Human Experience – Understanding The Soul – Part 6 of 6

Understanding The Soul – Human Experience – Part 6 of 6

In this series we have talked about all aspects of the soul, its attributes, its purpose and its progression.  Ok, so now let’s bring it back down to earth to discuss the human experience…

Evolution in the physical phase of human experience is a long process. Souls who have mingled in the physical plane have experienced a great fall. They find themselves in bodies with minds more similar to animals rather than the spiritual beings which they are. Observing our closest relatives in the animal world we see many of those traits remain as part of the human experience. In the animal world we find territorial wars, male or female domination over a group, fighting for the right to mate, fighting for resources, etc..

The soul – Human experience – Animal instincts

We have talked about the various levels of existence of the soul, but right now we are having a human experience. Let’s talk more about the levels of our human experience, as this is our immediate concern. At the lowest levels of human consciousness we are driven by animal instincts. We feel we are mortal and therefore fearful of death. This fear drives us to compete or fight with others for perceived limited resources. The life experience is dominated by fear and because of this we run away from potential threats and avoid many experiences. We react to things without being fully conscious and therefore we have minimal control over our emotions.

We seek a mate to continue our lineage and to receive love. We seek personal power over others to satisfy our needs. We surround ourselves with material goods to indicate our importance and achievement. We look for happiness outside ourselves so we need “stuff” to fulfill this desire. We rely on others to do as we say in order to make us happy. We try to make ourselves look better on the outside for the purpose of impressing others. We protect our self-image by needing to be right, thinking we are better than others. We lie to ourselves and others to cover up our ignorance and bad behavior. We are frequently in a state of mentally rehearsing conflict with others regardless of their physical presence. We blame other people or circumstances for our unhappiness. Our ego is in a constant state of mental chatter judging everything. At this level we are separated from everyone believing it is us against everyone else. We try to find allies in order to fight against other enemies. The world is at conflict with groups fighting against other groups. There is little to no collaboration unless it serves the purpose of getting what we desire.

The soul – Human experience – Rising above basic animal instincts

Eventually we start to subdue some of these animalistic instincts and start controlling our mental state. At this stage we realize we create much of our reality with our thoughts. The act of focusing on something brings about its reality. Positive thoughts bring about more of a positive experience. Negative thoughts bring about more pain and suffering. We begin to learn we can attract certain experiences and material goods into our life through this mental control. At this level however we are still living a material existence, with little cognizance of our spiritual connection. Our new found knowledge of attracting material goods serves to validate and strengthen our ego and the desire for more physical goods. We may start to collaborate at this level but the main motivation is still selfish in nature.

The soul – Human experience – Seeking to become a better person

The next phase of rising human consciousness entails a desire to be a better person. Here we start to develop a sort of personal integrity to ourselves. We exhibit self-discipline in all aspects of our life. We endeavor to stop lying to ourselves and others. We want to achieve wisdom through learning. We may have a strong affiliation with a religion helping us become more brotherly, loving and moral. We want to be known as hard working, dedicated and honest. We begin to take responsibility for our life and become more accountable for our actions. The goal at this level is to achieve respect from others by earning it. Volunteering and helping others becomes important in order to feel good about ourselves. One must truly discern at this level whether motivations are truly altruistic or ego oriented. This is the beginning phase of self-actualization.

The soul – Human experience – Self actualization

In the next level of human evolution we start to question who we are or more importantly who we wish to become. Finding and pursuing a passion in life is the main objective. We are no longer motivated solely by money but rather by our passion and joy in life. Here people dedicate their lives to a cause, profession or artistic pursuit with little regard for remuneration. There is much less conflict as we enter the flow of life. Life becomes more synchronous, as we utilize our given talents with passion we begin to operate on a higher level. We explore the limits of what we can achieve, being all that we can be. In this process we take full responsibility for our state in life. Self-actualization requires knowing our talents, strengths, weaknesses and mental abilities on a deep level. Living life at this level is like a candle we wish to burn brightly until we are thoroughly used up and the flame finally goes out.

The soul – Human experience – Seeking spirituality

When we finally arrive at the level of spirituality, we become more introspective questioning the meaning of life on a deeper philosophical level. We look towards those who have experienced higher levels of awareness and enlightenment. We begin to see a clear message that has been conveyed since written history began. We are spiritual beings, there is a higher level of existence available to each and every person. This knowledge can only be obtained through a sincere desire to know. It is not as if this information is hidden but only those who seek will find it. As a great spiritual teacher once said, “Ask and it is given, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and the door will be opened unto you.” Through seeking earnestly we find the answers to the mystery of life. The soul is forever evolving and life on earth is but one school in which the soul progresses.

We come to understand the purpose of human life is experience, a means to an end. We see all the drama that occurs through ignorance, but we understand all souls are in a state of becoming. There is no judgment because judgment implies ignorance of this fact. Here we are at peace with our self and life as it is, everything is as it should be. By living life with compassion and love, we are no longer fearful of death and welcome the experience as part of life itself. We seek the things which are not material by nature but rather spiritual. Compassion, love, gratitude and peace are innate qualities governing this level. The motivations of the ego are put into context and objectified as something overcome. The motivation to do for others is without thought of reciprocation.  Happiness is achieved by an inner state and knowledge of truth which is unaffected by outside circumstances. Rather than seeking love, one becomes the embodiment of love, seeking only to extend love to others. Compassion transcends forgiveness and all life is viewed as sacred and divine.

