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| A Time for Soul Searching | | |
|  mollybrogan | Feb 13, 5:27am | | What, exactly, is our soul? What does it do, and how does it effect our daily lives? Christians think of the soul as that eternal part of ourselves that exists before we are born and lives on after we die. Eastern traditions see the soul as a vessel for karma, our identity which forms each lifetime as we reincarnate. The Hermetic teachings maintain that through forgiveness, our karmic debt (formed by error and transgression) is released. Through forgiveness, the soul transcends the level of cause and effect and allows the soul to be directed by spirit. This is often achieved after a dark night of the soul, where soul and spirit are purified by facing, embracing and releasing all the good and evil within. What do YOU think? |
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| | mipog | Feb 15, 3:54am | I think any or all of those are possible aspects of soul. I mean, I always knew in my heart that the individual soul continues its growth quest after death, but now I feel I know it more than the 'knowing' I had before. My husband passed last year, and I swear in some ways we are closer in our relationship now, as we DO still communicate, and he does come to me and gently guide me in my own spiritual quest for understanding and growth. But I also agree, there is a state of forgiveness where we can transcend the karmic cycle. For me it seems to be a spiral - an onion - layers of letting go and releasing and rejuvenation, followed by continued struggle and effort, followed again by release, gradually ascending tossing baggage as I go. :) We can practice being directed by spirit in the here and now though - that is my every moment's quest. But what you say about the facing, embracing, and releasing all the good and evil within is what spurred me to write. That is how we have to do it (in my opinion and experience). We have to allow ourselves to see and face all that is within and only by allowing the full witnessing to take place - allowing the vision of truth to flow through us and fill us, no matter how "ugly" we think it is, we must face everything within in order to be able to release it.
Thanks for sharing.
Dorie |
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| | mollybrogan | Feb 16, 7:06am | | Yes, the process can be full of struggle and effort, especially after a big loss. But I think it does become more graceful as time goes on - maybe because we learn to recognize shadow and transform it in the instant, instead of looking away and having it come up unexpectedly at a time when effort is needed to transform it. For me, each layer of the onion is sweeter than the last. The witnessing is more joyful as it becomes the predominate state of mind and I focus on the process of the witness more than what is being witnessed. |
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| | mipog | Feb 16, 8:19am | Graceful would be nice :)
I've thought about this more, and realized, you're right. I DO experience this growth process with much more grace than I used to - everything used to be a struggle, and now-a-days it does seem like even the rough tumbles in life are filled, surrounded, and blessed by Grace. And the witnessing IS becoming more and more joyful. Thank you. |
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| A Time for Soul Searching | | |
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Spirituality → Discussion