Helping
Understand the Mystery Of
Spirit-Soul-Body
By Rev. Simeon Stefanidakis
Just about
every religion on earth discusses some form of Trinity within the
scope of the Spirit. In most cases, the concept of the Trinity is
mystical and wondrous. Even the world of mathematics hails its unique
element. The strongest and most stable geometric figure is the triangle
(never will a three-legged stool wobble). It requires three non-colinear
points to determine a plane. We, in the physical world, are accustomed
to perceiving and experiencing in three dimensions.
Traditional
Christianity proclaims the Divine Trinity as one of its most basic
statements of faith. From a more esoteric perspective, the triune
aspect of Father, Son/Daughter, and Holy Spirit helps explain so
very much in life and creation. As Christianity began to evolve,
the concept of Trinitarianism began to shake and weaken, and from
that shaky foundation emerged a new -- well, actually, quite ancient
-- concept of God and Creation, beautifully expressed in the Hebrew
Shema:
"Hear,
Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."
The Oneness
of God forms the foundation of Unitarianism.
Must Trinitarianism
and Unitarianism oppose each other? I think not, if we consider
the following: God is One, plain and simple. But, we, the spirits
which God created, exist in a wondrous and most mystical trinity
of Spirit-Soul-Body.
One question
which countless people have asked us is: What is the difference
between my Spirit and my Soul? We hope this article will help explain,
at least in part, some of the confusion between these two elements
of ourselves and, then, explain how body functions with them.
As always,
the best place to begin is at the beginning. The Gospel of
John -- considered by theologians to be the most esoteric
and mystical of the Gospels -- begins with the single, most important
and profound statement concerning life and creation: "In the beginning
was the Word."
God:
The Creator
God is our
Creator. From God came everything, and everything that is, has been,
and shall ever be has its roots within God. Our most fundamental
statement of faith, here at the First Spiritual Temple, is that
God is Spirit, without gender, form, creed, or color. Subsequent
to that is that we -- the spirits; ALL the spirits -- were created
in God's image as Spirit. This is fundamental to our faith and to
our teaching.
Despite so
much emphasis upon God's Human image and the Person of God, especially
amongst Catholicism and Orthodoxy, there is a fundamental truth
deeply inherent within most religious and spiritual pathways: God
is Spirit. I think you would be hard pressed to find any religious
leader denying this fundamental truth. The unity and oneness of
God is supreme. If God is One, there can be no splitting of God
into gender (Him/Her, Father/Mother), form, or any other physical
or spiritual personage. Yet, so many of us vehemently and rigorously
subject God to physical characteristics. Oneness is oneness; it
is a superlative.
As Spirit,
we were created and we live in God's image of Spirit. Thus, within
us, we have all the attributes of God, we are all part of God and
of God's Spirit, and we are created of the same stuff as God; but,
we are not God.
Spirit:
The Creation
Your Spirit
is that part of you which is the direct creation of God. Your Spirit
is the highest aspect of who and what you are. Your Spirit is devoid
of all elements of human personality and character. It is a direct
fragment of the Divine Life of God.
The Spirit
is one with all and understands, fully, that oneness, as well as
its oneness with God, its Creator. The Spirit is perfect and universal
in all aspects, save one: the Spirit is not God.
The Spirit
is the highest expression of universal individuality -- an oxymoron
which contains, within, many keys to truth -- and has its roots
with God and with all the spirits, within the highest realm of Creation;
a realm which we cannot even begin to comprehend, here on the Earth
plane.
The Spirit
knows everything, because there is no new thing under the sun. Furthermore,
there are no evil spirits. The most heinous people to have walked
the earth were created in the very same image as were the saints.
On that level of life there are neither saints nor sinners; there
is only Spirit.
Your Spirit
is perfect in all ways. Why? Because God is perfect in all ways.
There is only One, greater and more "everything" than your Spirit:
God. Remember, we were created in God's IMAGE as Spirit. Thus, as
with any image, we are not the original. God is the original; we
are the image. As Spirit, we may be a perfect copy, but we are just
that: a copy. As perfect an image as we may be, we are, nonetheless
an image. Thus, there will always be a distinction -- ever so subtle,
though, it may be -- between us, the Creation, and God, the Creator.
