Thoughts and Musings on the Soul
/One of the books I carry with me in my heart-and is dogeared and inked up is, A Hidden Wholeness, by Parker Palmer. The below lines struck a chord in me this morning as I leafed through--- allowing the words to draw me in, and begin to pen this.
“...as we can name the functions of the wind, so we can name some of the functions of the soul without presuming to penetrate it’s mysteries:
The soul wants to keep us rooted in the ground of our own being, resisting the tendency of other faculties, like the intellect and ego, to uproot us from who we are.
The soul wants to keep us connected to the community in which we find life, for it understands that relationships are necessary if we are to thrive.
The soul wants to tell us the truth about ourselves, our world, and the relation between the two, whether that truth is easy or hard to hear.
The soul wants to give us life and wants us to pass that gift along, to become life-givers in a world that deals too much death.” --Parker Palmer A Hidden Wholeness
In the time of the great turning or great unraveling, pivoting towards the soul is a large slice of the path forward.
Why might you ask?
Because: Being rooted in the ground of our own being at a time when our reptilian brains are being triggered by media outlets, information and misinformation, isolation and uncertainty reminds us---that there is wisdom beyond what we see.
Beyond our minds. Beyond the linear world we have been habituated to see as the only reality.
Quantum physics will challenge our notion of what is real and not.
Out beyond ego and intellect there is a field, I’ll meet you there. Says the soul.
To hold our humanness, and soul.
Because: As physical distancing and social distancing are still being requested of us our souls can develop creative communities. Essential communities where your voice, the deep wellspring of your soul can be heard, seen, and acknowledged.
My soul doesn’t want to “other” people. My ego falls into the trap regularly.
Joining communities that allow you, and me, to explore "both parts". And to remember that falling down 100 times and getting up 101 is the journey.
Because: Our soul honors the bigger truths. The not knowing. The recognition there is more at work here than science. Or politics. Or humans. There is a mystery as well. Eternal. Beauty.
The truth of inequity. In health care. In wealth distribution. In safety in sheltering.
The truth of death. Of what it means to be alive.
Of the status quo lifestyle.
Of defining aliveness, awakeness.
Of justice. Of democracy.
Of what is missing.
And what we have too much of.
And how do we hold all of that with grace and grit?
How do we access deeper wisdom during difficult times?
Because: Living fully with the idea of death is a role of the soul. We become life-givers when we deeply understand how easily it can be taken away.
We are dealing with death on many levels, not only from disease.
My model of being a life-giver is to extend my care beyond my private life toward people and the planet that have fewer advantages. And it’s a practice of searching for what I can do. It’s not in front of me, in my bubble. Asking my soul. My heart. And to keep asking questions. Lots of them.
What is your soul’s role as we move forward into creating a fresh world, a world that works for all living beings?
A world that works for all doesn’t mean perfect. It doesn’t mean we won’t die or there won’t be pain and loss.
It does mean all beings will be included/represented at the decision making tables. It does mean our species needs to take its place at the table, not be the table and everyone around it.
Your soul has a role. It’s calling you to it. Spend some time with it now.
Here's one way you can explore. Prompt writing~!
Start with:
If my soul could speak it would…
My deepest longings are...
Where I find solace is….
What I am rooted in is...
The truth about me is...
I am life giving when I...
I get uprooted when...
Let yourself go. Write for 10 or 15 minutes. Don’t take the pen from the paper. Keep repeating the prompt to get the juicy unconscious stuff to rise. This is a way to access your unconscious and subconscious thoughts and feelings. So let yourself go. Its just for you. You’ll learn things that will help you on your way.
Here’s a smidgen of writing I did on one of these prompts-
My deepest longings are for a just world.
My deepest longings are to imagine what a just world would look like
My deepest longings are to hug my friends and family. To breathe them in…
My deepest longing is to not see others as a threat to my health.
My deepest longing is for humans to have a life-giving impact on the natural world.
My deepest longings are to trust in the invisible support around me
My deepest longings are for wonder and imagination and creativity to rise up and lead.
My deepest longings are for this to be a sign of the great turning, that we are reaching a critical mass of consciousness change.
My deepest longings are more a craving for some dark chocolate right now.
Taking a deep breath.
Not easy times.
Facing and embracing the invisible and mysterious soul, and extending deep and generous altruism is a direction.
Many blessings my friends,
Carol