The soul – Human experience – A means to an end

There can great joy in the human experience of physical life, but the goal is to remove ourselves from this physical experience and progress to new levels of spiritual existence. Here the mind attracts a higher spiritual existence by becoming that which is spiritual. Attachment to material goods is released along with the attachment to personal desires and outcomes. Life is no longer achieving through the brute force and desire of the ego, rather it is a surrendering to the will of the creator. The soul will be tested at this level by the last remnants of personal attachment and desire. Focus must remain on the unity of all things and that which is unseen, unheard and untouchable.  The true reality of things can only be felt by the heart. The highest point in this level is the overriding desire to rejoin the league of souls at the highest levels of spiritual existence. We all started there together and some of us have lost our way…

The final level will be obtained in a single lifetime but could take many hundreds of lifetimes in a slow progression from one level to the next to reach that one lifetime. The importance of living a human life goes beyond leveling our karma. There are lessons in choice and experience. We learn the higher levels of spiritual awareness result in how we react to life. Every life is filled with challenges, heartaches and tribulations, it is how we react to them that teaches us about divinity. In human form we cannot possibly fathom experiences that lie beyond our imagination, but they will involve realities and planes of existence in which we will further evolve into creator like beings.

The soul – Human experience – Why seek knowledge of the soul?

So why is all this important?  Why make the stretch to believe in the soul?  Well if you’ve ever worked for a company and knew your work was unnecessary and useless then you understand how demoralizing it can be to feel your time is wasted. By going through life after life without the slightest inkling of what you are and what your purpose is can have the same affect. Everyone wants to feel a sense of purpose and everyone wants to feel good at having accomplished something worthwhile. Going through life after life without an idea of our purpose is like digging a hole and then filling it back in again, over and over and over again. What’s the purpose?  There is one thing that becomes clear upon viewing our life after death. The love we have fostered and extended through life becomes the treasure of the soul. The extension of love is our purpose.

Herein lies the beauty of eternity, at some point in life everyone grows tired of playing with toys. The material world is one big toy and eventually we will want to move on to other challenges and realms. Like any trip in life, one must learn to enjoy the ride, but at the same time it is always nice to know where you are on the map towards your destination. It may seem overwhelming to think in terms of progressing through hundreds or thousands of lifetimes. All it takes however is one lifetime in which an idea is fully absorbed and accepted as true, one lifetime to become aware. Once we become aware, our soul will progress rapidly from the knowledge gained in that one lifetime.

This is the plane of existence in which truth must be absorbed because this is the plane we fortified our belief in the illusion of separateness. Cause and effect dictates this requirement. We must remember however that time is only an illusion experienced while in the physical realm. Beyond this everything is happening all at once. This is another aspect of reality we cannot conceive of. Leaving one lifetime with the consciousness of this new idea will change how we work in the next realm. We will bring a new level of awareness with us into a realm where progress can be made rapidly. Once you have absorbed the idea of the soul and know it as truth, you are at the beginning of the end of the physical reincarnation experience. Once truth is accepted, we can never look upon illusion again with the same set of eyes.

What is Truth?

To be fair, truth is seen as subjective, what truth is for one person does not mean it is the same for everyone else. We can all agree however that whatever we absorb as truth creates a reality for us. In recent years the law of attraction has become an accepted mainstream idea. Could it be too far of a stretch to believe we can also attract a higher level of consciousness? The truth we can all agree upon is everyone believes what they want to believe and as such it creates their own reality. The belief in the body is what creates all sickness and suffering. If we continue to believe we are human animals with no continuation of life, then why would we experience anything outside of that belief? Life after life our higher self is waiting for us to realize we are quite literally creators of reality. The people throughout history who have reached complete enlightenment have all taught the same thing. I encourage you to seek and find out what this is. No one person, religion or group can give this to you, one must seek and will this for themselves.

We spend so much time of our human experience trying to amuse ourselves and trying to entertain ourselves, but to what end? What we all seek is a sense of love, joy and peace. The trappings of the physical world bring only temporary moments of happiness. What we seek can only be obtained by fulfilling the function we were created for. If you study and listen to the enlightened sages who have achieved awareness of this truth you will find they teach the same things. Our true nature can only be known by our desire to discover it. If we spend our time amusing ourselves with all the distractions of the material world, we will never discover it. Why not spend some time learning how to achieve this truth for ourselves?

I wish to leave this series on Understanding The Soul with one final comment; If I have sparked within you even the slightest interest to seek more understanding, then I have accomplished my purpose. Your soul is waiting for your mind to become whole once again. Once this awareness has been fully achieved you can become the steward of your soul..

Applying the lesson:

If you do not seek, you will never find…

or

Ask and it is given
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and the door will be opened unto you..

Until such time that we start “asking” we are left wandering in the wilderness, life after life…

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Thank you for reading : )