Thus it is
in Heaven, so to speak. But, what about here, on earth, where we
live and breath and have our being?
Soul:
The Liaison and Guide
Just as God
created us in His image, as Spirit; in order for us to live the
Human experience, we created an image in the likeness of our Spirit.
That image is the Soul.
Your Soul
is that part of your Spirit which has human character and which
links with the human experience. This immediately brings to mind
the question: Are there other realms of life, within physical creation,
not human in nature, nor connected with our planet? We believe there
are. Otherwise, as so aptly expressed in the movie, Contact:
"What a waste of space that would be." Furthermore, we believe that
some Spirits -- also created in God's image as Spirit -- have chosen
to experience realms of life and Creation other than the Human experience.
But, let us focus upon ourselves, members of the Human Kingdom,
with the planet earth as our physical home.
Because the
Spirit is perfect, the Soul is an expression of that perfection,
but to a lesser degree. Again, your Soul is an image of your Spirit;
just as your Spirit is an image of God. It is the Soul which "descends"
from the home of the Spirit and resides within a level of Creation
somewhat removed -- in terms of vibration -- from that of the Spirit.
The Soul is closely linked to the Earth plane and the human experience.
The Soul is
sometimes referred to as the "higher self" or that part of us which
guides, through intuition and through its connection with the Spirit
and with God, our earthly affairs. The Soul has its roots in what
we traditionally call the Spirit World, but it dips its feet, so
to speak, from time to time, onto the Earth plane.
Like the Spirit,
the Soul does not experience evil or negativity directly; it responds
only to goodness. However -- and this is a big "however" -- the
Soul's response to goodness is only as powerful and vital as the
presence of goodness within its various personality manifestations,
here on the earthly plane. Thus, on the level of the Soul, we have
limitation.
The Soul is
limited and it is evolving, and that limitation is manifested in
many ways. The Soul can respond to its own goodness and to the goodness
around it only to the degree in which that goodness is made manifest
in its earthly incarnations. Like the Spirit, there are no evil
Souls. Unlike the Spirit, there are "less good" Souls. This is very
important to understand.
Within the
home of the Soul, spirituality is measured and made manifest not
by the comparison of goodness and evil, but by the various degrees
of goodness manifested within the multitude of Soul lives. Where
there is little goodness, there is little activity and life. As
the Soul evolves, through successive incarnations, it becomes beautifully
glorified and its aura takes on hues and colors unlike anything
we can perceive with our physical eyes. The clairvoyant who has
"soul vision" -- and not all clairvoyants perceive on that level;
in fact, most do not -- is always awe-struck at the wonder and beauty
of the Soul's energy body.
The Soul has
conscience and it understands the difference between good and evil;
right and wrong. The Soul evolves, through choice and karma, ever
guided by the Spirit which, in turn, is ever guided by God. In many
ways, the Soul is the "prodigal son" seeking to return to the Father;
in this case, the Father is its Spirit and God.
Finally, the
Soul is of Spirit essence; yet, it has its own body -- energy rather
than material.
Body/Personality:
Hands-On Living
Having said all this,
we have still not come to the level of Earth plane life and experience. We
have mentioned good and evil, but no mention has yet been made of evil's
expression and manifestation.
In order for the Soul
to incarnate onto the Earth plane, it does so through the creation of a
physical body (the third element of the Trinity). And, with the creation of
the body, the Soul creates the Personality.
You have one Soul,
which is an image of your Spirit, which, in turn, was created in God's
image. But, you have created multiple personalities, living within multiple
bodies at various points in history. Each time you decide to reincarnate,
you create a new earthly personality and a new earthly body.
The Personality, also
known as the "lower self," is that part of ourselves to which we
can all identify. It has gender, form, race, social standing, ethnic
attributes, etc. It is born and it shall die. It is born into a specific
family and has a specific name. The Personality is born into a body made of
flesh, blood, and bones, rather than a body of light and energy. We
tenaciously hold onto the Personality and its bodily form, and we
tenaciously subject God to our Personality traits.
Through the
personality, we experience so many of life's difficulties and must determine
how we shall respond or react to these challenges. It is the Personality,
created by the Soul, which incarnates onto the Earth plane in order to
experience all that this physical world has to offer. It is the Personality
which is subject to the limitations of three-dimensional time and space.
