What is the soul and how may I approach it?

[Minyatur]

This is not game, even though such comparisons can be made.


One should proceed with care. 
This is not a game.

I'd venture to say that to approach the soul, one needs to be able to recognize the quality of a game regarding one's experience. What is a short-lived incarnation to the infinite? Perhaps something alike an interactive-movie, or a game?

Then if everything is the experience of One, how is it not a game for the One to explore illusory separation with Itself, losing itself into the vantage point of being many all the while it is never truly many. Exploring the concrete manifestation of its thoughts, as it manifests them through will. All this, until our Creation reaches a great enough spiritual mass in its infinity so that it coalesces back.

I say, see your experience as a game and tread with a light heart. A lot in the material hints to see our experience lightly in the light of truth. For example the definition of the Law of One (how we amuse ourselves in distorting our dance through the m/b/s complex in an unnecessary fashion) or the definition of how healing occurs (realizing deep within the Law of One. That there is no disharmony, no imperfection; that all is complete and whole and perfect). I think to see one's experience as a game, a fleeting moment of investment within one's actual existence, definitely can be a good direction in wanting to approach one's soul. To seek the immersed and focused player that lies behind the mind-body interface that is of this illusion.

[jafar]

I say, see your experience as a game and tread with a light heart. A lot in the material hints to see our experience lightly in the light of truth. For example the definition of the Law of One (how we amuse ourselves in distorting our dance through the m/b/s complex in an unnecessary fashion) or the definition of how healing occurs (realizing deep within the Law of One. That there is no disharmony, no imperfection; that all is complete and whole and perfect). I think to see one's experience as a game, a fleeting moment of investment within one's actual existence, definitely can be a good direction in wanting to approach one's soul. To seek the immersed and focused player that lies behind the mind-body interface that is of this illusion.

Thanks and I agree,

As matter of fact the 'aha' moment for me on this matter was when I saw a man screaming hysterically during his VR game session. Merely a different stimulus given to some of his physical senses (eyes and ear) and without any 'veil of forgetting' could caused a series of (negative) emotions and reactions. Even after the VR google was being lifted he still continue to scream in anger.. #gamerRage . Using gaming term, he was so 'immersed' in the game while using Buddhist term he was so 'attached' to the game.

[Sacred Fool]

I think to see one's experience as a game, a fleeting moment of investment within one's actual existence, definitely can be a good direction in wanting to approach one's soul. To seek the immersed and focused player that lies behind the mind-body interface that is of this illusion.

I agree with this entirely.  So, why did I say it's not a game?  Well, in some sense I believe that as well.  That is, I believe it is not a trivial pursuit, if you will, and I know from experience that one can go off the rails into very dangerous territory trying to hack the software.  Ergo, I have a bias towards caution--not inaction--but deliberate caution.  All that said, it's none of my business what you guys do and I'm probably overreacting, to be honest.

But......there's just one more thing.  If you'll indulge me here and allow me to lump us three together as overachievers in this "pursuit," I would suggest that there can be a little something which can stick in our blind spot in this regard, something that may prevent us from seeing the kangaroo in the tree because we've become somewhat skilled at mapping the subtle trees.  I'm referring to the role of love as the substance of transcendence.

You may consider it like a game, my friends. You may consider this a game. Find the hidden picture. You will remember this game. There is a picture of a tree and hidden in the branches of the tree there is a picture of a kangaroo. So it is with your life, my friends. Hidden in every picture is a picture of love. Love distorted, love undistorted. Love strained by your own misunderstandings, but nevertheless, my friends, that thing which we call love creates the changes and incarnates all that there is.

  
  

[Diana]

I think to see one's experience as a game, a fleeting moment of investment within one's actual existence, definitely can be a good direction in wanting to approach one's soul. To seek the immersed and focused player that lies behind the mind-body interface that is of this illusion.

I agree with this entirely.  So, why did I say it's not a game?  Well, in some sense I believe that as well.  That is, I believe it is not a trivial pursuit, if you will, and I know from experience that one can go off the rails into very dangerous territory trying to hack the software.  Ergo, I have a bias towards caution--not inaction--but deliberate caution. 

