Soul and what it is or is not has been a personal study for decades. To say IT, the soul, is that which is lends nothing to what the soul is; it abates the question. We are told that soul is the essence of that makes us human. Even the Christian Bible is not really clear about the soul. I wonder if it is possible to arrive at a working definition of soul without the involvement of religion. I believe such a definition is possible.
The soul which has a human body, at its most simplistic level, is energy. Even at the moment of conception, there is energy. Soul is that energy that is all-pervading. And going one step further, science reveals energy cannot be destroyed; hence, the soul survives the death of its body. Yet, my title suggests soul loss. Does that contradict the Second Law of Thermodynamics? Frankly, no!
Soul loss comes to us from ancient shamanic practices. In days gone by, the healer described the malaise suffered by an individual as soul loss, or a part of the soul being taken away, stolen, or kept by a loved one. Our ancient ancestors believed that a soul could get lost and because it had trouble finding its way back, the individual became ill. Additionally, an evil entity could steal a part of the soul; thus creating illness. A parent, especially a mother, might keep a part of her child's soul out of love when that child married, or went away and unknowingly create illness. The healer would travel to another realm to locate the wandering soul or a part of one and return it to the client. This was done by directly blowing into the client's mouth.
Spirit and soul are often interchanged. From my perspective, they are not the same. Unlike the soul, spirit is not all-pervading. It is totally individualized, that is, it refers to specific individuals. It is, of course, non-physical. For some, the spirit is the place of one's emotions which help define one's character. Whenever an individual experiences physical or emotional trauma he or she may suffer spirit loss. A parent who loses a child may experience spirit loss. Depression, whatever its cause, signals spirit loss as does anxiety. To help remedy this, the healer will offer certain herbals, suggest specific crystals and maybe a pouch with ground plant leaves to be worn around the neck.
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