Finally, and most
importantly, it is the Personality, which is susceptible and receptive to
negativity and evil. Within the world of the Personality -- the Earth plane
and that level of the Spirit World very closely linked to the Earth plane --
both good and evil exist. Here, on the Earth plane, evil is not merely the
lack of goodness; it is a very real force unto itself, created and made
manifest by the various people who inhabit the earth.
Somewhere, between
the level of the Soul and the level of the Personality -- somewhere between
the second and the third elements of the Trinity -- there can be created and
made manifest evil and negativity.
To sum up: Your
Spirit is always guided by God. Your Soul is always guided by your Spirit.
And your Soul always seeks to guide you and your Personality, here on earth,
to the degree that it can, in the daily affairs of your life. But, your
Personality can choose, consciously or unconsciously, either to accept, not
to accept, or to reject the wondrous thread of guidance given by your Soul,
your Spirit, and God. On the Earth plane, it really is all a matter of
choice. Furthermore, if we choose wrongly or choose not to listen, it does
not minimize, in any way, the Love and Guidance given by God and the Spirit.
Thus we have the
Trinity of Spirit-Soul-Body/Personality: three aspects of the One. And here
is another point which needs clarification. Within this Trinity, there is
also a unifying force of life and guidance. The Spirit of God, through the
mystery of the Holy Spirit, guides and inspires us all, no matter where we
may be or what type of life we may be living.
We define the Holy
Spirit as God's Spirit alive in the world and within the affairs of men and
women. The Holy Spirit can be likened to a grand web of consciousness. It is
everywhere and everyone can tap into this vast network of the Holy Spirit.
And because it is like a web, any two points within that grand network can
connect, commune, and communicate.
Thus, even in our
darkest moments, there is guidance, light, love, and healing available from
God, through God's Holy Spirit. Your Spirit knows this and seeks to receive
and work with this. Your Soul knows this and seeks to receive and work with
this, to the degreee that it can. The earthly Personality must evolve to
this level of awareness and, once it does, it must openly receive this and
share it with others. In so doing, the Soul evolves and, subsequently, so
does the earthly Personality.
So, no matter who we
are, where we may be, or what we are experiencing, God's guiding Light is
always there and freely offered. On some level, we all receive this Light.
On the earthly plane, some manifest this Light; others do not; still others
seek to shadow and dim this Light.
Jesus requests that
we not hide our Light under the bushel. Jesus instructs your Spirit and Soul
to shine, radiantly, here on earth, through your Personality.
Evolution: The
Grand Journey
Spiritual evolution
can be summed up quite simply: reuniting that which has become fragmented.
Spiritual evolution is the process whereby the earthly Personality is
elevated and brought into at-one-ment with the Soul; while the Soul is
elevated and brought into at-one-ment with the Spirit. This process is
fueled, guided, and inspired by God and God's Holy Spirit.
Death is the
returning of the Personality back to the Soul, bringing into the essence of
the Soul all that it learned and experienced, both positive and negative,
here on the Earth plane. The Soul, guided by the Spirit and by God's Holy
Spirit, then decides how it will make manifest the lessons it has received
from the Personality, as well as make amends, through the Great Law of
Karma, for the injustices it may have committed against others, against God,
and against itself. It does this through successive incarnations -- each
with its own Personality and body -- until it reaches a point where the
earthly Personality is a perfect manifestation of the Soul's goodness -- on
earth as it is in Heaven. At that point, it no longer seeks incarnation, and
the Soul moves along in its evolution back to the Spirit. How and in what
form it does this is for another article.
Ultimately, we are
all -- human and otherwise -- wending our way back to the Spirit's home,
where we will be one with each other and one with God; thus completing the
cycle initiated when God breathed life into us and created us, in His image
as Spirit.
It is all really
quite amazing and even more wondrous when you stop and think about it.
© 2001 First
Spiritual Temple. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or reuse of any pages without written permission is strictly
prohibited.
First Spiritual Temple
The Ayer Institute
16 Monmouth Street, Brookline, MA, 02446-5605 USA
Telephone 617 566-7639
E-mail to the FST
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