In our description, we use the word
soul. We then went on to claim that a soul emerges, takes many forms, and can be nurtured, manipulated, or thwarted.
So, what do we mean by soul? Sometimes
soul and
spirit are used to mean the same thing. We hold that these terms are distinctly different. Intuitively, we feel that if we asked a person to join us at a spiritual event or a soulful event, two different “feels” would be expressed. There is something of the sky in spirit and something earthy about soul. This is our working definition (meaning up for discussion and modification) of soul. Soul is when spirit and earth comingle. In fact, we prefer “souling.” Souling implies a verbal, an action, whereas soul implies a static, definable “thing.”
Psyche seeks soma for souling.
With this understanding we join the conversation related to whether a person defines themselves as religious or spiritual. When I first encountered the debate I was lead to believe that religious meant that a person followed a certain spiritually focused discipline. Spiritual people lacking discipline were merely finding a way to not commit to any disciplines of practicing their faith. Spirituality became “airy-fairy” while religious people were focused, deep, and determined.
Then I looked around at the religious people I know. Were they focused, deep, and determined in their spiritual disciplines? Frankly, the answer was no. Religiosity had degraded into habitual behaviors and defensive positions. Slowly as our culture polarized, the religion/spirituality debate spun out with centrifugal force. Now the “truly” religious became literalist-conservatives and those in the spiritual camp devolved into synchronous mush.
So, ta-da, we bring you souling. It is more of an experience than a definition. You know it when you experience it and it changes your life in a small to a big way. Curiously, you may experience souling in the midst of a religious tradition or spiritual event, but not always. It is the moment when something is both bigger and deeper than its parts would indicate, an experiential gestalt,transcendence with both feet on the ground.
So there you have it in a nut shell (no amplification of my use of the word “nut” please). We invite anyone to respond if they are also intrigued and experienced in souling. Actually, if you have had such an experience, we would love to hear of it.
