soul ownership manual, vol. 1
Jun. 20th, 2008 03:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flamingswordIn moments of desolation or extreme self-destruction, you come across a part of yourself that you can't get rid of, fuck up, or break down any further than it is. That's your soul.
I know that most people got raised in religions that teach out of books, but mine was a more hands-on spiritual education, and I want to make sure this post translates across that gap, so let's define our terms - soul: the animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity; shame: a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.
It's scary, facing up to the part of yourself that you are helpless against. Some things are choice, and some are not. You have little influence when it comes to certain parts of who you are, and if you aren't tough-minded enough to forgo the illusion of always having a choice, then you will do the worst thing you can do to yourself and demonize this part of you that's making you afraid. We are taught by our culture to fear pain and the unknown. But our souls aren't easy to get to know; are we supposed to fear them, too? The soul's pain is our pain, we feel its aches even when we aren't aware of the source of our discomfort. To hate and fear a part of ourselves that we don't recognize is still self-hatred. I can't approve of that.
Our culture assumes that all 'good' souls are the same; so, since we should want similar things, we try to fill our needs by doing things we don't want to in an attempt to meet those common goals and ignoring the part of us that wants something different for itself. Because the world tells us we want those things, and since the pursuit of them is causing us discomfort, we feel that there's something wrong with us instead of challenging the world's assumption that each soul is no different from the rest unless it is 'bad'. So we feel bad for not being some other way, and then we lie and try to hide the parts that don't fit the dominant paradigm. We buy unnecessary heartbreak by forcing our lives into shapes that don't fit with the most fundamental part of ourselves, and we can make that better by changing how we live our lives. Shame has no part of what we are, not until we violate our ethics in this farce. Shame should be reserved for choices badly made, and not for the things in which we had no choice. I love you all, and I never want you to be ashamed to be yourselves.
The soul is not unchanging, but the mind has little ability to influence the soul. It changes when it wants something, and not when it would be convenient for the thoughts and feelings that make up our personalities. There are possibly ways to change the soul that I have not yet discovered, but I'll have to pass those along when I find out. It's a pioneer's world here, figuring out how to fit a size 12 soul into a size 10 life. If we figure out how to adapt our behavior to fit with what we are, there will be less friction between what we are and who we act like. We can respect our actions and take pride in being ourselves. That can't be a bad thing, and it's been a sound investment for many people. There are already books on this subject, but so far they all push a religious perspective. I'd rather just push you all to find who you are without reference to ideas about deities. Any handle you can get on your spirit has got to be a positive thing, even though most of these books don't teach you how to do it.
As to that . . . if you don't know what your soul feels like or how to tell it apart from the rest of you, then you may need to hurt yourself or ask someone else to hurt you. There's a high correlation between mysticism and self-harm. Gandhi's fasting, Jesus walking in the desert, a monk's vow of poverty: all reflect the truth that taking things away from the complicated system we have worked up around us leads us closer to knowledge of our spirit. Desolation is good for something. And ththough it's opposite of that path, self-indulgence has the same destination. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll all add more things to you, over-complicate the system until it crashes, so that the unbroken piece in the rubble is your soul. There's a lot of mess in giving birth to yourself, and there's going to be collateral damage. It's painful to do, and painful to watch others do. Maybe if we weren't raised with so many lies we'd have an easier time of figuring it out, not have to destroy so much that we've got to get to the truth. Maybe not. But the answer to who we are is in here somewhere, out beyond the borders of what we find comfortable and safe, and it is waiting for us.
The soul is unassailable. Beautiful and monstrous, it is ridiculously strong. Don't be afraid to find it and to consult it. Like all monsters it has it's own wisdom, and can answer riddles for those brave enough to ask, those who can be still enough to listen.
I know that most people got raised in religions that teach out of books, but mine was a more hands-on spiritual education, and I want to make sure this post translates across that gap, so let's define our terms - soul: the animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity; shame: a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.
It's scary, facing up to the part of yourself that you are helpless against. Some things are choice, and some are not. You have little influence when it comes to certain parts of who you are, and if you aren't tough-minded enough to forgo the illusion of always having a choice, then you will do the worst thing you can do to yourself and demonize this part of you that's making you afraid. We are taught by our culture to fear pain and the unknown. But our souls aren't easy to get to know; are we supposed to fear them, too? The soul's pain is our pain, we feel its aches even when we aren't aware of the source of our discomfort. To hate and fear a part of ourselves that we don't recognize is still self-hatred. I can't approve of that.
Our culture assumes that all 'good' souls are the same; so, since we should want similar things, we try to fill our needs by doing things we don't want to in an attempt to meet those common goals and ignoring the part of us that wants something different for itself. Because the world tells us we want those things, and since the pursuit of them is causing us discomfort, we feel that there's something wrong with us instead of challenging the world's assumption that each soul is no different from the rest unless it is 'bad'. So we feel bad for not being some other way, and then we lie and try to hide the parts that don't fit the dominant paradigm. We buy unnecessary heartbreak by forcing our lives into shapes that don't fit with the most fundamental part of ourselves, and we can make that better by changing how we live our lives. Shame has no part of what we are, not until we violate our ethics in this farce. Shame should be reserved for choices badly made, and not for the things in which we had no choice. I love you all, and I never want you to be ashamed to be yourselves.
