human souls

[michel]

Yes, humans have souls, and other animals have souls. Any being that has the ability to choose has a soul (by my definition). However, it is not clear to me that the soul is eternal, at least not as a distinct entity. I have no belief that I will exist as "me" after my death.

Lilith, Namaste.

The 'you' that you are aware of is only the memory of this existance; it is my belief that the Soul - that lives forever is the 'real' you. There can be no communication from your Soul to your mind/brain - because being 'aware' of the real you, and your present task would invalidate this incarnation. That, of course is only my belief - there is no 'proof' to offer.

 

[Original Freak]

Yes, humans have souls, and other animals have souls. Any being that has the ability to choose has a soul (by my definition). However, it is not clear to me that the soul is eternal, at least not as a distinct entity. I have no belief that I will exist as "me" after my death.

Then what does the soul do?

 

[lilithu]

Namaste Michel and O'Freak.

Then what does the soul do?

In my view, the soul is the mysterious thing that allows us choice. It allows for free will, so that we are neither controlled by God, nor are we controlled by karma, nor are we controlled by genes, environment, and past experience. All these factors may (or may not) constrain our choices but ultimately, we always have a choice. And therefore, we are always responsible for our actions.

The 'you' that you are aware of is only the memory of this existance; it is my belief that the Soul - that lives forever is the 'real' you. There can be no communication from your Soul to your mind/brain - because being 'aware' of the real you, and your present task would invalidate this incarnation. That, of course is only my belief - there is no 'proof' to offer.

You may be right. I have no privileged information as to what happens to us after we die and, honestly, I don't spend much time thinking about it. But these days when I do think about it, I lean more towards what some forms of Hinduism say - that ultimately the only thing that is permanent and unchanging is Atman (God/the Collective Soul). Ultimately, our souls merge with Atman and there is no distinct Michel or Lilith anymore. One can call it a kind of immortality, but not in the Western sense. It's more a kind of recycling.