SOUL SICKNESS AND SOUL LOSS #1

Seven things that can destroy us.

 (And cause soul sickness.)

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle   

Mahatma Gandhi

 

“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”  

William Ernest Henley

At the end of the day Soul Sickness or Loss can sabotage our quest for the Higher Self or our Soul.

 

“It is very dangerous (for the soul) to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities…” Kierkegard

The search for the True Self or Higher Self or Soul is at the heart of all motivation whether, subconscious or not, we believe it or not, or do anything about it or not. We all are heading home to that Light eventually and aremade in the image of that Divine light.

"Before the soul enters this world ... it is show the first light which when the world was created illluminated all things... Why is the soul shown this light? So from that hour on it may yearn  to attain the light and approach it rung by rung." (The rungs on the Tree of Life or the Chakras.) Talmud

 

The soul is pure and whole. We are responsible and will be accountable for our actions that affect the soul when we face a spiritual tribunal at the end of our days. They will challenge the choices we made. The laws of karma are defaults for keeping the soul aligned with the body. The soul, made in the image of the Divine, is unified and does not split. Some mistakenly believe that the soul can be broken. It is the ego that gets shattered, usually, from severe abuse or trauma, not the soul. However, the soul can separate from a body polluted by submitting to sensory pleasures or an ego damaged by severe abuse or trauma of any sort.

 

From the sound of my sighing has my essence cleaved onto my flesh.

Is speaking of the soul’s essence lodging comfortably in the body... 

 

This wisdom can be found in king David’s psalms. What David means is that when we find ourselves in a state of equanimity and peace (my sighing) our body (flesh) merges with the soul (essence) to become as one. This happens to us but usually only fleetingly after a deep meditation a yoga class, a walk on the beach or a good massage et al... No doubt it happened to David tending his sheep and singing his psalms to the Creator. This is why the Ancestors are in favor of a bodily oriented spiritual practice best designed to enhance the senses.

 

The soul yearns to do the Creator’s will and clings to the body when all is well.
A body caught up in cravings and attached to sentient pleasures distances the soul.
The soul withdraws causing bodily imbalance and illness (which can become sickness).
The body’s (flesh) attachment needs to be broken so the soul (essence) can return to the body.

 

“The soul by reason of lust had become the principle accomplice in her own captivity.” Plato

 

Although poetically described, Plato is mistaken. The soul is neither a captive nor an accomplice to lust from the body. The soul, being pure, moves away when it becomes challenged by toxic behavior due to ego, monkey mind or shadow (evil inclination) from within or an attack from dark forces spiritual or otherwise from without. It is never imprisoned by it - quite the contrary. This separation can cause soul sickness or even loss.

“The soul is pure ...” 

Rev Nachman

One should not separate the soul from the 

Senses, 

Joy/happiness 

 The heart and love...

Our soul is made for joy and the more we truly love the more we will experience it and become its very essence.

We are here on the planet to enjoy our senses responsibly, enhance the creation and help all the Four Beings of Nature. Having our senses is a gift to be savored. Once we pass over to the Elsewhere we jettison the sensory body with its five senses. The senses then can only be experienced in the imagination which is not the same. Being in a sensient body is a gift but we need to handle the gift consciously.

The soul's fulfillment is through the experience of the senses.
The soul's conversation is not of the mind. It is best heard with the senses.

From my flesh shall I behold the Creator.

Love of Self and love of others are key. Self-Condemnation or Recrimination, guilt and especially shame are impediments to the soul's attachment to the body. Loving Self and others are catalysts for the connection.

 

“To awaken the heart is to awaken the dormant soul.” M. Gandhi

 

When the heart is muffled the soul shrinks (away from the body.)

 

 Pride and the lust for "stuff," prestige, fame and power get in the way of the connection between body, heart and soul and connection with that part of us made in the image of the divine. 

"God (and the Self) cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride." Upanishads

An increasing number of our world's leaders are suffering soul sickness and even loss, the toxic effects of which are projected onto their citizens.

