Definition of the Soul

Soul, or Spirit is the "more" that we know is there.

Throughout the long history of human speculation about the nature of what it is to be human there is always been a concept of a non-physical part of us. The word “soul” is one name that is used to describe the nonphysical. We might also say the “spirit.” Or we might equate the soul with the consciousness or even the sub consciousness of our being. This is one subject will have continuous consideration in the explorations of philosophy, theology and psychology.  Richard Rohr speaks of the soul in terms of our true self. It is our true self that is already immortal. There is great value in the concept of a soul in order to teach us the understanding that we need to care for ourselves beyond our physical bodies.

The caution we should take as we consider this concept is to not relegate any one activity to the spiritual or that which nurtures the soul from that which nurtures the body or mind. In fact, all our activities and learning can be beneficial for all aspects of our being.  The best approach for the well-being of our selves is a holistic approach of nurturing our whole being. When we speak of the soul or our spirits we might wish to remember that it is a concept of being. Another way of saying this is there is not a small organ somewhere in our brain that contains our soul.  Location and soul are not consistent concepts.

Our every experience marks our whole being.  The interconnection between that part of our being that we might call our soul and our physical body is intensely intimate.  As we walk on this Earth no one aspect of our being can thrive and grow without the others. We are body, mind and soul. Each is an reflection of the other from a different approach.  These aspects of being are a metaphor for the whole and to separate them is to quickly focus on one aspect alone.  Yet is helpful to make the separation because mostly humans neglect the care of the part of us that is not immediately apparent.  We might diet, or exercise, dress up, cut our hair but ignore the needs of our soul.

The soul then is more than consciousness or sub consciousness it is a metaphorical expression of our understanding of the core of who we are as a human being. It is the subject of our being rather than an object a part of our being. The sense with which it is a metaphorical expression is that we are so focused on that which we can measure with our senses that we can only understand the soul as a metaphor. I have offered phrases such as, the core of who we are, or our true selves, or the part of us that is immortal.  We might also add terms such as our essence, or the observer within.  Metaphorical descriptions allow us to talk of something outside of our language resources. 

This we might affirm that: we are more than physical body and thinking mind. The concept of the soul suggests that the biomechanical understanding of a human being does not fully encompass our experienced reality. All that we are is more than we can see, hear, touch or smell.  The soul is the “more” that we know is there.

Prepared by Bill Booth

Definitions for Awakening.

Awakening  Transformation  Enlightenment Salvation

The terms awakening, transformation, enlightenment, salvation and other words of spiritual action overlap in meaning and significance.  There are nuances between these words that are worth exploring.  Each of the four words named above might describe the goal of human fulfillment, but with a different direction or perspective.

Awakening

Most simply awakening is the transition from one state of being to another.  It implies to be awakened from our sleep.  Clearly in the context of our spiritual journey in which we’re using this term we are not referring to normal physical sleep but in some way of being unaware of a greater context.  In the greater awareness is all and partner with a different state of being. 

The metaphorical understanding of being awakened from our spiritual blindness has a long history in religious teachings and the guiding of spiritual masters. 

In the Christian context of the teachings and stories of Jesus, there are a number of times when acts of awakening are demonstrated.  One example is when  Jesus takes a few of his disciples to the top of mount Tabor where the disciples experience an awakening.  They perceive presence of Elijah and Moses and see Jesus shining and they hear the voice of God.  Later in the stories these same disciples are unable to stay awake as Jesus prays on the night he is arrested.  There are also stories of Jesus raising people from the dead and what could be more powerful commentary on the concept of awakening then waking up from death.  In fact, in the story of young girl, he tells the parents that she is not dead but asleep and calls out to her to awaken her.  These are literal and metaphorical examples of awakening and the Christian foundational stories.  The concept of spiritual awakening is common in most religious traditions.

The other underlying aspect of the term awakening is that it is a process of moving from limited understanding to a fuller understanding.  We are awakened to a greater reality of all that is around us in the universe.  It also implies a re-formation of how we interpret all that we experience.  If you experienced an awakening you are changed it is in this way that we can say awakening overlaps transformation.  Perhaps an useful metaphor for the awakening of one’s full being is the transformation from seeing the world in monochromatic black and white to the full color spectrum visible to human eyes.

The one final aspect of awakening that is helpful to remember is that the awakening is to have an understanding beyond our normal everyday experience.  We perceive differently. 

The order to function and survive in a modern world we are taught to narrow down and limit our understanding of the universe.  To be awakened is to break through personal limitations and experience with a greater comprehension.  This is not a greater knowledge rather it is a seeing beyond the barriers of our knowledge.  To be awakened to the universe is to discover the capacity to love the universe.  To be awakened to the divine is to discover the capacity to love the divine. 

Definitions for Mystic and Mysticism

Mystic/Mysticism

Mysticism: To be lost in the lost in the divine, the All.  A Mystic: A person who has drowned their egos in the experience of the divine.

