just all in all learning more about Jesus, I think we are body/soul and we have the spirit of life/God breathed into us. When our body dies, our soul dies, but our spirit lives on. Now that's a whole lot less complicated than trying to locate a bunch of different parts that I can't visually see, in my opinion LOL! (and it's easier to describe or explain to a 5 year old as well)

So that's my take on it, although none of us truly have the knowledge to know the correct answer. Only God knows.

The realistic answer is that during no autopsy in human history has a soul, part of a soul, the last resting place of a soul ever been dissected or located so we can be pretty sure that the concept is man made along with the multiplicity of contradicting definitions purported by those who claim or have claimed to be, in the know, over the centuries.
A better question might be, why do modern people with a world of knowledge available to them not questions ancient assumptions like the “soul” or the “devil” or “god” or “everlasting life” or one of the worst ideas of a sick mind, that of “original sin”?
My idea is that we learn a lot more asking questions about origins than spending time debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
The term 'soul' can be reasonably used in conversation to represent the essence of a person but spirit, known and accepted by almost everyone, not to exist, is a more defensable term, IMO.
But that’s just me/
sayswho

That may be true, but then again, the existance of an aura was debated until photos were taken showing that it exists. I would view the soul like air, something you know is there, but on rare occasions feel, but most of the time you do not feel or see or touch or taste.

The soul is the source of all consciousness, which does not permit the consciousness to cease to exist.

The soul is the tool that enables us to comprehend our own self, our intentions, and also is the catalyst for beings to want to need to understand their own actions and behaviors, and why we do what we do.

We have it without knowing it
we need it without being aware of the necessity
if it is lost, we do not know it
when it is found, there are no questions concerning anything.

Its amazing. The soul controls our bodies I suppose, but the most learned person in the world doesnt have a clue the mystery of it until death.

I know from Jesus that the soul can be inhabited with demons and with Gods grace.

souls on earth decide whether they want to sin and live with demons infesting their bodies, or with Gods grace which is love only.

if you are of the soul you will choose Gods grace, and if you are of the body only you will let demons infest you.


This is what this culture has become, people are literally possed by demons. Think about a mass murderer or gang member. There sin is so bad that there soul remains no grace left and they have no love at all.


In hell the soul who dwells with demons will just continue to do what they did on earth which is get the soul to sin.


and the state of a soul I just mentioned is worthy of hell fire.


Its literally amazing.

the soul?
well, it could just be an interpretation of a person's "will to power"
it could just be a synonym for the conciousness of a sentient being
i personally see it as a little bit of both

i attach nothing spiritual to it

Interesting answers.

To me, the soul is the essence of who I am. I am my soul. That's me. I (soul) am in possession of a mind and a body to use while in this plane. My mind contains my personality, my thoughts, judgments, etc. And my body is what I use to get around here.

When my body dies, my mind also dies, but I (soul) go on to the next 'place' or phase of existence and hold connections (through the bonds of love) to my loved ones here and elsewhere.

I agree. Your soul is you. It is your value as a being. Your mind and body and personality mean nothing and are expendable...they will come to an end. Your soul will continue after these aspects of your awareness are gone.

question for anyone who believes the soul houses the personality:

if you personality is in your soul, how can chemicals alter it?

This particular subject has had me conflicted as of late. I have a nephew that was recently born without grey matter. He has a brain stem so he continues to live but they say he has no consciousness. He cannot hear or see but he continues to perk along because his brain stem controls the necessary functions to keep him alive. I still feel that the creator put a spark in there, so on some level he is aware. He has a soul so there has to be awareness of some sort. Anybody have thoughts on this?

the SouL is that which must be LuoS / Loose

The Soul is a persons way of explaining the [I] (eye) aspect of themselves in the past tense.... It's the [I] (eye)'s reference.. like we use "When I was younger" but in that context we're speaking of the ego, not the [I] (eye) that is beyond the ego game. Soul is a good word to use to differentiate between the ego [I] and the "superior" [I] (eye) although I use the word superior loosely because without one the other would have failed to exist.

Now, on another level the soul is the memory of that superior [I] (eye) "person" within us observing the events (emotions/feelings/perceptions) that the other ego [I] is experiencing in the past tense.... Its a way of us being aware that things could have possibly been different.........

I could explain further.. but I'm sure thats enough.

[edit on 1/11/2007 by PuRe EnErGy]

pylon: All living beings have souls. I think there is awareness even if we can't measure it.

