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In your patience possess ye your souls [vital self].
*Luke 21.19 (AV)
The dramas we live out take unexpected turns, and as we make new choices, the life of the soul takes shape. The critical thing is to have a life of the soul, and that comes about only through expansion.
*Deepak Chopra. Life After Death.
The activity of the Spirit becomes more and more important as we progress in the life of interior prayer.
*Thomas Merton. Contemplative Prayer.
What is this talk about soul? Let us posit that we have three aspects of our self-system - for we are a "system," made up of varied dimensions of being-experience. This is only one way of positing our self-system: for our purposes it suffices.
1) Body
This is the physical aspect of being-experience. We are body, but not fully body. We need rest, shelter, food, drink, ...
2) Mind
This is the intellect, the realm of thought and ideas. We are mind, but not fully mind. We could not relate to our world or each other without mind. The brain is the medium of mind.
3) Soul
This is the aspect of Spirit; we are spiritual beings, first and foremost. The spirit, or soul, makes possible body and mind. We are spiritual beings with a body and mind. We move through aspects of religious-spiritual experience, toward union with God, in soul - here, even the idea of soul is not.
Our locus of being-experience is one of three - though these are fluid, and a person can move through the three, based on varied matters. Most person's locus is in body-consciousness, with some mind-consciousness and almost none, if any, of soul.
According to spirituality, theology, metaphysics - and I clam physics, also - soul is the most pure-in-consciousness of the three loci of being-experience. Soul is the fount of religious aspiration, spiritual experience, and union with God. Body and mind participate in these, but only from God through soul.
As the locus of being-experience moves from body to mind, then mind to soul, expansion takes place. Why? The movement of soul is increasingly toward Pure Spirit, from Whom, or What, - Whom and What do not apply in Spirit - soul arrives in this world. The soul is eternal, for the soul is that of God in you and me. Nothing can be of God and not share in God's eternality, or it would be from God, not of God.
Along the Way, we face opportunities to expand - recall, spiritual growth is always expansion, never restriction. Do you recall when you encountered an idea that would require you to grow in thought beyond where you had been? What did you do? Did you retreat into familiar territory? Did you accept the challenge and grow beyond previous thought?
Or, have you had a spiritual experience that challenged what you had been told was possible or okay, and if you accepted it, you would be criticized or held in suspicion - possibly, told you were excommunicated or ostracized as "unclean"? What did you do?
We need to reexamine faithfulness spiritually. Is faithfulness to God clinging dearly to the past, with its thoughts and experience? Is faithfulness to God seeking wisely to accept challenges given us to expand in our understanding and, also, in our spiritual experience - even if it goes beyond the past?
Sure, we need to be sagacious and discerning. That is why I used the word "wisely to accept." Yet, the problem among us in religion is not over-extending ourselves toward expansion. Our problem is being afraid to let ourselves expand. In expansion is the movement of the soul, however, alerting us to the possibilities inherit in the Divine, ones we are created to participate in.
So, we have choices. We can ignore the soul, and the soul will quit speaking. We can listen to the soul, allowing ourselves to stretch toward its life, and the soul will lead us gently beyond where we thought possible. Indeed, our choices shape the life of the soul, or stifle it in fear of the unknown or the social consequences of our choice to follow.
If Jesus is first and foremost the shepherd of our souls, our entire inner connection with the One he called "Father," then, we need to listen to these words:
But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
*Luke 9.62 (NLT)
This following need not be pushed. The Spirit leads us gently along the Way. And as told us in Luke 21.19, in patience, or perseverence, we will find our lives fulfilled in the Divine. For in expansion comes increasing meaning and fulfillment.
As we live more fully out of soul, we receive more of the Spirit's help. This is affirmed in Merton writing, "The activity of the Spirit becomes more and more important as we progress in the life of interior prayer." We receive as much help as needed from the Spirit, and it will not fail to arrive on time.
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*Charitable contributions would be appreciated to assist Brian in continuing his ministry. For contributions, contact Brian at barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*Brian's book of spiritual love poetry, An Ache for Union: Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major booksellers or the Cokesbury on-line store, cokesbury.com .
*Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist Pastor, lives in Southwest Florida. He is a vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in South Georgia. He lives a contemplative life and seeks to inspire others to enjoy a more intimate relationship with Christ. Brian advocates for a spiritually-focused, experiential Christianity and renewal of the Church through addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons.
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