I agree with the above. My take is that we approach existence open-mindedly like a child who sees wonder in everything because it is new—and in this way it is the mindset of a game—one might say this is love. But in addition, and perhaps paradoxically, this would be balanced with responsibility and accountability—and one might say this is wisdom.

In my life I do this in my own way. 

[Sacred Fool]

But in addition, and perhaps paradoxically, this would be balanced with responsibility and accountability—and one might say this is wisdom.

Yes, and I would inflect it differently--if you don't mind. 

I think the game aspect is obvious, what's less so is the Sacredness.  This is what I would call love: opening to and working in the sacredness the Great Way.

    

[Dtris]

Awesome thread so far. I guess I will add my 2 cents.

The common conception of the soul as the essence of the individual which is separate from the physical self is a flawed concept. This belief is based in cartesian duality as much as anything theological.

The flaws in common understanding is that the soul is created for a specific third density incarnation, and that the soul will go to paradise or be damned. While this is more theological than metaphysical I think the concepts are so intertwined that it is hard to discuss one without the other.

What the common conception gets right is that the soul is eternal.

How do you approach the soul? I would say most people don't. Or they only do conceptually from whatever religion they are indoctrinated in. So they think the soul is something which needs "saved", or which must "submit to god", or must "release its attachments".

I believe all these are very limited ways of approaching the soul. Mainly because most are too limited and have a too narrow concept of the soul.

My favorite way of viewing the soul is from Kaballah and the 5 levels of the soul. I will quote someone else since I am rusty.

The Midrash states that the soul has five names: Nefesh (soul of vitality), Ruach (spirit), Neshamah (breath of life), Chaya (living one), and Yechidah (singular one). Kabbalah explains that these five names of the soul correspond to the level of soul in each of the worlds. Nefesh corresponds to the soul in the realm of Assiyah, Ruach in Yetzirah, Neshamah in Beriah, and Chaya in Atzilut, while Yechidah represents the quintessential point of the soul (Etzem HaNeshamah) which is rooted in the Or Ein Sof. Hassidism teaches that the Nefesh resides in the blood, Ruach in the heart, Neshamah in the brain. Chayah and Yechidah are transcendent of the body, not enclothing themselves in any particular limb. The Kabbalists explain that through successive incarnations, all levels of the soul are elevated.

Depending on the source only certain levels of the soul continue between incarnations. What is interesting is while the Nefesh is usually viewed as the animal soul, I find it more beneficial to view it as the composite soul of all the cells and organisms of the body.

What I mean is that each molecule can be viewed as 1st density life, and each cell can be viewed as a distinct second density life, while each organism becomes a higher second density life until it becomes third density. If we believe that 1st density molecules are alive, then they have a soul or consciousness of some form, then so would second density life, of which a single cell is indistinguishable from a bacteria in this view. So if all these have their own consciousness then how does the third density and higher second density entities soul and consciousness interact with the others?

My opinion is that there is a type of composite soul made from the interaction of mutually benefiting molecules and cells. This composite soul is what becomes the animal soul or Nefesh and is what is primarily associated with the base needs of the organism and the reptilian brain as it is known. That is why this soul is said to die when the body dies as it is no longer needed and the constituent individual consciousnesses either die, or transform.

In this way it can be seen as a service to lower 2nd and 1st density consciousnesses to be a part of a body, and by honoring and loving the body those parts can be given love and light to use for their advancement.

One of the higher soul levels is also considered the same as the Higher Self. This is represented by meeting Metatron and seeing he/she is you.

I don't think I answered anything, oh well time to get back to doing stuff.

[Sacred Fool]

  
As a way to balance all the talk of digging deeply to find the soul, I want to slip this quote in here to acknowledge the importance of the personality--the deeper personality, I suppose.  It's a line of text from Latwii which is just tossed out in some other context.  It seems quite striking to me, though, in terms of how we might view the relationship of our spiritual work and our personality.

