Discovering Spirituality - Episode 05 - Soul - Podcast Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Discovering Spirituality podcast. Episode 5: Soul. In this podcast I will be sharing my thoughts on the writing "Soul" taken from the channeled book "The light in Your Life is Spirit" by George A. Thompson.

There is something that strikes me about mans evolution and it is the key factor that helped man evolve, emotional intelligence.

Emotional interactions that evolved beyond the instinct of pure survival, interactions that involved care, sharing and tolerance, which created more cohesive emotional bonds. As a result, social groups became more cohesive and structured, relying less on survival of the fittest. Eventually reaching a point where the capacity to reason began to evolve.

With reason came more complex social structures. Nomadic tribes came together and created permanent settlements. Crafting and farming emerged, more sophisticated means of hunting evolved and animals were domesticated. Survival rates increased as did the genetic variances.

Mans evolutionary success can be attributed to the universal laws. The law of evolution, problem solving, migration and the growth of intelligence.

Species extinction, those who did not evolve, died out due to certain factors like climatic changes to the environment, inefficient hunting techniques and a lack of adaption.

The law of diversity. Having multiple skills diversifying ones chances of survival. The inclusion of diverse skills sets increased trade and exposure to new ideas and technology resulting in increased survival rates, less fear, more focus on problem solving and developing social bonds. Community, self survival shifted to community survival.

Social understanding evolved, understanding of nature evolved, self understanding evolved.

The natural law of chance. Sometimes interactions happen by chance, or the odds of success are increased. Chance encounters, decisions to stay or go, moving to a different location invited exploration and curiosity. The law of attraction.

As human communities evolved so did the diversity of interactions, although not all interactions where understood. Some problem solving resulted in death since it was easier to fall back on primitive instincts. (Lack of understanding results in regression).

Even during times of great social and technological changes a significant proportion of the population still relied on their primitive instincts, resulting in generational stagnation, whilst others evolved.

Access to nutrition and education, safe and nurturing environments, (love)

If one takes the time to examine the evolution of mankind we will learn about the core foundations that where important in that evolutionary process. Emotional development as well as the growth in intelligence where key since they are an important part of mans social structure.

The abundance of resources also helped to shift gender dominance as more prosperous times resulted in females taking a more dominant role. They were more selective of mates and probably opted for a partner that was sociable, caring and sharing.

In leaner times, males where more dominant because the rule was survival of the fittest. These transitions probably happened over many thousands of years and could be considered a normal part of human cycles.

Other key factors in human evolution included the development of written and oral communication. With oral communication in a social context a fascination began with ancestry. Where we come from, our relatives, cultural development, our history, begging the question, who we are and also asking the deeper question of what our purpose is.

This is a question that man has tried to answer for thousands of years. The practices of philosophy and religion took shape to offer some kind of answers to this most evasive question.

With religions came the concept of God, who was hailed as the creator of man. This concept grew thanks to both oral and written communication. But mans purpose has been shrouded in misinformation as institutions used these concepts to gain and maintain power over the masses. Only a few could read and write so theirs was the power.

There are universal laws constantly at play throughout man history, most of which are complex and misunderstood. Modern life has a fixation of materialism which is causing man to neglect many of the key factors that aided his evolution.

Selfishness and avarice, greed and power are celebrated with reckless abandonment, which is causing growing unhappiness as people become more isolated and consumed with their desires.

To much prosperity is dulling the mind as it becomes entrenched in its apathy. There lacks a sense of curiosity and willingness to explore and share, to discover and learn.

Discovery has a risk associated with it because of what is discovered can challenge what is considered established. But this is not that we need to abandon what has been already established. There are fundamental foundations that create growth that should always be nurtured and never forgotten.

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Life is a cycle, just take a look at nature. For example in some parts of the world there are 4 seasons. There are the life stages of birth, youth, adulthood then old age and then eventual death. There are the 4 elements of fire, air, earth and water. There is constant movement, change, as it is written in the Buddhist text, nothing is permanent. 

Now that man has reached a point where survival is less dominant there is a question that has captured the imagination. Between birth and death, how do we live in between? Is there a purpose to our lives?

Diversity in living conditions, cultures and social attitudes define the meaning we attribute to our existence. There is a uniqueness, yet there is similarity. Our drives, attitudes, principles, our beliefs and our understanding also contribute to our uniqueness. So what is it that creates common ground? Love, sharing, caring, purpose, identity, war or survival?

But if we are talking about maintaining significant bonds we need to look at our emotional expressions. How we interact with others, do we attract or do we repel? Do we love or do we hate?

The most noble expression of emotion is when we put the needs of others before ourselves. It is when we pay attention to the needs of others. When we invest in the unification and harmony of the group, when we invest in their well-being, to express empathy and establish a safe environment. Addressing these needs is also how the masters of chaos have rallied their societies to war.

So here you have a juxtaposition, what can unite us can also divide us and it can turn our love into hate because it prays on our most primitive instincts.

If man was more emotionally intelligent we could not be so easy to manipulate, hence we are still very childlike in our emotional understanding. Even though we have become advanced technologically our openness to manipulation is quite juvenile.

This could be because we do not understand ourselves as human beings, our origins and our history. We continually fail to recognize our motivations and drives, what causes confusion and fear, what motivates our desires and our needs.

