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Paul David Walker

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What Is the Soul?

Posted: 03/15/10 12:50 PM ET

Imagine there is a place within you that connects directly with the formless intelligence that creates a new world every moment. It is the point where the deep light that enlivens us is connected to divine love, like a mother to a child forever. It is our portal to the infinite wisdom that the Native Americans called, "The Great Spirit." It takes the divine energy of what Emerson called, "The Great Intelligence," and weaves it into every moment of our life. Happiness is being consciously aware of the flow that comes into our life, filling the unique sphere of our being. It is where our forms, beautiful, and light meet with the infinite love of the being that created us, and all living things.

Our Avalanche of Fear
Sometimes it seems like our view of this light is covered by an avalanche of fear piled upon us by the struggle of living in this finite world. Somewhere between the moment of birth, dancing with the joy of childhood, and our first steps into adulthood, we bury the light of our heart beneath piles of fear. Slowly, almost without noticing, our lives become cold and meaningless. We lose touch with the flame of life. We lay beneath the debris our painful mistakes have left behind, smothered with coats of armor around our hearts to conserve warmth and protect what is left of our light. But shields of protection also block out the light that leads us to the surface. One day, because we hold the flame in our hearts, we see the light and begin the climb. We live again in the radiance of our Soul.

Our Light Within
Once we recover from the avalanche of our fears, and find the surface full of light, the quest to let our lives shine with this creative presence only begins. As we see we are connected to an infinite being, we nurture this awareness each day quietly and follow our breathing, letting go of the fears that cover us as they fall out of our comparisons and judgments. We learn to let ourselves fly to the edge of our Soul, and peer out into the infinite. We feel the currents of the divine flowing into us, and let them guide us deeper into the heart of life. We learn to drink of this refreshing spiritual spring that is always there for us. When we feel this essence with every breath, our lives will never be the same.

It Waits For All of Us
This is what the ancients called "Awakening," which is the beginning of a timeless infinite journey into a beautiful mystery beyond anything I can describe. It waits for all of us to take the first step.

 
 
 

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10:54 AM on 03/22/2010
It turns out, our soul - it's only just energy symbiont.
Intelligent life that exists in our world in parallel with us. Our bodies and our minds are constantly interacting with their intelligence and energy. Moreover, we - that is, Homo sapiens were once established it is these very energetic creatures. Because of their sense suschestvavaniya is improving. And the improvement, as it became known, can not occur without the experience of life and love.
Initially - it was one entity, identity, essence, or individual is ...
And how she came to our planet, only known to her alone. Ie - God knows!
Yes. Over the entire history of Homo sapiens, we have found many ways to describe this essence, it is like our God. Because of its ability and opportunity - really super-human. Divine.

With the development of our intellect, and along with it - our world, our soul came into our lives as something supernatural. Because it is true. The physical basis of its existence remains a mystery to us.

Is it possible under modern conditions in direct contact with them (Soul, symbiont, God ...) reason?
Why did they allow all sorts of tragedies in our world?
PS. Sorry for the bad translate to English (Google...)
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Paul David Walker
12:00 PM on 03/22/2010
Thank you for your wisdom on this matter.
12:36 PM on 03/22/2010
As well as Kabbalah, and your assumption is very much entered in the model offered by us. Good luck!
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
07:03 PM on 03/16/2010
I wonder if anyone here can be more specific on what constitutes the nature of the soul than was mentioned in the article?
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Paul David Walker
07:33 PM on 03/17/2010
So many things have been written. This is my attempt. Knowing it is there and then diving deep into to it is my best advice. Each being is unique in its nature. This is what I see inside me.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
07:16 AM on 03/18/2010
Ok, I sure won't argue with a personal knowledge in the matter.
04:33 PM on 03/16/2010
While I admire the intent of your article, it seems to be nothing more that flowery rhetoric that instilling a temporary euphoria about concepts few can really understand.
"formless intelligence" - what exactly does that mean?
"deep light that enlivens us" - can light exist without darkness? Again, what does this mean?
"the unique sphere of our being", "flames of life", "light of our life", "let ourselves fly to the edge of our soul", etc. -- all of this terms sound noble, esoteric, and full of rich meaning -- but you are not explaining what they are, or how someone "do" what you describe.

Telling someone "how" to do is better then telling someone what they should or aren't doing. In this regard, what you have written doesn't seem too much different from any religious doctrine, differentiated only by your choice of metaphors and New Age prose.