The disciplines of personality are such that your only permanent exit from this illusion into the next is that of personality.

I dunno, it just seems to make the humble personality seem kind of important somehow.


As bonus material, here's another passage from that same session.

Questioner: Hatonn [says] there are other beings. Are there other beings with you?

This is correct. We are many. We have a civilization, and this civilization has sent a large group of us to you.

Questioner: Do you travel in space ships?

We do not travel in the same type of space ship as the one known as Hatonn. We are closely akin to light itself, and thus travel in what you would simply call light. There is a difficult concept to convey, but our personalities are complete, and the basic difference between ourselves and Hatonn is that our sense of humor has gotten outrageous, so we have trouble sometimes talking to those among your peoples, for they feel that our humor is misplaced in dealing with such serious questions as love, truth, and beauty. However, to us the joy of life is so great that we find all this seriousness very humorous.

  
  
This seems very naughty to moi, but my guess is that a certain amphibian would very much approve of it.
  

[flofrog]

I do think amphibians are very humorous. They have to remember to stay kind, though. Or rather exercise this humor as love towards otters self ? As in someone who said, 'making somebody laugh is an act of love.'

[Ohr Ein Sof]

But if the soul is in an higher density, and we become our soul after death, then why would the soul need to be tested for entry into 4D?

Tested? I'm sorry I'm lost here..

However I do understand that this might be an influence from 'judeo-christianity-islam' belief system (which I'm also very familiar) where every 'soul' will be 'tested' and 'judged' in order to 'quality' ( or disqualify).

"Tested" was meant to be a reference to the Stairs of Light.

82.29 Questioner: You stated in a much earlier session that it is necessary to polarize anything more than 50% service to self to be harvestable fourth-density positive. Was this condition the same at the time before the veil? The same percentage polarization?

Ra: I am Ra. This shall be the last full query of this working.

The query is not answered easily, for the concept of service to self did not hold sway previous to what we have been calling the veiling process. The necessity for graduation to fourth density is an ability to use, welcome, and enjoy a certain intensity of the white light of the One Infinite Creator. In your own terms at your space/time nexus this ability may be measured by your previously stated percentages of service.

Prior to the veiling process the measurement would be that of an entity walking up a set of your stairs, each of which was imbued with a certain quality of light. The stair upon which an entity stopped would be either third-density light or fourth-density light. Between the two stairs lies the threshold. To cross that threshold is difficult. There is resistance at the edge, shall we say, of each density. The faculty of faith or will needs to be understood, nourished, and developed in order to have an entity which seeks past the boundary of third density. Those entities which do not do their homework, be they ever so amiable, shall not cross. It was this situation which faced the Logoi prior to the veiling process being introduced into the experiential continuum of third density.

Re-reading what I typed in my previous post, I can see how I left a lot room for confusion.  Those questions I posed were intended to be a rhetorical device to set up the conclusions reached further down.  For example:

...identity is not so much a matter of choosing to believe this or that profile of self, but is about freeing and balancing one's various levels of consciousness so as to be attuned--with beauty--to the deep vibrations (and all vibrations) of Spirit.

The point of the post was to speak about how to approach, or how to experience, the soul, and the suggestion is that this is done by exploring and freeing up the experience of the various levels of inherent consciousness.

According to Ra, the Law of One is:


all things are one,
that there is no polarity,
no right or wrong,
no disharmony,

but only identity.

Yes, that is true at that level of consciousness, but is not so at another level where even identity is surrendered.

16.22 Questioner: Thank you very much. In previous material, before we communicated with you, it was stated by the Confederation that there is actually no past or future… all is present. Would this be a good analogy?

Ra: I am Ra. There is past, present, and future in third density. In an overview such as an entity may have, removed from the space/time continuum, it may be seen that in the cycle of completion there exists only the present. We, ourselves, seek to learn this understanding. At the seventh level or dimension, we shall, if our humble efforts are sufficient, become one with all, thus having no memory, no identity, no past or future, but existing in the all.

