What is the soul?

What is the soul? [+ favourites]

Human beings are made of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and sexual aspects. We also have a mind and a soul, which I would consider to be a part of the unseen world. So too is spirit I suppose, unseen that is, but I think it's closer to the realm of seen than mind and soul are.

My question is this: Is the soul the all-encompassing aspect of who we are? Is that the only part we take with us when we die?

"Love everyone, question everything and look up!"

The soul is what binds us to our body, to our flesh. Consciousness is the state in which we receive data. Consciousness is when we see or feel anything or any state of mind. The soul is what makes us feel only from one body and not your neighbor's.

Consciousness is the existence you perceive. Flesh is existence. The soul is the window to existence, binding you till death to your body. The soul makes YOU are YOU, even if you had a twin or clone, because you only see out of YOUR body not anyone else's.

That is the minimalist definition of the soul. Perhaps it is more then this, in the very least, it is what I have defined.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

Soul? if you dont know what it is why are you suggesting we have one? LABEL it a SOUL... what if its just our intense significant feelings, mental images, sensations, mixed with deep all types of feelings from inside within our brain chemistry... ok you can label that a "soul" or "spirit" if you want but thats all it is (its a lot intense and signifiant) but why are you saying we have a soul? or better how would a sopul differ from what i just said??? supposed to believe it lives longeror somrthing.. its just different parts of our brain, from deep to out beutfukl faeelings.. ec... but perhps there is a root i guess defintly of our thoughts feelings aetc.. but labling it a soul? sure i guess we cannn

"no quote until i copyright it.."

Well Plato would have it that the soul is the real you, and it is 'trapped' inside the body. All your body does is hinder your soul, needing sleep, food, water etc. A human being may say "I have a cat" and obviously that human does not think he is a cat. But a human may also say "I have a body" yet the human is not the body, he/she owns a body. The he/she could refer to thier soul.

"Lifes battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man but in the end the man who wins is the man who thinks he can"

Good observation Ambition.

The soul, to me, depicts individuality and if a soul were to exist within each of us, it would somehow indicate that we are all individuals in the grand scheme of things, which I do not believe.

Hence, if your question is, what is it that makes our reactions, creativity, and emotions unique from everyone else on the planet, I would say these are the factors:

1. Your upbringing from birth to the age of 10-14
2. Your genetic influences
3. Your star sign and location of birth
4. The physical and environmental factors present at your birth
5. Various other mythological and otherwordly factors

Given the immense number of variables existant in each and every one of these factors, and the infinite number of outcomes each of those factors creates when combined, it is very easy to see how each and every one of us is unique from one another, thereby masking the concept of a soul.

To define it scientifically, I would state that the soul is the nervous system. The nervous system is not easily re-programmable and people generally fall victim to it more than control it. When logic and conscious thought does not exist, it is the nervous system that takes over everything, and I believe it is the source of all your decision and reaction making power.

However, it's important to remember that even though I've defined your soul in a very un-romantic way, the truth of the matter is this: You are here for some reason, and God has placed you where you are with the uniqueness that is you, that no one else on the planet or in this universe contains. Since God has given you such a unique identity, it does not contradict science to call it a "soul", because science simply defines what it is that God has created.

A flower is a flower, and yellow is yellow, no matter what molecular properties the flower or the color have.

To define the soul, you have to not only encompass what it is, but why it is, and it is in this why that we can begin to trek back to a spiritual love and understanding of one another. It's nearly impossible to love a person if you view them as flesh and the result of circumstance... and its unintelligent to love people simply because you think they have souls. but if you understand that their circumstance was not a coincidence, it does not matter whether or not you can define who and what they are... they still have a unique "soul" in this world that was given to them by God's mathemetics.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

What makes you think we are not slaves of our nervous system even with conscious thought?

All that changes is our impression of control and a bigger influence of our intellect and memories.

The soul is why you are in a your flesh and not mine. It is the reason you are seeing out of Decius' eyes a no one elses.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

We are not slaves because it can be re-programmed and fine tuned with conscious thought. You can get better at basketball or remove bad habits by initially consciously forcing yourself and eventually letting the nervous system automate the process, thereby changing who and what you appear to be to everyone externally.

No, the soul is not the reason I feel I am individual from you. Just because I am unable to see the connection, that does not reflect what reality is. All that means is, I am not intelligent enough to see it. If your hand falls assleep, for example and you push it through a wall with 40 other people's hands, you will have no idea which hand is yours. with the possibility that your hand isn't even one of them you would conclude that none of them are yours. However, one of them is entirely connected to your body.

So, just as a lack of blood circulation may provide false notions about your physical self, a lack of "spiritual circulation" provides false notions about your spiritual self, hence believing that you somehow are seperate from those things around you.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

But we are seperate, in a fundamental way. Perhaps we could merge, but some part of the brain which seems to make us cut from each other.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

We are not evolved enough in the spiritual senses to be able to readily see such links. This lack of ability does not denote us being cut from one another... it just means we don't see the connection with our classic senses.

It is spiritual leaders such as Jesus, Buddha, and whomever else that may have been lucky enough to bridge this gap and see the world for what it is, without the possibility of discrimination.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

Well then, I call soul that tremendous impression of individuality. It is the only thing which differentiates humans.

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

Well, individuality, or a sense of uniqueness as I stated earlier.

The spirituality of it arises when you consider the fact that the physical laws presented to us by God regarding time and space prevent the possibility of anyone in the universe from experiencing exactly the same situations as you. Therefore, by God's laws, you were pre-destined to experience a unique life in this world.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

I'm not being very clear. If the soul is the part of the individual which is not part of the material, what is it?

What is the only defining part of humans which is not material?

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

Their uniqueness in memories, celestial influences on their thoughts, and uniquely programmed nervous system.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

But all those things are grounded in your brain, clearly. There is something physical (whether electrical or chemical) in your brain which codes your memories, your unique nervous system is also clearly physical.

Only one thing is completely otherworldly about our existence, and that is why am I me and not you? There is physical reason for this, nothing material, thus it the soul (at least a minimal definition of it)

"Durch Nacht und Blut das Licht"

You seem to be missing my point DT. I don't believe there is any difference between us at all except for the physical properties we have and have been given.

The significance that no two people on the planet can ever contain the same exact physical qualities, and that this limitation exists due to God's laws of our universe leads to a defnition of a "soul".

I don't see the significance of me being me and you being you... as I stated, I don't think that this is a constant, nor is it equal amongst humans. Some humans feel more individual than others. When i was in love, I almost literally did not conceptualize my partner as something seperate from me.

But even in this state, my uniqueness was always existant.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."