Ask most people how large their soul is, and they will say that it is small. Some will say it is a divine spark. Ask them where it is, and they will say it is deep inside them like a nugget of gold surrounded by dirt. Most of those who answer in this way will not stop to think about what they say. They simply accept it. An accepted way of thinking such as this is called a paradigm and can have many hidden implications. For instance, if the soul is small, this implies that it is finite, limited and not especially important. If it is deep inside, it is hard to contact, cannot connect to others, and is out of touch with the real world.
Those who have actively studied such things, especially those who have been exposed to Hindu beliefs have come to see the soul and its relationship to the body and the universe in a different way.
First there is the physical body. Around it and permeating it is the slightly larger etheric body. It is composed of “higher frequency material” or subtle energies. It can be compared to a liquid while the physical body is solid. Higher and lower frequencies do not mean one is better or worse than the other just like a liquid is not better or worse than a solid. Surrounding and permeating both the physical and etheric body’s is the astral or emotional body. This usually extends 6 to 18 inches beyond the physical body but can extend to many feet. This body is composed of higher frequency material than the etheric body and so it is larger just the way a gas tends to occupy more space than a liquid. This body is the source of the idea of personal space and of picking up another person’s vibes. The etheric plus the astral bodies are what are usually called the aura. The existence of the aura has been proven with photographs, and with electronic instruments (See Infinite Mind by Valerie Hunt)
The layer beyond the astral is called the mental or causal body. This layer is larger and more diffuse than the astral and its boundaries are less solid and more permeable. This allows things like telepathy to occur and clairvoyance.
The outermost layer is the soul or spirit. This is the largest layer and does not have boundaries. This way of viewing the soul or spirit supports the idea that all things are connected. That all things are part of a greater being that may be termed God, the creative force of the universe or any other name you wish to use. It also shifts the idea of the soul as being small, finite, and unimportant to being infinite, independent of the body and greater and more important than the body. The difficulty in contacting the soul comes not from its size or being hidden deep within us. It comes from not being quiet and listening and from looking in the wrong place like a fish only looking for water within itself. Thus, all souls or spirits are not just connected but are in fact parts of a greater whole. Individuals are concentrations of energy, but that energy connects to all things everywhere. It is not a part of us, we are a part of it.
Samuel Abrams
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