If we absolutely understood who we are, we would be less vulnerable to manipulation. But what makes us vulnerable? An unsafe environment, inadequate shelter, the threat of violence or an unfamiliar environment. Anything that threatens our survival and it is so easy to trigger.

But one could say that it was these threats that motivated man to solve problems, to increase survival. We figured out that being in a larger group offered more protection and increased the odds of finding food and building shelters.

Being in larger groups paved the way for conflict resolution and increased empathy.

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Mans capacity to think, mans capacity to choose, because we have the capacity to think and to choose it does not necessarily mean that the our lives will be devoid of suffering. We have the ability to choose the path of darkness or the path of light. The path of darkness is the regression and reliance of our primitive instincts. It is to be devoid of conscious or empathy, it is absolute selfishness and a drive to satisfy ones primal desires.

One has to really sit up and pay attention to the realization that man has the capacity to manifest suffering consciously and deliberately. We can choose to be evil and we can choose to be malevolent.

We also have the capacity to do good, but the challenge will be to control and reprogram ones primitive behaviour and instincts. This is where we are at a disadvantage straight away. This is not to say that we are born evil but if the conditions of our environment are primarily based on survival, the odds are greatly increased that the being will lack the appropriate intelligence and empathy to live and function within human society. They will in essence be retarded.

This is why it is important to be made aware of consequences. Given enough support and education an individual can learn that life is a wondrous gift and not to be taken lightly, because there is a fine line between order and chaos. This is why ones capacity to think and reason are so important.

But in order to truly grow there must be meaning. It's all fine and dandy to teach people to be good, but what is more important is the "why". Why make those choices, what will be the impact, what are the results, to have something to strive for. A life that has meaning.

In modern western society we start off learning that having a good education will net us a good job, a good job will net us the financial rewards so we can buy into a lifestyle.

After that comes the need to be an attractive mate so we won't be alone. All these goals do have their merits but you will find that how you grow as a being is sorely lacking. Things come and go, as all things decay, but what remains is meaning.

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In the beginning of mans development it was need that prompted him to think. To encounter a problem and attempt to solve that problem. Successful solutions presented themselves through the process of trial and error, but what was significant is that with persistence and adapting, the application of the solution was learned. That learning could be recalled using memory as well as teaching others.

The continued application of persistence and thought created skill. What is also significant is that we developed an awareness of the future (imagination). The individual would or could offer a solution in the future or to create a solution that could avoid a future problem. Being able to solve problems also curried favor within ones social group, which in turn elevated ones standing.

The exercising of ones skills created self worth, social value and identified you within the group. It made you stand out, it could potentially give you dominance (power). Others could utilize your skills then in time come to need them.

When man was given freewill the stage was set for man to make conscious choices. The choice to choose his direction and his identity.

If man had an idea or a goal, he could choose to explore that idea or goal. He cold choose his destiny, the path and direction laid out by his own soul. Man had the choice to choose his own fate.  But even though we have freewill, do we consciously choose who we want to be or how we would like to turn out?

Are we really just being pulled along by our desires and fanciful notions? Is it thought or need, is it just influence, suggestion and manipulation? Could it be described as being a boat and moving at the mercy of the current or do we actually take control and choose a direction?

Of course we can choose a direction, but do we really know why? What is the purpose? Do you actually consciously choose a purpose?

Is it just the act of taking control that gives us purpose? Is it during or after the journey that we are able to extract some meaning? What if we where aware of the end result, would that make the journey more meaningful? Would it give us courage and resolve to reach the end result?

You say to yourself, "I am going to do something", and you do it. But what if you say to yourself, "I am going to be something." Very often this is a journey into the unknown. Very often you have no idea what this something is, as it's the steps you take that gets you to where you want to get to. It's the falling down, the getting up, the drive, the will, that is the true measure of who you are and who you will become. It's what you learn along the way that has value, that is what gives you meaning.

The choice to become, not someone but something, something more than an identity. Something that gives value to your life and the life of others. A light in the darkness, the helping hand. Your purpose is to become.

The soul is the spark that gives life to all living creatures. It is the source within us that give us life. The purpose of life is to understand that which opens the soul so it may reveal the true origins of our existence.

As the soul grows, so the light of the universe will emanate and transmit that which brings enlightenment. It is a doorway to God. It is a doorway to knowing. It is the doorway towards discovery. It is the transmitter of universal knowledge. It is the doorway to being.

As the soul grows, its frequency changes. It is like an aperture that slowly opens. This universal knowledge that we become aware of helps us to grow. To bring knowledge so we can make better decisions. This is the purpose of freewill, to take that knowing, that universal knowledge and act upon it. To understand it and grow with it.

You are not being told what to do. It is not to take the place of our understanding or to make decisions for us, for that would serve no purpose. That understanding is meant to lead us towards God and to know God and to experience God. To lift and support others as God supports us.

Love, sensitivity, compassion and understanding. These are the foundations which, if developed properly open the soul to higher communication.

And why these specific emotions, these specific qualities and traits? Because they facilitate openness. These qualities are why humanity evolved beyond his primitive origins. These are the qualities that nurtured children, created social groups, solved problems and created relationships. They are the corner stones of unification.

They bring purpose and direction to the lost, for they are the light within us all and they are the qualities that we are attracted to and recognize.

And those were my thoughts on the writing Soul.

If you are interested in reading the writing from the book "The Light in Your Life is Spirit", you can download it from this link.

D.B 01/08/2019