Soul: The spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state.
Spiritual mumbo jumbo, I say. My truth is . . . there is no soul. It does not exist. Soul is simply a synonym for the mind. When one dies . . . they are dead. Their souls do not travel to the Heavens to be with God. Nor are their souls forced to reside with Satan in Hell. I see death for what it is -- death is the end of life. The vital organs cannot function anymore. You cannot breath, your heart can no longer pump blood, your brain has permanently stopped processing. You are dead. I do not believe that there is a certain mystique that will exist alongside us humans on Earth. I don't need to find comfort in lies. I know that the death is tragic however I would prefer to acknowledge that, instead of telling myself a lie to detain my sorrows. People are not capable of coping with tragedies and they cannot overcome the shock of death. Soul is merely a shield, protecting us from realizing and coming to terms with the truth.
Souls are thought to be immortal. When your 'body' dies, your soul is said to keep existing on Earth. People believe that, because they seek comfort when a loved one dies. They feel as if they are losing a connection with their loved one forever. When one dies, their soul does not depart from their body. Their soul is their mind. When they die, their soul dies as well. However their presence lives on through memories. But religion has no place for rational thinkers. Christianity has two controversial arguments regarding the origin of soul. Firstly, they believe that God creates individual souls. Secondly, they feel that souls are contrived through birthing. I agree with this thought because it is true. When one gives birth to a baby, they are conceiving life and therefore creating a soul for their child. In Islam, the Qur'an states that a person's soul resides within their heart which contains two impulses: good and evil. After death, priestly humans live with Allah (God) until they are resurrected on the Day of Judgement.
"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."--C.S. Lewis
Soul is nothing more than emotional and physical unity. Your soul is your mind and how you connect every aspect of yourself together. It is your thoughts and how you reflect upon yourself and others. It is the balance in your life. Have you ever heard of the phrase "cleanse your soul"? You are merely relaxing and reliving your stress. It isn't cleansing the soul, but refreshing the mind. Your soul is your morality and consciousness. When you do something wrong such as committing a crime, the guilt and regret you feel are caused by your soul . . . the thoughts in your mind arguing about whether your actions were right or wrong. It is feelings and emotions. For example "lonely soul" is a remark applied to those who feel they are alone. Therefore, soul can also be defined as self-esteem.
The words "soul" and "sole" are homophones. Strangely enough, they have similar meanings.
Sole: -being the only one; only.
-Being the only one of the kind; unique; unsurpassed; matchless
-belonging to or pertaining to one individual or group to the seclusion of all others
-functioning automatically or with independent power
Every individual has a unique soul. Or at least I'd like to think so. I feel that souls are more of a characteristic. Everyone has different morals, values, and wills. We were not all raised the same way with the same belief systems. Sure, everyone has the basic knowledge of right and wrong: help others, treat others how you would like to be treated, do not break the law. But what about our inner balance? We all have separate ways of dealing with anger and stress. We are all soles with souls.
"Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel."--King Solomon
Souls develop throughout your life. So it is sad to say that when one dies, their life's worth dies with them. Their knowledge, values, and secrets are buried along with them. Sure, successful people have documented their knowledge in books. Nonetheless when one passes away, their most important part -- the core of their lives and their true selves, are lost forever. Maybe soul is a secret message telling us to make the most of our lives while we are still living them. To live life to the fullest and make the most of our souls.
"There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge"--Friedrich Nietzsche
Souls do not exist. But minds do.
holiday50
Author's Note: Sources:
http://www.reference.com/help/columbia.html
http://216.93.167.235/quotations/soul/
http://www.freeessays.cc/db/35/peh187.shtml
www.dictionary.com