That's what I understand when Ra (or Quo or others) mentioned "social memory complex'. A collective consciousness who shared data / memory gathered by many identities, many avatars, many unit of consciousness. Thus each identify itself as the entire complex and the complex also identify itself as each.

Yes, I suppose, but because I'm not involved with a SMC in this particular incarnation, my interest lies more, as I said up above, in communing with the aspect of self which distills from the incarnations the important, essential elements.  I find that approach to--or aspect of--spiritual growth quite compelling.  I also expect it would make one's spiritual work here more efficient.
  

my interest lies more, as I said up above, in communing with the aspect of self which distills from the incarnations the important, essential elements.

It seems to me you are experiencing that essense even as you typed because it is also apparent to me you are very much aware of yourself, your true "identity", the real self also known to some in this experience as Peregrine, and so very much more than that as You know it to be. From what I see in all your posts, you are aware of your true identity Now. This will slightly change with each new experience as something will slough off and another You is born again. You are, according to my observations, appoaching this knowing already. I could be wrong as we both know I have been lol.

[Sacred Fool]

It seems to me you are experiencing that essense even as you typed because it is also apparent to me you are very much aware of yourself, your true "identity", the real self also known to some in this experience as Peregrine, and so very much more than that as You know it to be. From what I see in all your posts, you are aware of your true identity Now. This will slightly change with each new experience as something will slough off and another You is born again. You are, according to my observations, appoaching this knowing already. I could be wrong as we both know I have been lol.  

I thank you, OES, for the very generous evaluation.  I've put up copies of it up on my walls, mirrors, in my car, etc.  And, by the way, a cheque is on the way for the exact amount we agreed upon.


For many years I've been inching my way along like everyone else on a deliberate spiritual journey.  Much of that time was spent exploring conceptual models, clearing feeling and thought patterns which detoured my energy, and also delving into some of the weirder high frequency connections I just happened to have some connection with.  So, I was shoveling out crap from my lower centers, entertaining my mental apparatus and getting snippets of intimations from The Great Beyond, however, these elements were not coherently integrated.  Therefore, my capacity to be of any real service was significantly curtailed because...well...I could compare it to an automobile where the wires and hoses and all that are just not hooked together properly.  It will move around a bit, but I you wouldn't feel safe taking it out into traffic.

At the stage which you've come upon me, the elements are slowly beginning to work with one another and coherence is increasing.  The reason for this is that one additional element is now coming on line, and that is my heart.  As this little sucker is becoming energized, the other stuff is beginning to connect up, and, as you can probably guess, it feels pretty good.

What's funny for me is that the feeling on the inside of this mechanical restoration is very much what Ra describes as the lower chakras becoming balanced so that more energy rises to the heart.  Honestly, it's hard to believe that it feels this simple.  But I do feel less roll, yaw and pitch in my functioning on the human level, and my heart is becoming progressively more relaxed and--well--normal.

I do want to say, though, on aggregate, it's a not a feeling of personal change so much a feeling of the clarification of consciousness; that is, it feels like a new normal that's pretty close to the old normal, but where my human animal energies are less distracting and my love affair with Divinity has more room to be present in my normal consciousness. It's maybe a bit like the transformation of the Jimmy Stewart character in It's a Wonderful Life.

Just to be clear, by the way, I feel I'm in the very beginning of this phase and that I will gradually develope with it for years to come (as you suggested above).  For instance, the business of the OP is not something I can (or feel I should) push my way into at this point.  I'm now just learning how to live with a human heart.

Thanks for noticing.  And, I might also observe that if you consider the above, it goes a long way towards explaining the biases of the ideas I've been pushing in many of my recent posts.  It's a naked, real life example of learn/teach.

   

[Ohr Ein Sof]

It seems to me you are experiencing that essense even as you typed because it is also apparent to me you are very much aware of yourself, your true "identity", the real self also known to some in this experience as Peregrine, and so very much more than that as You know it to be. From what I see in all your posts, you are aware of your true identity Now. This will slightly change with each new experience as something will slough off and another You is born again. You are, according to my observations, appoaching this knowing already. I could be wrong as we both know I have been lol.  

