Insight on the Basics of the Soul

Rich Heltzel
There is a sole, Seoul, but we should now talk about the Soul. What is a soul and does it exist? The examples of the text suggest very obvious aspects of the soul, which I believe are not disputable. The soul does not have physical characteristics or psychological properties (fear, thought, pain, happiness, etc.). It also does not have any physical weight or volume, obviously. The first question I asked myself is if it differentiates from the mind, which some may not believe so. The second is if there are different (variations of) souls or even different categorizations or levels. The third is the purpose or action of the soul.

I was asked for my opinion and my beliefs on the soul, and is a very hard question to answer, as it will probably take all my life to get a little closer to an answer. Does it differ from the mind? I believe so, as I am surer of the idea of the soul than the mind. In the view of Dualism, the mind and body are two separate things and may interact. The question for me is if the soul interacts with the mind or body or even both. I am leaning more towards that the soul does not interact with the physical world (body) or even the mental (mind). In some sense to me, it has its own dimension as in we do not understand. This is the best way I can understand it at this point.

The second point of mind is of the question of variations or levels of the soul. Just like some views of Hell, (which I do not believe of that idea) some would say there are different levels of the soul, all leading up to the human soul. I personally do not believe there are sections or distinct or even variations of the soul. In my view, a soul is everything, an energy life force. So in my case, there is one soul, not separate beings or separate entities of a soul or souls. This means at this point of me writing right now, it could be different tomorrow, we are all one soul. Especially I will say, when it comes to the question of a soul, that there is no difference between an ant to a blade of grass to the iron in the center of the Earth to what we call a human. I am also against the belief that humans are 'better' than anything else, including the notion that we have rule over this planet.

What is the purpose of the soul? I have sat at my computer for twenty minutes staring at this question, pondering on what to say. I then realized some questions such as these cannot be responded in text or verbally, as it is one of those answers you have inside of yourself that only you can truly understand, such as the 'privacy' of psychology aspects. Did you ever try to say something that sounds rational to you, but ends up coming up wrong and being misinterpreted? I will try to be blunt on what the soul is. It is what ties everything together, if we view everything as separate beings. Really, I do not know how there cannot be anything more than the body and brain. Not only that, but past the mind in something beyond we can comprehend.

Published by Rich Heltzel

Thiel College Alumni  View profile

  • Are there physical properties to the soul?
  • How big of a factor is dualism of mind and body?
  • Does the soul differ from the Mind?

2 Comments

Post a Comment
  • Genie Walker7/28/2007

    Great article. I'm like you and don't believe in levels of souls. I like you statement "a soul is everything." That says it all.

  • Bridgitte Williams5/21/2007

    I found your article to be fascinating! There are some conditions in which a human being cannot feel their soul. It can be a frightening experience. Unless you have experienced this, you wouldn't understand. You would never miss that "Soul" feeling, unless it was gone. You do survive and figure out maybe you need to focus on other things. Sounds strange, I know. Great article!

Displaying Comments

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.