This is taken from my daily blog... where I write crap like this more often..

Source: gutterbuddha.spaces.live.com...

Please forgive the allegory... But I wanted to take semantics to a whole other level with this perhaps for better insight into the phenomenon that we call soul or spirituality..

The Leafs Journey began on one chaotically windy day when one tumbled seed decided to find a safe place to drop its defenses and open up to the world.... This Leaf was hidden away inside the hard, yet fragile shell, which was tough enough to last from bounce to bounce until it landed in some soft and supportive soil..... But because of the chaotic wind it was buried by the turmoil in the world in a round-about way beneath the soil.... When it was buried in the soft and supportive soil, it noticed a certain comfort being away from the chaos for just a little while... The shell loves the soft and supportive soil because it endured all the bumps and bruises from the chaotic winds, although the Leaf inside the shell knows how much abuse it's shell has been under it still wonders what all that chaotic wind is all about, and why all the turmoil in the first place? Where did the wind come from the seed asks itself. Bored, the Leaf inside wishes it was observing the chaotic winds, because the soft and supportive soil is predictable, usual and consistant which goes against the seed as a whole because being a Leaf you want to feel the wind embrace you, and the shell wants to remain comfortable because of its painful memory of its journey.
So the seed must make amends within itself.
It has to say to itself, the duality that is ME, is going to drive me insane.
So I, the Leaf must leave my shell and venture towards the Light, Where the Winds of Chaos Blow....
and as this decision becomes more viable, nature respondes to her children, and she cries for her curious child (the Leaf) and empathizes with the shell, so nature sends her tears and the rain penetrates the hard crust of comfort that protects the soft and supportive soil underneath...
And these tears find their way to its kin, and the tears of mother nature bathe the shell, to show that the pain the shell went thru is trivial compared to the pain mother nature has to endure as her children writhe to and fro curious about the very nature of their own mother, without ever asking her opinion, always just judging and calling her work/creations names.
As these tears bathe the shell, it softens its rigid position and breaks just slightly.... Just enough so the little Leaf inside can peak it's head thru and begin the journey on its own without the shell into the chaotic wind that the leaf hopes embraces it being and isn't as harsh as it was with the shell.
But now.... the Leaf has a very great advantage over the shell... The shell never knew that mother nature cared as much as she did for her young, and the little Leaf never knew until the mother showed the little Leaf that the greatest guide to finding your way thru to the chaotic winds is to follow the sun into the storm.

I suppose what I'm saying here is..
We have this outter shell we deem to be ourselves most of the time... because it's scared and it's been damaged a lot along its travels.
When we leave that person (the outter shell) behind, we find ourselves in totally unfamiliar area, with new emotions, new feelings, and thoughts.
But without any help or support, they run chaotically according to the "winds of chaos"
and we find ourselves "fence sitting"... (in my terminology) I mean, one moment sitting on the fence and looking left is comfortable, and than when it becomes dull, or doesn't feel like it used to we move and begin to sit on the fence looking right instead.
This is called upon by the shell... it thoroughly enjoys being MORE comfortable than it already is, and it's great feelings and intentions wane and soon it wants a "better" position.
*I apologize for the allegory but I'm sure you can pick thru it and understand, if not leave a message.*
So the Leaf, (or real person/ the "true you") has to seperate itself from the shell in order to survive and be sane..
Well okay... The idea of the seperation is now there... but it seems a bit difficult to progress...
Well thats where the tears/rain and the sun come into play... and the desire to be embraced, free, yet among chaos ........

If anyone wants me to elaborate on the symbolism of the tears/rain and sun, leave a comment or I have no idea anyone even reads this shiit.

[edit on 1/12/2007 by PuRe EnErGy]

Thanks NowAmFound. You set your mind on a certain path and things or others come along and make you question the things that you think you have figured out. OK, maybe not so much figured out but rather to a point that you can live with. Then, poof, the questions start again. I have always found in all things spiritual, that the more you think you have figured out, the more questions there are to ask.

Here is a thread to help explain that. Most who have been posting here for a while are quite aware of this thread and the implications of it.. You may or may not agree with it,but it's something to take into consideration..

Soul vs. Spirit

[edit on 12-1-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

SpeakerofTruth, where did you come by your knowledge of the soul and spirit? Also what are your thoughts on my nephew's situation? Thanks ahead of time for your answers.