I thank you, OES, for the very generous evaluation.  I've put up copies of it up on my walls, mirrors, in my car, etc.  And, by the way, a cheque is on the way for the exact amount we agreed upon.


For many years I've been inching my way along like everyone else on a deliberate spiritual journey.  Much of that time was spent exploring conceptual models, clearing feeling and thought patterns which detoured my energy, and also delving into some of the weirder high frequency connections I just happened to have some connection with.  So, I was shoveling out crap from my lower centers, entertaining my mental apparatus and getting snippets of intimations from The Great Beyond, however, these elements were not coherently integrated.  Therefore, my capacity to be of any real service was significantly curtailed because...well...I could compare it to an automobile where the wires and hoses and all that are just not hooked together properly.  It will move around a bit, but I you wouldn't feel safe taking it out into traffic.

At the stage which you've come upon me, the elements are slowly beginning to work with one another and coherence is increasing.  The reason for this is that one additional element is now coming on line, and that is my heart.  As this little sucker is becoming energized, the other stuff is beginning to connect up, and, as you can probably guess, it feels pretty good.

What's funny for me is that the feeling on the inside of this mechanical restoration is very much what Ra describes as the lower chakras becoming balanced so that more energy rises to the heart.  Honestly, it's hard to believe that it feels this simple.  But I do feel less roll, yaw and pitch in my functioning on the human level, and my heart is becoming progressively more relaxed and--well--normal.

I do want to say, though, on aggregate, it's a not a feeling of personal change so much a feeling of the clarification of consciousness; that is, it feels like a new normal that's pretty close to the old normal, but where my human animal energies are less distracting and my love affair with Divinity has more room to be present in my normal consciousness.  It's maybe a bit like the transformation of the Jimmy Stewart character in It's a Wonderful Life.

Just to be clear, by the way, I feel I'm in the very beginning of this phase and that I will gradually develope with it for years to come (as you suggested above).  For instance, the business of the OP is not something I can (or feel I should) push my way into at this point.  I'm now just learning how to live with a human heart.

Thanks for noticing.  And, I might also observe that if you consider the above, it goes a long way towards explaining the biases of the ideas I've been pushing in many of my recent posts.  It's a naked, real life example of learn/teach.

   

it's a not a feeling of personal change so much a feeling of the clarification of consciousness; that is, it feels like a new normal that's pretty close to the old normal

This description is priceless.
Enlightenment or an illuminated conscious is not like stepping into this huge, one gigantic leap of change. It is so gradual that before even you know it, things have changed within and then without you. Only until we take time to reflect upon our personal journey does it become crystal clear that we have made a lot of progress. It does get easier as we go and we should really say this to everyone who struggles. It sounds so cliche; but it really is true. The average human being is wearing an infinite amount of heavy coats and when you are down to your last two coats to be removed, you sort of understand what needs to be done and look forward to shedding it. Hence, it gets easier as we go.
And yes of course, I think you know who you are, who you are becoming and who you once were. It seems so to me. I think we want feedback because we are in awe of the process which is so sublime we want others to feel and know it also. Sacred Fool, listen to your inner guidance system for the answers to your questions and I promise that it will come when you are not even considering it any longer. When you hear it, read it or however, you will know it is truth.
And in closing, You are a Living Soul. Lol. Yes, you are.

[flofrog]

I really wonder if the 'clearing of "crap" of lower chakras' that you were doing Sacred Fool, and hmmm... that we are all doing, is in fact not just for our benefit but changes the vibration for everyone else in a subtle way.. after all, we are all one

OES, this is the loveliest reminder for anyone,

I think we want feedback because we are in awe of the process which is so sublime we want others to feel and know it also.