The primitive mind (Monkey of Narrow's survival Mind) often get in the way of what the heart must embrace in order to coax the soul to open.

 

The soul’s language is learned by listening with the heart...

To the extent that the soul partly separates from the body, soul sickness can occur. Soul sickness can lead to soul loss which can have a grim prognosis. Soul sickness is more easily corrected.

Soul sickness can be associated with many factors including: 

The wrong rules of life. Attachment to the lures of materialism and a lack of a spiritual life - the "yoke" of being attached to the ego and an unawareness of Self - the True Self. Revelling in the ego, the persona and shadow against any spiritual awareness. The toxic side of social media, television and technology. Being impregnated with bad news concerning murder, pandemics, war or fear of impending war, climate change, earth calamities and the deteriorating condition of the planet etc. Others causes include violence, abuse of any form, misery, isolation, loneliness, extreme fatigue, burn out, severe illness, depression, malignant politics and a morbid fear of death. 

Many have an elements of PTSD from the above which can cause a degree of soul sickness.

The rugged individualism in the United States and a "Lone Ranger" mentality can create loneliness and isolation. Paul Simon’s song; “I am a rock, I am an island, and a rock feels no pain and an island never cries.” is the antithesis of what is required for the heart, love, soul and happiness. Vulnerability and connection to others are the key to soul health.  

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love. It is the prerogative of the brave.” M. Gandhi 

We think of vulnerability as being weak when in fact it's the opposite. Being vulnerable is being courageous and is a love vibration. Vulnerability is also about loving oneself - to admit to and forgive one’s iniquities. God and Jesus will forgive us for anything we have done to our Higher Selves but we have to be able to forgive ourselves.

God is not a test of love. God's love is not a test.

Karma is the test. The Creator does not micromanage and everyone is capable of redemption.

Soul Loss is more extreme than Soul Sickness and can come from: 

Self-abuse including that from sex, drugs, alcohol and addictions. Severe abuse from another or others - emotional, material, physical or sexual. Critical illness, trauma, violence, war and rape. Indulging in cults; satanic and religious ones especially when associated with war, murder or violence (Isis, Boca Haram, drug cartels and others.) 

Spiritual diseases such as intrusive spirits and even possession by a dark spirits, energetic pollution, witchcraft and sorcery can cause sickness or even soul loss. Some of these are unsupported by Western thinking and are discounted but are real.

Soul sickness and loss may result in a myriad of maladies; “dis”-ease, misery, isolation, fatigue, depression, anxiety, suicide, divorce, family disintegration, substance abuse, eating disorders, hopelessness, doubt, disbelief. denial, resignation, detachment, depression, desperation and false convictions arising from lying dogmas. “Dis-ease” can also lead to disease.

 

 KARMIC PRINCIPLES

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about peoples' opinion and you will be their prosoner. Do your work, step back, the only way to serenity." Tao Te Ching

Everything is a karmic test; 

Without the mundane there is no sacred and without the sacred there is no mundane. They are different sides of the same reality. They are unique but not separate from the whole.

If you would dispel the darkness, seek the sacred.

We need tension for perfection. This lies between the negative and the positive, the light and the dark, good and evil. We can think of a striving for the Higher Self and enlightenment as enlisting in the spiritual special forces - its not easy. "The gates are wide but few will enter."

"Kabir says; friend there are very few who find the way."

All the same we must do our best.

God does not judge us by results but only intention and the fervor of our efforts.

 FULFILL YOUR DESTINY

Destiny is what we give of our gift. Karma is how we behave to our-Selves and others in terms of accountability and how we handle our fate. We may be in line with our destiny but carrying it out in an unskillful way, not in line with karma. Our true destiny eludes most of us and is an entire subject on its own. A hero's journey and helping others for its own sake by practicing our core strengths may help to show us the way.

The hunt for our destiny is the hunt of your lives. Stick to the scent, stay on the spoor.

CORRECT INJUSTICE

Our role on earth is to correct injustice.

If the law does not serve love, do not serve the law.

