The Soul - do we have one?

Today I'd like to raise the question of whether we possess a soul and, if so, what this soul might consist of. Perhaps a good way to begin is by elimination - if we determine what is not a soul in us, then what remains we may presume to be a soul.

We have already spoken at some length (see 'tearing down the ediface') about the nature of thought in relation to being. We determined that thought, excluded from the vital present (as past and past projected into the future) cannot approach or explain being. We further noted that individual thoughts cannot be said to originate in a unified consciousness but, rather, are the manifestation of a multitude of often conflicting little 'I's. Therefore thought cannot be a manifestation of the soul.

Beginning the ascent

In his Mount Analogue, René Daumal describes explorers who, having successfully arrived at the base of the mountain, become distracted by preparations. They discuss their impending journey, buy supplies, draw maps, wait for better weather and the time passes and passes. They do not begin to climb, their plans remain plans. Eventually a crisis is reached. Only then is the gulf between theory and practice bridged.

What delays us from beginning our climb? perhaps it is a question of energy - focused attention requires much energy. And so the whole notion of energy becomes an important one - how it is generated and spent, how it might relate to the mystery of consciousness.

consciousness of spine and ear

We have been speaking about the problem of thought, the possibility that conscience acts as a factor for increasing consciousness and the function of the body in relation to consciousness. And I'd like to expand this last idea a little more. As part of this discussion about the body contributing somehow to consciousness, we may include the possibility that we exist in a simulated reality. A little later I'd like to propose that sound (particularly music) possibly functions as an anchor of self in psychological time.

The unconscious body

We are evaluating the tools of the mind in order to see what can help us approach this question of being. And we have rejected nondirected thought, the background of associative images, because of its hypnotic effect. We have also rejected directed thought as something fundamentally rooted in the past (or as the past projected into the future as prediction) which cannot, therefore, illuminate the vital present. And we presume that the vital present is the home of being.

Conscience and nondirected thought

We are assessing the tools we possess in order to know which can bring us closer to the nonexistent mountain that serves as the bridge between humankind and the absolute. And we have discovered that directed thought cannot help us in this regard - being fundamentally a product of the past and indistinguishable from the thinker. We're going to look at nondirected thought now to see if it can better approach this question of being.

Purusha the primordial

Our paired Western concept of thought and the thinker will not bring us to the shores of the invisible mountain. But an alternative view of thought may get us further - we can find traces of such views in traditional religious texts, the rallying signs and passwords of others who have passed this way.

Tearing down the ediface

To climb the nonexistent mountain, it is necessary to plan ahead - in what state are my tools? Perhaps I will need to replace some of them, others may be too heavy for the journey. Each tool must be evaluated and, if found lacking, discarded. I'm going to begin by considering the value of thought, of the thinker.




Philosophical/psychological discourse has always failed to unravel the mystery of our presence in the world. The division between being and thought remains unbridged by ordinary means.