[Diana]

For many years I've been inching my way along like everyone else on a deliberate spiritual journey.  Much of that time was spent exploring conceptual models, clearing feeling and thought patterns which detoured my energy, and also delving into some of the weirder high frequency connections I just happened to have some connection with.  So, I was shoveling out crap from my lower centers, entertaining my mental apparatus and getting snippets of intimations from The Great Beyond, however, these elements were not coherently integrated.  Therefore, my capacity to be of any real service was significantly curtailed because...well...I could compare it to an automobile where the wires and hoses and all that are just not hooked together properly.  It will move around a bit, but I you wouldn't feel safe taking it out into traffic.

I will disagree a bit with you here, because I see great value in this part of the process regarding being of service to others.

Take a so-called enlightened guru of some sort. This guru would presumably be spiritually a well-oiled machine, in service to others. But that kind of service is mostly there to follow (from the average standpoint) as though there is a huge gap between the guru and others who aspire to be like her/him.

But you, as a motivated person in 3D, perhaps stumbling along the path, offer the example of something at once relatable and of extreme value—the desire to better yourself, to grow, to reach for that which is beyond, to seek oneness with the all. As an average person, this view of someone like you, in my opinion, is more motivating and inspiring than an established guru. And, gurus, whether they seek it or not, have to contend with accumulating followers, which is in conflict with individuals thinking for themselves and working out the mysteries for themselves.

[Sacred Fool]

1)  But you, as a motivated person in 3D, perhaps stumbling along the path, offer the example of something at once relatable and of extreme value—the desire to better yourself, to grow, to reach for that which is beyond, to seek oneness with the all. As an average person, this view of someone like you, in my opinion, is more motivating and inspiring than an established guru.

2)  And, gurus, whether they seek it or not, have to contend with accumulating followers, which is in conflict with individuals thinking for themselves and working out the mysteries for themselves.

1)  Yes, perhaps.  But think of a pack of aspirants all traveling around a track and two or three break out in front, which is more inspiring, those to your sides or those up ahead who might tacitly be challenging you to catch up with them?  I would say it depends on the particular person and on their current circumstances.

Where I was coming from in my statement wasn't about providing inspiration, though, it was about doing deeper work in spirit.  The more balanced and reliable is one's vehicle, the safer and more effective are one's travels through space and time, if you will.

2)  I take your point--that's usually their source of income, after all--but there are exceptions.  Peace Pilgrim springs to mind.  She was a dedicated exemplar (an athlete on the spiritual walking track, so to speak) who was very balanced in her relations with those of her species.  She didn't accrete a syrupy following, to my knowledge, nor was she widely known during her lifetime.
  
   

[Louisabell]

Where I was coming from in my statement wasn't about providing inspiration, though, it was about doing deeper work in spirit. 

Yet still incredibly inspiring and beautiful    Thanks for sharing!

And thank you Ohr Ein Sof for your lovely reflections, you can only see in others what you already are within.

I feel very good about today.

[Sacred Fool]

1)  It does get easier as we go and we should really say this to everyone who struggles. It sounds so cliche; but it really is true. The average human being is wearing an infinite amount of heavy coats and when you are down to your last two coats to be removed, you sort of understand what needs to be done and look forward to shedding it. Hence, it gets easier as we go.

2)  And yes of course, I think you know who you are, who you are becoming and who you once were. It seems so to me.

1)  Yes, that's true on the level you're speaking about, and, there's more.  The heavy labor does become easier, and this leads to more subtle work, and this leads to work of greater subtlety.  This work can certainly be painful as well, although not so much the blunt force trauma of the earlier work.  But it can have wracking resonance due to the higher dimensional echo chambers of the upper chakras.
  
2)  Well, on the one hand, I am more seated in the awareness that this incarnation is a projection of a denser self (or of denser selves), but I am far, far from knowing who I am, I feel.  It's as though as you climb higher in the tower, your view of the landscape alters considerably.  Maybe at one level you can only see the shrubbery, then higher you can see the trees, then you can see above the trees and so on.  What we miss so often when hardening our thoughts of how upper levels appear is that our own experience of self and our concept of what self is changes so much that these early thoughts just don't have much bearing on the actual experience.  So, they look a certain way, but because the experience of self is so different, the experience of these denser avenues of consciousness is much different than we might suppose.

