“I continue to accent the difference between soul and spirit…
“Spirit directs your attention to the cosmos and the planet, to huge ideas and vast adventures, to prayer and meditation and other spiritual practices, to a worldview and philosophy of life. Spirit expands your heart and mind, gives you vision and courage, and eventually leaves you with a strong sense of meaning and purpose.
“Soul is more intimate, deep, and concrete. You care for your soul by keeping up your house, learning how to cook, playing sports or games, being around children, getting to know and love the region where you live. Soul allows you to become attached to the world, which is kind of love. When the soul stirs, you feel things, both love and anger, and you have strong desires and even fears. You live life fully, instead of skirting it with intellectualism or excessive moralistic worries.
“In the best situations it isn’t easy to distinguish soul from spirit because both play important roles in everything we do. But making the distinction gives the deep soul its due. Spirit inspires, while soul delves deep into the complexities of an issue. Spirit likes to have a planning meeting; soul likes to have a long and deep conversation. Spirit sets goals; soul plods along, going deeper all the way. Spirit prefers detachment, while the soul sinks into its attachments to places, people, and home.
“The two dimensions are both important and valuable. You don’t need to balance them, because balance is too perfect, a spirit idea in the first place. It’s enough to give to each what it wants and needs in the moment.”
—Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul
May we live soulful spiritual lives,
Simeon
Quote of the Week
“The body is the soul’s house. Shouldn’t we therefore take care of our house so that it doesn’t fall into ruin?”
— Philo of Alexandria
The Path to Wholeness
This video offers a path through the complexity of becoming, where waking up, growing up, and cleaning up are not separate goals, but different facets of the same unfolding. Becoming whole means embracing the vast and the intimate, the light above and the roots below.
Suggested Reading
The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling by James Hillman
In The Soul’s Code, James Hillman argues that our character and calling are seeded within us from the start. This poetic and psychological exploration reminds us that becoming ourselves is less about creating and more about uncovering.
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