Excellent post, Lacewing. And I'm certain that neither of us has any doubt about the fact that what we are talking about in this conversation is based on pure speculation.
So with that being said, how about I begin by first laying-out what we both think the word "soul" means.
You defined it as this...
Okay then, in contrast to that, I define the human soul as being an embryonic replication of the "SOUL" of the Creator of this universe (i.e., a replication of the soul of God), with each soul possessing the inherent potential of being able to create a universe out of the living fabric of its very own being....
...(To which I suggest that if anyone is curious as to what the fundamental makeup of God might be, then all you have to do is look within yourself, for you are carrying around a model of it right within your own skull. See illustration below.)
Clearly, I'm a huge fan of the motto:
"Go Big or Go Home"
Well, I envy you for reaching a point where you can ignore the "gnat." And it's not that it's relentless, it's just that, like many other people, I occasionally find myself wishing that I could go back in time and make corrections.Lacewing wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 4:43 pm I have had one of those. It doesn't pester me much anymore. Maybe because I do tend to live in the moment, and I feel a lot of love/acceptance/gratitude most of the time. Maybe that in combination with the way my philosophy and perspectives have evolved to make sense of things. I see: it's all perfect as it is.
Nevertheless, I do agree with your assertion that the universe is indeed "perfect"...
...(as in the "perfect illusion" that fools many [sleepwalking] humans into thinking that this might be all there is to life).
Sure, you are all of those things and more.Lacewing wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 4:43 pm When I heard this idea years ago, of each person being a collection of souls, it somehow seemed to make sense. But I haven't thought a whole lot about it, rather, I've just noticed some things from time to time. In myself, I've seen a lot of different capability... so many things (for example, angel, devil, peacemaker, warrior, business woman, hippy, sharing partner, independent trailblazer, etc.). It's like a whole tribe aligned on the same path!
However, why not see that as simply being the multifarious traits of your own singular soul? - kind of like how the multiple spirit entities in Hinduism are, in truth, just the inherent aspects of the singular soul of Brahman....
...(Of which, again, I personally believe we are the "embryonic" replications of, as per my outrageous definition of what our souls truly are.)
That schizophrenia reference is interesting. It reminds me of that book titled: "Sybil: The True Story of a Woman Possessed by 16 Separate Personalities." (Though, in her case, the illness is called: "Dissociative Identity Disorder.")Lacewing wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 4:43 pm It would be necessary for the collective to feel unified as an "I/me", so that they wouldn't fight amongst themselves too much. The human provides the appearance of a single/separate individual, and the ego can be used to establish a singular identity. Maybe schizophrenic experiences could be due to a lack of unity in the collective?
However, I'm still drawn back to that question I asked you earlier regarding the issue of which member of the collective controls that infinitely malleable matrix of mental imaging energy that I see when I look inward?
As I noted earlier, when I look into the subjective arena of my mind, the only thing I am aware of is, again, that singular "Brahman-like" entity (my "I am-ness") who can willfully grasp that mental imaging energy and shape it into absolutely anything it desires.
And that is something that I have depicted in one of my oft-used illustrations...
And my point is that the only situation I can think of where there would never be any conflicts arising over what gets created out of that imaging substance, is if each and every soul possessed their own personal matrix of mental imaging energy within the context of their own separate minds.
And that seems to be precisely the way the human soul is structured - as a singular entity who is the lord and master of its own closed and autonomous dimension of reality in the form of a mind.
Anyway, it is painfully obvious that I have blathered on long enough for now, so it's back to you, hippy girl.
(P.S., I apologize for luring you so far away from your thread topic, but I just couldn't resist addressing your "collective of souls" comment.)
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