What are Souls?
What is the human soul?
Is it real or is it imagined by a fearful mind that is afraid to die? For millennia, theologians, philosophers and scientists have attempted to prove the existence of the soul. World religions teach that consciousness and awareness survive death. Most religions teach that some kind of heaven exists, and some religions instill their followers with the concept of hell. Several religions teach that once the soul leaves the body, it resides eternally in either heaven or hell. Other religions see heaven as a temporary interlude between incarnations. Religions define moral and behavioral codes that we are expected to follow. Religions affirm that how well we adhere to these rules will determine what our after-death experience will be. Many political, theocratical, philosophical, and psychological motives exist to convince people to cooperate with time-honored standards. Most people buy into the notion that there are afterlife consequences for our behavior here in this life. Like all beliefs, the truth isn’t decided by what we believe to be true. However, there is significant documented evidence to support the truth that there is a soul and an afterlife. The work of Michael Newton regarding the afterlife and thousands of reported “Near Death Experiences” create a rational case for proving existence of the soul.
As human beings, the first thing to realize is that our identity is the soul. Intrinsically, every human being is an evolving spiritual consciousness. People often say, “I have a soul”. The opposite is true. We don’t “have souls”. We are souls. We are souls that inhabit personalities.
The personality is a fully functional individual self that consists of an intrinsic intelligence that governs its manifest form. The form is composed of a mental, an emotional, and a physical body. The personality is in existence before birth and disintegrates at the end of each incarnation.
The nature of the soul is pure consciousness. Its expression is pure love. While incarnate, the soul influences and inspires the personal self to act with harmlessness, kindness, compassion, and generosity. Souls evolve like everything else in the universe. They acquire wisdom through experience. In each lifetime, souls are subjected to billions of impressions from many experiences gained during each incarnation. These impressions are stored, processed, and integrated after each lifetime. Souls stay in the cycle of reincarnation for millions of lifetimes. They experience a series of initiations in which the consciousness is enriched and becomes more self-aware. As we evolve, our souls become more adept at negotiating the experience of incarnation. Our souls reincarnate automatically for eons. As we evolve, our souls increase their conscious participation by choosing the circumstances of our next incarnation. Once our new incarnation begins, the soul attaches itself to the body of the newborn infant. At first, the attachment is loose, and the soul continues to identify itself partially as the soul. But within a couple of months the soul identifies almost totally as this new person inhabiting a human body. However, there is a ray of connection that is maintained with the soul that becomes the pathway for the intuition to influence the person toward love and compassion. The greater the evolution of the soul the more available the access to this intuitive link. For the more evolved souls, the intuition becomes a consistent channel for the soul’s wisdom to make its presence known in the personal life. When the soul’s presence is the primary factor in life, we live a life of service. The type of service depends upon our aptitude or gifts. We may create and serve through artistic, community, and intellectual pursuits. The Buddhists consider the life of service as being a Bodhisattva. Whatever the contribution, it will be based on love and compassion. We will realize that the real purpose of incarnation is to advance the evolution of the human race. Every act of kindness brightens the circle of our contacts and extends throughout the universe. Every act of selfless service affects human consciousness and brings light into some needed space. The human personality becomes a willing partner with the soul in performing selfless acts of service. Every moment that we know ourselves as soul, our personality assumes its rightful role, which is the vehicle that manifests the soul’s intended service. As the person surrenders, and the soul assumes its rightful identity, the personal life transforms, and its true spiritual adventure begins.