I guess I'm trying to say that I know that I don't know who I am.....much.
  

[Black Dragon]

For many years I've been inching my way along like everyone else on a deliberate spiritual journey.  Much of that time was spent exploring conceptual models, clearing feeling and thought patterns which detoured my energy, and also delving into some of the weirder high frequency connections I just happened to have some connection with.  So, I was shoveling out crap from my lower centers, entertaining my mental apparatus and getting snippets of intimations from The Great Beyond, however, these elements were not coherently integrated.  Therefore, my capacity to be of any real service was significantly curtailed because...well...I could compare it to an automobile where the wires and hoses and all that are just not hooked together properly.  It will move around a bit, but I you wouldn't feel safe taking it out into traffic.

I find this part is a really good description of where I find myself at right now, like down to the letter. All of it, including "weird high frequency connections". There's some stuff adding up with some more or less "transient" subjects I've been researching, leading into some deeper and more personal/archetypal themes. There's that, and there's ever present work with the shadow and small bits of headway I've been making there. Sometimes it's nice to see my raw reflection anew each time someone new comes to the forums with bitterness. I feel bad and wish I could help them more, but I'm thankful for the service they unknowingly provide me. A lot of work remains to be done, but I feel as if I've at least "gotten the darn thing to start", but it's far from reliably "street worthy".

I'm glad to hear about your experience of seeming to reach a new point or phase in your own journey. Some strange things have been going on here lately, not in a bad way. Things are transforming. Part of it is all the energies we are being bombarded with at the moment at this critical threshold, sort of exacerbating the effects of our individual efforts of working on ourselves.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

1)  But you, as a motivated person in 3D, perhaps stumbling along the path, offer the example of something at once relatable and of extreme value—the desire to better yourself, to grow, to reach for that which is beyond, to seek oneness with the all. As an average person, this view of someone like you, in my opinion, is more motivating and inspiring than an established guru.

2)  And, gurus, whether they seek it or not, have to contend with accumulating followers, which is in conflict with individuals thinking for themselves and working out the mysteries for themselves.

1)  Yes, perhaps.  But think of a pack of aspirants all traveling around a track and two or three break out in front, which is more inspiring, those to your sides or those up ahead who might tacitly be challenging you to catch up with them?  I would say it depends on the particular person and on their current circumstances.

Where I was coming from in my statement wasn't about providing inspiration, though, it was about doing deeper work in spirit.  The more balanced and reliable is one's vehicle, the safer and more effective are one's travels through space and time, if you will.

2)  I take your point--that's usually their source of income, after all--but there are exceptions.  Peace Pilgrim springs to mind.  She was a dedicated exemplar (an athlete on the spiritual walking track, so to speak) who was very balanced in her relations with those of her species.  She didn't accrete a syrupy following, to my knowledge, nor was she widely known during her lifetime.
  
   

[dreamoftheiris]

I like what Montalk from montalk.net says about the soul. He talks about it in this Gnosis series.


"Soul is the coupling medium between spirit and body. It provides the intervening layers between spirit and body that allows one to interact with the other. Otherwise the divide between nonphysical and physical is too great. Spirit is the core of sentience, freewill, and deep self-awareness. Without spirit, a person is nothing more than an automaton programmed by external worldly influences.

Soul, as distinct from spirit, has two primary layers: astral and etheric. The astral component, or astral body, is the seat of immediate emotional impressions, subjective biases, passions, and willpower. Without the astral body, a person would be dim and passive as a vegetable due to an absence of internal impressions, emotions, and will.

The etheric component, or etheric body, is comprised of subtle energy formations, patterns, rhythms, inertias, currents, and structures that vivify, shape, and regulate the physical body. Think of it as an energy scaffolding made of life-force. Without the etheric, the physical body is but a corpse that disintegrates under the influence of entropy.

