Soul and Spirit

First off; if there is an "I" (how can we even prove an "I" exists?), then is that "I" actually the Soul?
How does one actually experience the soul? What specific tool or faculty is capable of recognizing it?
Is it the ego? Intelligence?

The Grizzly boiled his answer down to: I AM.

Here is my take on the answer:
Let me give you an example. In almost every religion, God forbids lying.
A person finds themselves in a situation where they feel they "have" to lie. Before the lie leaves their mouth, a voice of reason kicks in and pushes back. This creates a struggle between the soul and the intellect. Whoever wins, rules the person.😬 😉

A question for the Grizzly. Who is the "I AM" in this scenario? Is it the person about to tell the lie, or the part of them resisting it?

Second question:
If there’s such a thing as a soul, how does a soul actually know it exists?

The soul knows itself because it's driven by pure desire. It wants everything for its own sake. Price doesn't matter, as long as it shines brighter than the rest.
Reason, though, is pure intelligence. If it existed without a soul, it would be like an angel with wings.
But the soul clipped those wings just to make reason stronger, giving it the power to pierce through certain mysteries.
The angels were put to the test when they first laid eyes on humanity.
They couldn't wrap their heads around it—what could possibly be the point?
As for why this matters, God created man,

I'm pretty bored of talking about the soul. We should hold off on discussing the spirit for a while—at least for me. If anyone else wants to run off and talk about it, go ahead...😁

nikol said:Taylor Campbell4, didn't you just mention how great people can rely on intuition to grasp things? Now you're coming after B. Bird for doing the exact same thing. If she's working with intuitive knowledge while you're stuck on being rational, then we all know who's actually ahead here. 😉

Intuition isn't just a feeling—it isn't an emotion.(!)
I was referring to glamour—which is really just an illusion on an astral level—that tricks us into thinking we're always right. That’s an illusion, not intuition, and it's incredibly obvious with Bluebird. She makes claims without providing any actual evidence regarding topics she clearly knows nothing about (leading to blatant falsehoods), and she does it using a pretty unbearable tone. Then, when someone points that out, instead of offering a counterargument, she just contradicts herself and labels the other person as "angry." 🙂

I'm not attacking her personally; I'm simply stating that it's poor practice to 1) write about subjects you have zero expertise in—much like
2) present baseless assertions as absolute truths and then get defensive when they're challenged.

In my view, a real discussion involves sharing opinions, listening to one another, explaining the reasoning behind those views, and asking questions if something is unclear. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case here due to the reasons I mentioned above. 😉

I’ve always had a soft spot for people who actually know they're right. It’s a rare find in this sea of skeptics. 😁

blue bird said:Lightning doesn't come from Zeus!

You just can't find spiritual insight through a purely material lens.

Besides, there isn't a shred of proof that lightning *doesn't* come from Zeus! 🙂

Dragos Dragos said:Yeah, what about me—as in, WHO AM I?

It’s just a thought... like any other thought regarding "self," or rather, individuality.

But when you ask the question, WHO AM I?, the answer would be: (even if that answer itself is just a WORD and not the essence) I AM.

That’s from one's own perspective... now, if you want to get into an argument, you could say the soul is an energetic body and so on and so forth... but that explains NOTHING.
Those are just superficial explanations up there.😉

Heh, here’s where things get a little twisted... I don't know if this way of putting it will make sense to you.

The classic wrong approach: viewing the soul as some sort of energetic entity—which is basically the same thing as claiming the brain creates consciousness (that version just sounds a bit more "scientific").
You NEED to look FROM YOURSELF, from your own standpoint.

BECAUSE: everything you see—the material, the immaterial, all those thoughts—comes from within, from your mind, from YOU!
And that applies to this physical world too, as well as the concept of the soul and everything else...

Your entire individuality, your whole thought process, everything you imagine, see, or feel, comes from WITHIN...
That's how I'd put it—it comes ONLY FROM SELF...