Mysticism is not simply spirituality. The mystical experience is beyond simple practises and simple wellbeing of the soul.  It is by nature mystery. The Mystic perceives mystery in everything while at the same time the mystic perceives meaning in all things.  In the way of the mysticism there is constant paradox.  One is not always a mystic because it is a not a sustainable way of functioning in the world.  Every one of us has had and will have mystical experiences although not everyone will recognise it for what it is.  Most simply a mystic might just be someone who recognises the state of mystery. 

Mysticism, being mystic, is not boxed into any one religious framework, although, a religious framework can provide a foundation to build upon.  But again the framework is the means not the end. The goal of mysticism is the experience. 

A Mystic is:

One who experiences the world with a wider perspective

One who perceives beyond the ordinary.

One who experiences union with the All.

One who perceives without ego influence.

One who experiences loss of self.

One who perceives the whole.

The experience of the mystic is not the exclusive event of a deeply spiritual person.  The mystical experience can happen unannounced to someone with no “spiritual” life or practices.  It is within the potential of all human encounters with the world.

The primary Mystical experience is that of a sense of unity with the All.  There are many, many, names for object of the unity: God, Spirit, Atman, Krishna, Allah, and many more.  These are names humans have given to the “being” of the Divine but we can also expand the concept to include: Universe, Heaven, Nirvana, and Universal Consciousness. The unity can be with a broader conception: The Christ Light, the Buddha light, the Akasha field (Hindu) – essence of all things. The point is not the name because in the complete mystical experience the name disappears and there is only union with the ALL.

In the mystical experience that Moses had before the burning bush in the founding story of the Jewish faith, Moses encounters the Divine and asks for a name.  A name is denied him and he is offer simply a noun “being”.  It is statement of the purity of the mystical experience.  There is no name in the moment only existence.

The confusion of the Mystical experiences has a consistent characteristic in many different traditions.  Here are a few to consider:

·       “I gazed upon al-Lah with the eye of truth and said to Him ‘Who is this?’ He said, ‘This is neither I nor other than I.  There is no God but I.’  Then he changed me out of my identity into His Selfhood” Abu Yazid al-Bistami, ninth century Sufi mystic

·       “Know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” John 10:38

·       The world may be known without leaving the house.  The Way may be seen apart from windows.  Accredited to Lao Tzu at least 3^rd century BC.

·       “When can a man be said to have achieved union with Brahman?  When his mind is under perfect control and freed from all desires so that he becomes absorbed in the Atman.”  From “The Songs of God: Bhagavad-Gita”

Each of these statement affirms the sense of unity and knowing beyond oneself. 

One last thought the mystical experience by it’s nature challenges description. Words cannot capture what is beyond our understanding. It is a rare thing and yet we all have approached the mystical way of being in the world.  

Definitions for Spirituality

At our Church we have been creating a new space for spiritual wellbeing of our community called the Spiritual Path to Awakening - SPA.  It is meant for folks uncomfortable with organized religion but searching for spiritual nurture.  We have many different programs.  On our webpage at www.abbyspa.com we use the language of the spiritual and many of the words we use might be ambiguous.  In order to facilitate the journey we are defining some of the terms we have used.  What follows in these posts are our working definitions.  They are not intended to pass the dictionary test rather they are definitions to help explain our work at the Spiritual Path to Awakening.

The first word is Spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality has become a very broad term and includes many activities.  Once it might have included only the habits of some new age practitioner of eastern religious practices: Maybe meditation and yoga.  In recent years, the Spiritual but not religious descriptor has but become common among those seeking something more meaningful in their lives without the restrictions of organized religion.  To define Spirituality, tempts the exclusion and inclusion of particular behaviours and habits. This may not be helpful.

However, we need a starting point to frame our conversation.  There is a misnomer in saying spiritual but not religious. Religion is the collection of particular practices framed within a common set of beliefs.  Yet to take part in Spiritual practices, of for instance yoga, meditation, and many others is to participate in a chosen set of practices and these must be framed in a set of beliefs and values.  Thus, Spirituality in not some way in conflict or contrast to religion but perhaps a personalize expression of one’s religion.  Religion is a spiritual practice.

We are all beings of body, spirit and mind.  These three, and many other means of capturing the concept of being, do not exist as separate entities within us. We are body mind and spirit just as rock is hard, round and grey.  However, to describe a rock as grey and hard is to miss the essential characteristic of its’ roundness. Likewise, if we only accept our physical and intellectual interaction with the world we miss the essential nature of our beings as spirit.  

Spirituality is the practices, habits and thinking that acknowledges and nurture the wholeness of our being with particular focus on the non-physical and non-mental aspect.

Yet Spirituality cannot be separated from body and mind.  We are whole beings. Thus yoga, addresses both the physical wellbeing, the thinking process and the spiritual health. Creativity becomes an valuable spiritual practice.  Learnings that addresses the wholeness of being, addresses injustice, addresses meaning, are all important paths to spiritual health.  Spirituality is board and must be to offer a path to awakening for our whole and true beings. 

With this working definition, the Spiritual Path to Awakening (SPA) openly offers many different means and ways to spiritual wellbeing. 

Prepared by Bill Booth