Please tell us more, but give us substance and "how-to's" that can be applied, versus vaguely understood.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
06:03 PM on 03/16/2010
It is apparent that you have truly been deprived of deep light. As a matter of fact, if you do not enjoy the seminar, you are going to see plenty of deep light. In fact, we plan on removing your formless intelligence as well, since it is apparent you cannot appreciate rich value words that contribute to it.
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QDP
radical green architect
10:17 PM on 03/16/2010
It seems to me you have matters beyond the light to deal with yourself, M.
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Paul David Walker
07:31 PM on 03/17/2010
So many questions, I would love to spend some time with you answering all of them. Before the "how-to's" and the commitment and practice required to get there, it helps to have a picture of what you might discover. As a poet, it is my job to explore the unknown and come back with a report. This is my report. Others can help you with the practice required.
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elijah24
Ubuntu
02:34 PM on 03/16/2010
I don't believe in the "soul" from a religious point of view. I don't for example believe in a god or heaven and hell.
I do however believe that we, as humans, are more than the sum of our parts. I believe that our minds are more than grey-matter. That our principals and courage, our fears and sorrows, our loves and hates are more than a biochemical reaction.
Hindu refer to Brahmin as pure existance. As what is left when all the superficial is stripped away. While Brahmin refers to all of existance, I see the soul as the same thing within each of us. When you strip away the superficial ideas of appearences, or moods, to the deepest part of what makes me, me and you, you; that is the soul.
Does that part of us live on when the body dies? I don't know, but I think too much time is spent worrying about that. We know that we have this life, and I wish more of us would spend more time and effort shaping that soul into its best shape.
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QDP
radical green architect
10:18 PM on 03/16/2010
wow! enlightening- well said, thx!
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
03:47 PM on 03/17/2010
Do you think the soul is the same as ego or personality?
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elijah24
Ubuntu
04:45 PM on 03/17/2010
I think its close. To me a personality is deeper than a mood, but still a bit superficial. I think the soul is a little deeper. Your personality can change with depression or a life changing joy like the birth of a child, but there is still something deeper that is static. The principals you will stand on come what may; the fears and tragedies that will haunt you as long as you live. The things that make you happy, sad, proud, curious and our beliefs about the existential questions of life.
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Paul David Walker
07:08 PM on 03/17/2010
The Soul, or whatever you want to call it, is not the Ego. It is your essence. The Ego helps with survival while we are traveling through form.
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hayness
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence
12:00 PM on 03/16/2010
Woooooo. woooooo. wooooooooooo!!!!

Listen, I used to believe in this kind of nonsense until I did some research on it. There is ZERO evidence for the existence of a soul that is separate from the body. NONE.

It would be nice to imagine that we somehow could live without our brains but it's simply not true. The brain exists because it is NECESSARY for "you" to exist. Humans' enormous brains are a huge evolutionary liability and disadvantage. If "we" could exist without the human brain, that big brain never would have evolved.

http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/ghost.html
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
06:10 PM on 03/16/2010
What, you mean my wife was right when she called me a souless so and so.
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Paul David Walker
07:11 PM on 03/17/2010
Evidence, how would you define evidence? If you saw and felt your hand would you call that evidence? Likewise, as you let go of your beliefs, you will see things you have never seen before.
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Stephen Schettini
Stephen Schettini: once a Buddhist monk, now a wri
08:52 AM on 03/16/2010
If you take out the fluff, this seems to say that we recreate the universe with each moment of consciousness. Why complicate things by calling that process 'The Great Spirit,' 'the radiance of our Soul,' 'our light within,' 'God,' or 'it?'
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QDP
radical green architect
10:52 PM on 03/16/2010
agree, but we don't RECREATE.

one universe is plenty
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Paul David Walker
07:14 PM on 03/17/2010
It is more like riding a wave. Only the Ego believes it creates from thought. If I wanted to take away what you call fluff, it would be boring and dry. How inspiring it that. This is not a class room, this is an adventure.
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KrautMan
Carpe jugulum
04:26 AM on 03/16/2010
So, in a nutshell, some CEOs ruin their companies and that's why a "formless intelligence that creates a new world every moment" must exist? Wow, who would have thought.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
05:58 PM on 03/16/2010
A formless intelligence is a good thing. It's handy to blame when things go wrong.
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QDP
radical green architect
10:19 PM on 03/16/2010
Now I agree with you: I've always tried to show my girlfriends formless intelligence, and IT WORKS!
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Paul David Walker
07:37 PM on 03/17/2010
I am not following your logic. But thanks for you comment.
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KrautMan
Carpe jugulum
03:53 AM on 03/18/2010
It's not my logic, it's yours. And I am not following it either, which is basically my point. But thanks for your reply.
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06:51 PM on 03/15/2010
There is a tendency of the spiritual and religious among the liberal persuasion to think of God and spirituality in terms of consciousness. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but it suggests that the doorway to the Divine is Thinking of some particular order. This omits the necessity of conducting our lives with love, compassion, patience, gratitude, justice and truthfulness. We cannot separate the way we think (consciousness) from the way we act. The Soul is God's Presence in Man: Our Life is His Breath. But consciousness of God requires Godly Qualities to sustain it. The man who thinks about God but lives as though he does not cannot be regarded as a Godly man. It might, however, be true to say that the man who lives as though he thinks about God even when he does not is a Godly man. Godliness is inseparable from righteousness and morality. As a general rule, the thief will not be regarded as a charitable man; nor will the killer be regarded as a man of peace. The man who indulges his passions and whims cannot be regarded as a selfless man; nor can the man who seeks vengeance be regarded as compassionate.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
06:28 PM on 03/16/2010
Really?
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
06:38 PM on 03/16/2010
Sounds like I am a social experiment on God's table and should be paying taxes.
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halis
04:09 PM on 03/15/2010
I have to disagree: confusion, complexities, fear, these are all reality. There are no simple truths... I have to reject the black and white/absolute truth ideal, it doesn't exist. Your deeper realities are not other's deeper realities, still thoughts, maybe not bidden thoughts, but thoughts none the less. You can eliminate the chaff, but the reality exposed is often even more complex than the walls you've built around yourself.
For example, a right wing nut knows, when they have "Quiet time with God", that abortion is wrong, and that anyone involved in it should be killed. Simple, basic, and spiritually invigorating to them, but not truth, by any stretch of the imagination. Same goes for those on the left with me, their realities are oversimplifed, unrealisitic, untruths. You have to be able to accept that which you don't know, try to understand better that which you do "know", and accept the complexity of life and your place in it.