This does not mean to disobey the law and be incarcerated but to maintain one's own opinions and do the best we can under the circumstances. Also to deepen our reltationship with the divine and to the conundrum of life's challenges. The law frequently is without compassion and not just.

"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which is God's." Jesus

DO NO HARM

Doing good prevents us from doing harm. We cannot separate the love principle from doing no harm. In fact all these karmic tenets overlap and are ultimately governed by love. There is one single truth and that is love.

"What is hateful to yourself, do not do to others."  Hillel

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

The Ancestors teach that we should do to others that which they would like you to do for them-Selves (without enabling and for their greater good.) They may not want you to do what you would want for yourself.

We ought to do unto others as they would have us do unto them - having their need and want rather than our own be our guide in our relationships.

"Love your neighbor as yourself."

does not mean you have to like your neighbor but to see the divinity in him/her - that we all have within our Selves. To practice random acts of kindness for it own sake.

"See yourself in others, then whom can you hurt, what harm can you do."  Dammapada 

Duality creates harm.

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose I am here and you are out there." Roshi 

We all will return, dust to dust, ashes the ashes.

"Air we are, earth we are, water,  fire and spirit we are. We are the children  of the earth and seas and there is no part of us that is not of God." Celtic wisdom

We are all one though not the same.

"I am you and you are me. Isn't it obvious, we inter are." Thich Nhat Hahn

Buddhist practice demands that we try to do no harm to all Beings, no matter how small...

"It cost me never a stab or squirm to tread by chance upon a worm. 'Aha my dear' I will say, your clan will pay me back one day." Dorothy Park

HEAL THE PLANET AND ALL ITS BEINGS.  SERVICE TO, AND HELPING OTHERS

More than ever because of the earth changes...

"We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty"  G. K.Chesterton.

Karma yoga is the path of action and service to others with mindfulness.

"We are here to help others. What on earth others are here for I do not know." W. H. Auden

" The worship most pleasing to God is service to others." Leonardo Boff

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." W. Churchill

SUBORDINATE EGO

"The light of lights looks always on the motive and not the deed... the shadow of shadows on the deed alone." W. B. Yeats

Do all for its own sake and not for reason of any outcome. All is a journey and not a destination and is a continual arriving.

Yoga philosophy maintains that any motivatrion bound to an ego motive has the potential to earn us another life time. Good deeds done for an agenda may at most be karmically neutral. 

Emperor Wu asked; "I've built temples and ordained monastics - what merit is there in this? Bodhidharma replied; no merit."

Ulterior motives are underrated. Acting compassionately to do good for any reason is preferable to not doing good at all. But determine well your heart's desire for in releasing the power of your motivation its energies will actualize the holiness or unholiness of your intent.

LOVE

Transformation happens from how lovingly one attends. No matter how successful the outcome and skillful one becomes, no matter the satisfactions and rewards, fulfillment resides only in love.

"But I say to you deeds of love are worth as much as all the commandments of the law...not learning but doing is the chief thing." Talmud

"Love is the most formidable and mysterious of all the cosmic energies." De Chardin

Belief generated by a love vibration empowers the placebo effect.

"Only love can generate the healing fire." Agnes Sanford

Love channels Universal Healing Energy from the Field which in essence is the love from the Creator.

"If you want to be a good healer you must love the person no matter what you think of him/her." San Bushmen healer 

JOY - GRATITUDE

Our soul is meant for joy and the more we truly love the more we will experience its very essence.

Gratitude facilitates joy. Joy is a powerful word and true joy eludes many of us most of the time. Joy has synonyms which sound less demanding and also are karmically relevant; happiness, equanimity, inner peace, serenity, harmony, balance, meaning, belonging ...

"I do not know what your destiny will be but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."A. Schweitzer 

Buddhism teaches us to take our suffering and make something useful out of it by helping others. This is a recipe for happiness - good karma yoga. The more self-centered we are the more miserable we become. This is set as a default into the soul.

" Joy is not incidental to your spiritual practice, it is vital." Rev Nachman

Any who bring joy to another, give God joy. Any who act with love for the other's good and pleasure do themselves partake of God's rivers of pleasure and good.

