Each
of us has experienced moments of heartfelt kindness, of courageous daring, of
steady strength, of deep inner peace. These are fleeting experiences of our
soul—our deepest essence, our highest self—who we truly are. When we experience
an expanded sense of oneness with all life, when we forgive someone who has
harmed us, when we inspire others with clear insight, when we courageously do
what is right--but not popular--these are expressions of our soul. For the soul
embodies not just loving compassion, but also purposeful will and wise
intelligence. Balanced love, light and will are the
signatures of the soul.
The
soul is essentially energy, and to study the soul is to study the science of
energy.. In the Ageless Wisdom of East and West—which is often called the
“golden thread” which connects the inner teachings of the world’s religions --
there is a science of soul development, with detailed theories and techniques
for integrating the soul with the personality.
We
are essentially spiritual beings having a human experience, rather than the
other way around. Although we might initially say that we
“have” a soul, it is more actually more accurate to say that we are a soul who
“has” a personality, and this self-centered personality is our instrument of
expression in the world. Until our
personality is more purified and invokes the soul’s help, it tries to run the
show and often creates a mess.
Although some popular modern writers primarily see the soul as our deep
unconscious, or as some fragile thing that our personalities need to care for or
we’ll lose, the truth is actually quite the opposite: it is our soul which cares
for our personality—if it is invited.
The
soul is referred to in the Christian tradition as “the Christ within, the inner
divinity” in each person. The realm
of the soul is called “the kingdom of God.” In the Jewish tradition, the soul is
sometimes referred to as “the vital principle.”
In the Hindu tradition, it’s called the “Atma” or “Self.”In the Buddhist
tradition, it is “the Buddha Mind,”
“the mind of enlightenment (bodhichitta).” In ancient Greece, the temple of the
Oracle at Delphi proclaimed, “Man, know thyself, and thou wilt know the universe
and the gods.” As we know our soul, the microcosm, so we will understand the
macrocosm.
We know that the human body is the endpoint of the
evolution of physical forms. But evolution doesn’t end with the
perfection of forms.
Consciousness continues to evolve.
Soul expression is essentially the next evolutionary step in consciousness for
humanity. Poets and
songwriters have eternally written about the longing for the soul as if it were
a distant love. But the soul is
closer than our heartbeat. Today, modern science is beginning to prove the
existence of the soul and its survival after the death of the body.
According to the Ageless Wisdom, the soul is essentially the connecting link or
relationship between spirit and matter—between spirit and our human personality.
The soul is the mediating or bridging principle of consciousness. It is the attractive force that holds
all forms together so that the life of God may express through them.
The soul is technically a unit of light colored by a particular ray vibration.
The soul is anchored in two places in the body:
what’s called the “consciousness thread” is anchored in the top of the head, and
the “life thread” is anchored in the heart.
We can sense the presence of the soul most easily in our hearts or at the top of
our heads.
In
the soul’s experience, all of life
is connected to each other in a seamless web.
The soul reveals that we are not separate from each other or from all life,
whether visible and invisible. To experience the soul is to experience a deep
sense of oneness with all that is—a profound sense of inspiration and joy.
The
soul is essentially the observer or witness, the higher part of us that watches
our personality life with detachment.
The soul, working with the Law of Karma, or cause and effect, draws to us
experiences and lessons for our spiritual growth as we are ready for them. Crisis such as an illness or accident may be a calling card
from our soul, suggesting we need to do some deep reflection on our life, our
purpose and where we are heading.
Qualities of the Soul
The
soul expresses “the good, the beautiful and the true.”
The only difference between a saint or master and the rest of us is that a saint
or master expresses his/her soul all the time, while most of us express our soul
only occasionally.
Being in soul consciousness is experiencing a sense of timelessness, of being in
the eternal now. This is what the Christians call
“practicing the presence of God.”
We feel expansive and liberated-- the sense of pure being, without having to do
anything to gain the approval of others.
In soul consciousness, we often help and heal others just through the quality of
being that we radiate—the quality of joy, grace and inner peace.
Our
soul is aware of the Divine Plan for humanity, and strives to contribute to that
larger purpose. For example, our soul realizes that
peace on earth is part of this Plan, so we find a way to resolve personal
conflicts and conflicts in our family and local community and eventually among
the community of nations. Since the Plan includes the full
expression and self-realization of everyone on earth, we commit ourselves to
helping others grow and develop spiritually.
The
soul is the source of the clearest and best guidance for our lives, and through
meditation and prayer we can ask our soul for help in making important
decisions.
The cause of all our restless searching is actually the soul within us, as
it constantly pushes us towards spiritual growth.
Once we’ve fulfilled a desire or achieved something, we soon are restless again,
as the soul pushes us towards our next step
in spiritual growth and development.
Integrating the Physical, Emotional and Mental Bodies
According to the Ageless Wisdom, each human is a multi-dimensional being with
layered levels of simultaneous functioning in the physical and spiritual worlds. Our personality is a composite of three
different interpenetrating bodies, composed of various types of energy: the
physical/etheric body, the emotional body and the lower mental body.