Thanks

hal
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Paul David Walker
07:40 PM on 03/17/2010
The complexity is sometimes simple, so simple, yet profound, it seems beyond description. Yet as we try to explain it, our words become complex.
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QDP
radical green architect
02:54 PM on 03/15/2010
Interesting assumptions, PDW,

The place is called the "brain". And obviously, "the Great Intelligence" isn't, otherwise how to explain the current global conundrum we face today. Connecting the SOUL, with the LIGHT and AWAKENING simply is conjecture for me, because there is no proof for this. Vivid imagery, yes, however without thoughts circling somewhere, there is no reality.

LOL! I do not buy into the need for meditation, the positive enrichment of prayer and the good godliness of the whole perplexing religion, for one reason. WE humans seem to be able to kill more with God on OUR side than for any other singular reason. The requirement of belief to supercede survival instincts, or whatever GOOD we explain to prosecute seems disingenuous to begin with. We are not supposed to be happy. Thrown violently into this world our primal instincts are strong for obvious reason. That is, if we left God out of it, then belief, righteousness and the need to fix with the soul all disappear. Imagine this: less soulful, enlightened peaceful killing....
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Paul David Walker
03:48 PM on 03/15/2010
First, thought is at best an approximation of reality. It points to a greater reality, but is not the reality itself. The more complex your thoughts the less access you have to larger realities, or even the more practical realities. I have seen CEO become attached to strategies that destroyed their companies, while the changes in the flow of the market were obvious. Granted thought helps us have this conversation, but it can also lead us into a fight over whose thoughts are right. If should come with a warning label: "Danger over use of thought can be hazardous to your health and the health of others." Hence wars. If we were more connected with the greater realities, instead of our thoughts about those realities, we would have less war and religion.

Second, if you can totally stop thinking and connect with the flow of the moment without meditation, then you don't need it. Meditation is a form of practice that allows you to transcend your thoughts and directly experience the greater realities.
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hayness
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence
12:02 PM on 03/16/2010
thought is at best an approximation of reality. It points to a greater reality, but is not the reality itself.

True. That doesn't mean you have a soul separate from the body. Just that we and our brains have evolved one method of interacting with reality.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
07:07 PM on 03/16/2010
I'm not quite equating the over use of thought with wars. Could you be more specific?
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Klarsonent
Semi-retired landlady, small business entrepreneur
01:23 PM on 03/15/2010
Excellent explanation!
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Paul David Walker
01:43 PM on 03/15/2010
Thank you so much.
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QDP
radical green architect
10:48 PM on 03/16/2010
no, thank you for thanking her, for explaining exactly what?

So much for so much.
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marycp
Christian Author
01:05 PM on 03/15/2010
You said:

Sometimes it seems like our view of this light is covered by an avalanche of fear piled upon us by the struggle of living in this finite world

Quiet time with God rinses me off. Confusion, perplexities, conflicts--for a time--stay way.

Wonderful post. Thank you.
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Paul David Walker
01:45 PM on 03/15/2010
Yes, when thoughts stop circling in our heads the deeper realities appear. Thank you for you comment.
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Soulmentor
"To thine own self be true...."
10:11 AM on 03/16/2010
Interesting that your comment instantly brot to my mind a comment from my mother. She always said I think too much.
Thinking is necessary for survival. For example, growing up gay forced me to think about life in ways the average str8 person doesn't ever have to, to find my way thru the pain and contradictions of growing up gay in a conservative religious milieu. It made me more introspective and more knowledgeable. But it also resulted in me being more preoccupied with philosophical complexities, which I have concluded is an endless preoccupation. One must take time-outs from it, get out in the light, feel the breeze, stand with arms outstretched to embrace an advancing rainfall, sing, get naked in the woods, touch another person. One must also FEEL to survive and too much thinking can stifle feeling. The Soul needs both.
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Magick1
Dark fire shall not avail you. You shall not pass
06:32 PM on 03/16/2010
Why is it a deeper reality? Why is it not a higher reality? Do I get something out of going deeper? How deep do I have to go? If I stop thoughts from circling in my head will I know where I am?