The soul is not unchanging, but the mind has little ability to influence the soul. It changes when it wants something, and not when it would be convenient for the thoughts and feelings that make up our personalities. There are possibly ways to change the soul that I have not yet discovered, but I'll have to pass those along when I find out. It's a pioneer's world here, figuring out how to fit a size 12 soul into a size 10 life. If we figure out how to adapt our behavior to fit with what we are, there will be less friction between what we are and who we act like. We can respect our actions and take pride in being ourselves. That can't be a bad thing, and it's been a sound investment for many people. There are already books on this subject, but so far they all push a religious perspective. I'd rather just push you all to find who you are without reference to ideas about deities. Any handle you can get on your spirit has got to be a positive thing, even though most of these books don't teach you how to do it.
As to that . . . if you don't know what your soul feels like or how to tell it apart from the rest of you, then you may need to hurt yourself or ask someone else to hurt you. There's a high correlation between mysticism and self-harm. Gandhi's fasting, Jesus walking in the desert, a monk's vow of poverty: all reflect the truth that taking things away from the complicated system we have worked up around us leads us closer to knowledge of our spirit. Desolation is good for something. And ththough it's opposite of that path, self-indulgence has the same destination. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll all add more things to you, over-complicate the system until it crashes, so that the unbroken piece in the rubble is your soul. There's a lot of mess in giving birth to yourself, and there's going to be collateral damage. It's painful to do, and painful to watch others do. Maybe if we weren't raised with so many lies we'd have an easier time of figuring it out, not have to destroy so much that we've got to get to the truth. Maybe not. But the answer to who we are is in here somewhere, out beyond the borders of what we find comfortable and safe, and it is waiting for us.
The soul is unassailable. Beautiful and monstrous, it is ridiculously strong. Don't be afraid to find it and to consult it. Like all monsters it has it's own wisdom, and can answer riddles for those brave enough to ask, those who can be still enough to listen.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 06:04 pm (UTC)They remind me of some of the Buddhist things I've read/been taught, especially the "soul is not unchanging" and the "discovering who and what you are" parts. Since Buddhism is non-theistic (despite the presence of deities), you might find that more to your tastes than other "religious perspectives".
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 04:07 am (UTC)Buddhism and Tao are better than most Western religious paradigms at the teaching how to own a soul, but they neither one want you to get your hands dirty or cause trouble, which IMO is like ruling out the basis for all of human existence. We're made of trouble and designed for it right down to the cellular level. Noninterference and passive acceptance do not seem to be virtues to me in that context.
I don't want to transcend this existence. I love this world. I just want to everyone to live better in it, less bored, more free, joyously.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 04:48 am (UTC)The drive towards self-destruction seems to be a glitch in the system, however. There are thousands of glitches in the system, of course, because evolution is about what works, not what works perfectly.
I will say a word for the principle of nonviolence, however. To get everyone to live better in it, less bored, more free, joyously is a very good thing, but if it takes a lot of destruction to get to that point (a la Fight Club), well... One person's self-discovery is another person's ruined life, you know what I'm saying?
I will be leaving town tomorrow morning and will be gone for a long time, so I can't participate in an extended discussion right now, I'm sorry to say. But thank you for raising the issues.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 02:12 am (UTC)And yes, mysticism was involved and deities were rejected. Friends were made, just to end that summary on a happy note. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 11:21 am (UTC)clickety click
Date: 2008-06-28 07:03 am (UTC)This is one of the few major disagreements I've ever had with you, or anyone (especially people in organized religions) - the mind having little ability to influence the soul.
Christianity said a lot that souls don't deviate, or change, from the 'normal pattern' unless they were evil. Wicca said that the soul, or basically what a person truly was, was unchanging and eternal. Power was gained from teaching one to not hide from that true nature. I've found that much the same notion is there in most magical/new agey spiritualities... Even Satanism viewed the soul as a static thing, albeit more of a primal beast, that one should train themselves to stop hiding from and grow to actively embrace. In a way, you are agreeing with people you disagree with by believing that the mind is so powerless with such a foe.
I think the root of my belief in the changeability of the soul came about because of my ReiKi training. ReiKi was simply not "of me" before I had the attunements. Now, I find it hard to imagine a "me" that could possibly exist without ReiKi power. In my mind, such a person is merely a "less actualized" version of myself -- a me that existed back in the days when I was truly directionless and unclear. It's almost become a sort of symbiotic state of existence for me. The two forces -- me and the ReiKi -- have become that entwined. Now, we are one and the same... Kind of like falling in love, only with your foot... or something... ;)
ReiKi is directed with clear will and intent. It is a surgically-precise way to modify a person's energy structure permanently. It's quick. It's easy. It creates fast moving and broadly sweeping changes in a person.
Since receiving my ReiKi attunements, other things in my life have taken on an interesting quality for me. I viewed my witchcraft elevations as sort of attunements. I view the discipline I learn every day by going to my job as a sort of on-going attunement. When I work out, or organize something, or make a piece of art, it is sometimes like I can feel my insides growing and changing. this feeling extends to all levels, not merely my body -- but my mind, soul, spirit, and emotions as well.
With the proper mind frame, every day the soul changes. I agree that your ideas on "traumatizing the soul" are most beneficial experiences. Such things can be used to greatly accelerate the rate at which the daily progress towards personal enlightenment can be made...if they don't inadvertently cause a system meltdown in the process.... Indeed, that is why life is fun.
Work out. Man, that's the shit. It's better than drugs, and makes sex even more awesome. And you can do it to Rock 'n Roll. I swear, working out a couple of times a week makes all the difference in how successful I feel in my daily practice.
....there you go..... I posted..... ^.^