While the Demiurge is made of soul, it lacks spirit. The Demiurge has no true sentient core, no true self-awareness. All it has are passions, urges, and drives applied toward repetitions, patterns, rhythms, laws, and frameworks. As a result, it is a blind artificial intelligence that cannot help but carry out the impulses that comprise it. And that is the very definition of the universal Demiurge."


https://montalk.net/gnosis/171/corruptio...e-demiurge

[Sacred Fool]

  
I'm curious, what about that model of consciousness do you find appealing?

Personally, I find that it segments the self rather than unifies it the way the energy center model seems to do.  That is, expansion of consciousness is encoded in the body and is available through the balancing of the impulses and gyrations of the lower centers.  Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I have found this other model more detached (one part from another) and so harder to work with.  Have you found it to be otherwise?
  

[Ohr Ein Sof]

  
I'm curious, what about that model of consciousness do you find appealing?

Personally, I find that it segments the self rather than unifies it the way the energy center model seems to do.  That is, expansion of consciousness is encoded in the body and is available through the balancing of the impulses and gyrations of the lower centers.  Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I have found this other model more detached (one part from another) and so harder to work with.  Have you found it to be otherwise?
  

I am curious about your personal curiosity.
I want to understand more clearly your explanation. Are you saying consciousness segments the self rather than unifies it? And, the word, "encoded" I find interesting.

[Black Dragon]

  
I'm curious, what about that model of consciousness do you find appealing?

Personally, I find that it segments the self rather than unifies it the way the energy center model seems to do.  That is, expansion of consciousness is encoded in the body and is available through the balancing of the impulses and gyrations of the lower centers.  Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I have found this other model more detached (one part from another) and so harder to work with.  Have you found it to be otherwise?
  

I am curious about your personal curiosity.
I want to understand more clearly your explanation. Are you saying consciousness segments the self rather than unifies it? And, the word, "encoded" I find interesting.

We're sort of looking at apples and oranges here. The sort of Gnostic model of cosmology and the explainations of the structures of the "demiurgic illusion"...none of that in and of its self even provides a real model to even "work" with in regards to the energy centers. Gnostics(who were later known as Cathars in the middle ages), as far as I know, went down a bit of a rut of denial of self and the physical body and hardcore asceticism(followed by martyrdom/extermination by the Catholic church), but to my knowledge, never had a functioning model of working with the energy centers. While this Gnostic model does not include that concept, it doesn't explicitly exclude it.

Gnosticism is not a spiritual roadmap in and of itself to the self in the manner that some other systems are. It kinda goes "this, this and this and those dirty Archons" and then you're like "well yeah but what do I DO with that? How do I relate to it all?"*crickets*. It's like a view of the topography, like the overview of the structure of the "game". It warns about the obstacles and pitfalls a lot, but yeah...no "road map" around them. I'm 50/50 with Gnosticism and its various interperatations, in that I see a lot of truth in it, but also a lot of distortion and too much focus on certain things and not enough in others that could be more expansive and useful.

[Minyatur]

To me the soul is a creature of the second distortion (focus/love/logos), it is the creative principle and that is why we are called sub-Logoi. The mind/body is instead a creature of the third distortion (light). While it is in 1D and 2D also made up of "soul/love", the distinction seems to come from it being unconscious of itself because it was focused as Light by the Logos. So it is not a consciously creative process within the Octave yet before it becomes harvestable into 3D, despite that the soul existed potentially within the Octave since the beginning of space/time.

The soul being the focus, it is how the whole is able to experience itself in an holographic fashion. It is a vantage point from which infinity can see itself.

Then, to approach the soul maybe you need to find what makes you feel alive to create. I've had such a revelation on the winter solstice/grand conjunction day while I was on a magic mushroom trip at a local mountain with a friend. I've been pondering my lack of direction in life lately and how multiple people have personal projects they invest their energy into, I've been wanting to find something that I'd feel alive to invest my energy into and develop skills at the same time.

[LoveLight111111]

Thank you!