Since EVERYTHING "floats" within consciousness, and your little individual self—which asks so many questions about differences and relationships—is itself a thought... as are thoughts of God, the absolute, or the spirit moving toward the soul...
including this very thought and this text right here...
Since it's LIKE THAT, the truth—the "absolute"—can't really be understood, grasped, or reached.

As long as there is a QUESTION, there is UNREST.😉 When you DON'T ASK (meaning, when there are no questions), answers aren't needed.
In other words, you CAN'T answer this question responsibly.

Dear Dragos, since you’re being so kind as to stick with this discourse after changing the rules of the game yourself (you can't debate something that doesn't exist, right?);
I'll allow the conversation to flow freely, by your grace:

A person is composed of the mind, the senses, and the body.
These three are inextricably linked. The theory and practice of yoga (much like Islamic prayer functions as yoga) goes like this: by controlling the body and the breath (asana and pranayama), we control the mind.
Whoever controls the mind, controls the senses.
To reiterate:
Whoever consciously controls their breath can consciously control their mind.
Only when the mind—which is always free and wandering—is under control—that is, when the senses and the body no longer interfere with the signal—can one become aware of the existence of the soul.

The mind, intelligence, the ego, and the false Self have no capacity to perceive the soul.
Various feelings, thoughts, and desires have absolutely nothing to do with the true nature of the Soul.

The Soul is always filled with knowledge of eternal bliss.

Which is why, in our language, we can say:

(That) Soul is inspired by the divine spirit.
Or
(That) Soul is animated by God.

The Soul is not an energetic body. The Soul does not originate from the mind. God is not a product of the Soul.
A person who renounces the realization of the soul is incapable of realizing the spirit or God.

Jason Johnson4 said:Is there some bad energy hanging over you? Or did you just run out of gas?

You clearly can't see 😉clearly enough

Ahu Soph Nia said:
God, Spirit, and Soul are three distinct manifestations of the spiritual realm.

...

From a spiritual perspective, these three things are one; even if there are differences.

"even if there are differences"

Honestly, there aren't any. I mean, wherever you find 1, you've already found 2 and 3. 😉 😁

Muslim.com said:Karen Sanchez19 basically boiled her entire response down to "I AM."

My suggested rebuttal is this:
Let me illustrate. In nearly every religion, God forbids lying.
Yet, people find themselves in positions where they feel they "must" lie. Before that lie even leaves the lips, a voice of reason kicks in to protest. It creates this internal tug-of-war between the soul and the intellect. Whoever wins, they win heavy.😬 😉

A question for Karen Sanchez19: In this scenario, who represents that "I AM"? Is it the one about to tell the lie, or the one fighting against it?

God didn't "forbid" anything. He is everything. There is nothing separate from Him; nothing exists outside of His essence.

"I AM" is God—meaning Everything, the Absolute, all that exists. And in your specific example, it’s both sides of that struggle.😁

Karen Sanchez19 said:I find myself genuinely captivated by people who possess the clarity to know they’re right. In this endless deluge of skeptics, it’s actually quite refreshing. 😁

😍 🤣 🤣

Karen Sanchez19, since you’re being so incredibly gracious as to persist in this rant after moving the goalposts yourself (one shouldn't debate things that don't exist, right?);

explain what you're actually getting at here😉

The real question remains: are you even a truth seeker? Are you?

A human being is composed of the mind, the senses, and the body.

EVERYTHING originates from the mind.😉

Whoever consciously controls their breath can consciously control their mind.

But WHO is ACTUALLY in control?😉

The soul is not an energetic entity. It does not stem from the mind. God is not a product of the Soul.
A man who rejects the recognition of the soul is incapable of recognizing the spirit or God.

I have nothing more to offer than a repetition of my previous post...

So, what connection could YOU possibly have to this so-called SOUL?🙄

Aretha Franklin said:Look, Gleč, this isn't some damn Walmart's "buy three, get one free" deal. 😁 That’s how I see it. One is one, but man, it carries weight. If you think one can't exist without those other three, well, that sounds like your own personal issue—and honestly, a massive headache for Catholic doctrine. 😉

Gleč, that's not even what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, for crying out loud, 😉

Exactly. Everyone on this forum is just insecure. First, they lack any sense of self, and beyond that, there isn't much else worth saying.

blue bird said:
I was already where you are right now...
a long time ago...