"I slept and dreamt life was joy. I awoke and saw life was service. I acted and behold service was joy." Tagore

Give without remembering. Take without forgetting. Give freely. Receive openly. Do all with gratitude. It is the way of love. It is the way of joy.

Neuroscience has shown that gratitude is not only spiritual practice but also that it enhances our well being. Gatitude may in fact be the only form of spiritual practice. When we pray and ask for something it is supplication which has a different energy. Performing random acts of kindness creates gratitude. Ancient wisdom teaches that when we help others we find more meaning and happiness which is also a recipe for gratitude. 

 Be grateful and you will be happy. happiness leads to great empowerment. Attend to your well-being especially to happiness, the cause of which is sometimes found in hidden recesses, always in gratitude.

KARMA

Consequences are neither reward nor punishment, they simply are consequences - natural cause and effect, often not immediate but always inescapable.

Karma is a little like the law of gravity. Its spiritual physics. If you jump off a buidling no matter what your will, intent, imagination - you are going down not up. Its about choice, if we make a karmic mistake we pay the price later or even sooner. The Creator does not micromanage, Karma is built as a default into the soul.

Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds.
Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good…

“Chitragupt,
who is supposed to be writing out our deeds in an account book is no other than the conscious and unconscious parts of our mind. The Lord of Law, to whom we have to render the account is the Soul within us.” Gopal Singh

Kabbalah teaches us that everything we do is recorded in the Book of Life. In yoga, the Akashic records are similar. When we cross over the veil to the other side we will all face a Spiritual Tribunal where  our Book or Record is reviewed. Being non-local in space and time all the information is available to us in visual form maybe like a movie where we can see our every action. We are accountable to our own soul. The Tribunal is like a School for the Higher Self. There is no judgment day as such. The process evolves through love and spiritual truth. Reincarnation is designed to help us in Becoming all that we could eventually be. Most of us will go to one or other of the multiple vibrations in the Astral where we lose free will and need to come back again to perfect the soul in the image of its Creator.

Enlightened beings, perfected souls have full use of their faculties and so do not have to reincarnate although they may choose to incarnate to support and guide.

Perfected souls inherit the Causal (Pure Land of Buddhism or the Garden of Eden of Judaism.) They retain free will and can operate freely. They do not have to reincarnate but can choose, if they feel the need, to reincarnate for some lofty purpose. Astral and Causal spirits can help us from the other side. The Causal ones, more effectively.

The Ancestors cannot save but only alert, advise and warn and only according to your openness and willingness. They cannot change or deter you from your own insistency no matter what it's due to. Only you can change! (Free will rules.)

 The good news is that...

With right understanding and action we can create the conditions for transgressions to become merits.

Remember that good prevails by being what it is, not by dispossessing, defeating or winning but rather simply by being more and more of what it is. 

What you destroy, destroys you; what you defeat, defeats you; what you sanctify, sanctifies you.
If you would dispel the darkness, seek the sacred.

Our challenges reside in the polarity balance between Monkey Mind and Big Mind, our Evil Inclination (Shadow) or Inclination to do Good, our Ego or our Higher Self, the Trickster or our Guides.

Balance is achieved by harmonizing polarities - not by assimilation but by coexistence. 

The light and the dark each exist. We may choose to go towards either and will always be pursued or lured by the other…

The ambushes, the side paths, the pot holes are all clearly marked and may be guarded against if you choose to read the map, scope the terrain, plot the journey.

The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high and so we may expect to be challenged, tempted and dissuaded in any and all manner of our weaknesses - be they physical, mental or emotional - all of which are attributes of the spirit.

KARMA'S MAIN PRINCIPLES

God does not measure results, only the trueness of intent and the fervor of effort. This is why there is such joy in daring one’s best.

“The Light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed… the shadow of shadows, on the deed alone.” Yeats

 Fulfill your destiny

Correct injustice 

Do no harm 

Heal the planet 

 Service to, and help others

Subordinate Ego (and the other negative polarities)

Love

 Joy - Gratitude 

“This is what God asks of you, only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah