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