🙂

I didn't realize you could actually leave from there, but hey, I guess anything is possible.🙂

What's the point of all these definitions for spirit, soul, and God? Aren't they just labels people slap onto their own unique experiences? You can't really put a definition on an experience.

I guess it would be smarter if people just shared their actual experiences instead.

Besides, if people actually understood what a soul, a spirit, or God truly was, would they even be human anymore? I'd probably call them higher beings. 🙂

mramesa said:What’s the point of these definitions for spirit, soul, or God? Aren't they just labels people slap onto their own unique experiences? You can't really define an experience.

I think it’d be smarter if people just shared their actual experiences regarding this stuff.

Besides—if we actually knew what a soul, a spirit, or God was, would we even be human anymore? I’d call them higher beings. 🙂

It’s standard practice to use words in conversation. Words are just labels for concepts, and those concepts usually refer to something real that exists out there.
If we're talking about a ball, everyone might picture a different kind of ball since we haven't been specific—but we're all starting from the premise that everyone has encountered a ball at least once in their life (even someone blind can have a concept of a ball without ever seeing one). The assumption is that there's at least one ball in this world, or that we can describe it well enough so that almost anyone 🙂 who hears the description can visualize it correctly (in terms of its basic geometric properties).

Sure, different people might experience soul, spirit, and God differently. It's also likely that these experiences are impossible to cram into words or pin down with a precise definition. Still, I think trying is worth the effort for a few reasons.

No matter how much people trash-talk logic and reason, they remain some of our most powerful cognitive tools—some might even say our only ones (for now). Why shouldn't atheists, for example, have the right to ask spiritual practitioners for a clearer explanation—something better than the usual "you just wouldn't understand"—about what they actually do? After all, spirituality implies someone is actually dealing with the spirit.
The problem, obviously, is when the spiritual practitioners themselves aren't clear—either intellectually or experientially—on what these terms mean or contain. When that happens, it can look like the terms have zero substance, or like you could just shove anything into that definition!

All the different answers here could mean totally different things—from these terms having no real content at all, to everyone describing a different "ball" they've seen, to everyone describing the exact same "ball" but in a different way.
Most of the replies here seem to rely on textbook descriptions—at best, secondhand experiences—like me giving a theosophical one, or someone else giving a religious one...
I agree it would be great if people shared their direct experiences with these concepts, but does anyone actually have them?
Or, to put it another way, are there any higher beings among us? 😁

Look, at the end of the day, a human being is basically this wild mix of spirit and soul just riding around inside a physical body, right? And apparently—if you believe the big guy upstairs—we were all designed to be made in His image.

Oh, please, can we just cut out all this nonsense!
I mean, seriously, does anyone here actually believe in the existence of a spirit or a soul???
Anyone at all?
You’re all just going back and forth, bickering over something that remains completely beyond your understanding..
And if I may ask you "believers"—how much do you actually do for your fellow man??
Do you honestly think that just showing up to church on Sunday morning means you've done everything you possibly can??? It's honestly pathetic...
By the way, you might want to take a long, hard look at your own conscience!
Because, as far as I'm concerned, a conscience is nothing less than the perfect union of spirit, soul, and body.

P.S.—and honestly, the body is just such a beautiful, sinful thing...👍

Give me a break with all this nonsense.
Does anyone here actually believe in spirits or souls?
Anyone?
It's just endless arguing over things you can't even grasp.
And if I asked you religious types how much you actually help your neighbors...
Do you really think showing up to church on Sunday is enough to cover all your bases? Pathetic.
Anyway, you should probably check your conscience first.
Because conscience is where the spirit, soul, and body meet.

Come on, it’s not quite that bleak. You help people because God sees it, right? You don't need a pat on the back from everyone else when God knows what you're doing.
Try adding a little positivity to your life. It doesn't cost anything.😁