When these three are integrated together and moving in the same direction, they
create a unique personality which then can be integrated with the soul.
If our personality isn’t integrated--if the emotions are going in one direction
and the mind or the body in another direction-- then our personality is divided
and the soul cannot work effectively through the personality as its instrument.
Our
personality dies with our body, but our soul is timeless. It soon reincarnates
into a new body, bringing with it the strengths and weaknesses developed by the
personality in previous lives, as well as new lessons for the personality to
learn, as it works towards integration.
The Limited Personality
When the personality is integrated, but not illumined by the light of the soul,
it can be very unhappy. The darkness of a self-centered personality often weaves
such a smothering veil over our eyes that we see only the material world of
physical forms. We constantly desire more and more of everything to fill that
gnawing, empty space inside us.
Our ego-driven personality can be like a black hole, an insatiable black hole
that obsessively consumes everything in its path to fill its emptiness. Our personality is always
grasping—things, people, experiences.
But
fortunately, we are more than this gnawing hole—we are in essence the soul, the
creator and generator of light and joy. The renewal of interest in the inner
life of the soul is the necessary antidote to the toxic consumerist materialism
that has poisoned so many people’s lives.
Until a personality has exhausted its obsession with running the show, the soul
isn’t given the space to express itself.
The personality can be very threatened by the soul, because the personality has
controlled a person’s life for so long and doesn’t want to give up control.
There is always a stage in the process of spiritual development where a battle
for control is waged between the soul and the personality.
One minute, a person may be expressing the altruism of their soul, and the next
minute, retreat to a cynical self-centeredness.
This battle goes back and forth, until a person has clearly experienced the
difference between personality separateness and soul unity, and is drawn to
regular spiritual practices, such as meditation, study and service. The personality then cooperates with the soul and the two
begin to work together. The personality eventually becomes
soul-infused and the soul’s instrument of expression in the world.
The Struggle Between Personality and Soul
How
can we tell the difference between when we’re in expanded soul consciousness and
when we’re in a more limited personality consciousness?
The first sign of the presence of the soul in a person is the spirit of service
and the sense of responsibility for oneself and for others.
A soul-infused person doesn’t play the victim, but rather works to change his or
her consciousness to create better experiences and outcomes.
The
ego-centered personality only thinks of itself and its own needs—“looking out
for number one.” The soul is
identified with others and is group conscious.
When we are in soul consciousness, we experience our greatest joy in serving
others. The soul is by nature group conscious and fundamentally concerned with
what is occurring for the whole, not just for ourselves as individuals. In our
deepest essence we are one with the whole. The outstanding characteristic of the
soul is the urge to service.
The
personality feels separate; the soul experiences a sense of connection to
everyone and everything and is identified with the whole. The personality is
always taking, it’s primarily a consumer. The soul is a creator. The personality
acquires; the soul shares.
The
personality is obsessed with competing; the soul cooperates.
The personality expresses self-will; the soul expresses God’s will.
The personality is often aimless, obsessed with its latest desires. The soul has a clear sense of meaning
and purpose.
How
to Invoke the Soul
Inner
work and practice can help us build what’s called the Rainbow Bridge (or
“antahkaranah” in the Eastern teachings) between our personality and soul. A
regular practice of meditation can help us reflect on, and identify with, the
qualities of the soul.
We can
begin our meditation by visualizing the emotional energy in our solar plexus
center rising up to the heart with each breath we take, and being transmuted
into universal love. From the heart, we can visualize the energy moving up the
head, where we dedicate this energy in service to others. Then as we exhale, we visualize it being radiated out through
the throat. This sequence is visualized several times, and then we affirm
ourselves as the soul and its qualities of love, light and will.
We can
visualize the Master in the Heart—an image of our own soul, either as a symbol,
such as a star or a flame, or personified as the Presence of God within.
We can
also experience soul consciousness by honoring it in others.
The Hindu practice of the “Namaste” greeting of bowing to the Divinity in
people, helps remind us that we all contain this Divine spark.
We can
dialogue with our soul in a daily evening review, looking back over our thoughts
and actions, beginning with the most recent hour and looking back until the
beginning of the day. We can honestly examine our motives for doing something and
work to purify them. In difficult relationships or situations, we can ask
ourselves, “What is the lesson I am learning in this? What do I need to see more
clearly? How can I develop more
detachment from this? ”
We can
“act as if” we are already embodying the soul, as this acting will help it
become a reality. We can
practice harmlessness in thought, word, and deed, as this simple awareness is a
most powerful practice.
We can
focus on thinking positively, as energy follows thought.
Look for the good, the beautiful and the true in everything.
Look into the essence of things, not just their outer form.
The Agni Yoga teachings suggest, “Behold as under a magnifying glass the good,
and belittle the signs of evil tenfold, lest thou remain as before.”
In realizing we are in
essence the soul, the Divine light within, our purpose and work becomes
clearer—to shine light into the world and to relieve suffering, darkness and
ignorance. By radiating the light
of love, illumination and purpose, we help create a new heaven on earth.
