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The Spirit, soul, mind and heart
- Thread starter Psalm23
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Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
I believe so.
Spirit-breathe/life of a person. That person's vitality, energy, or spirit.
Soul-a person's character. Who he or she is
Mind-our interpretations or how we define ourselves/character. Our values and ethics
Heart-our emotions
Spirit-breathe/life of a person. That person's vitality, energy, or spirit.
Soul-a person's character. Who he or she is
Mind-our interpretations or how we define ourselves/character. Our values and ethics
Heart-our emotions
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Psalm23
Well-Known Member
What does that mean?
I added a link! It's short. I promise.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
It depends on the context which means what. But I would in an explanation divide it like this:
Soul, the life of the person has three "parts" [the soul isn't truly divided]:
(1) Nourishing/growth part, which plants have only and we also have.
(2) The sensitive part (sense as in psychological and otherwise, not just of the body), here we can imagine things, the animals also have this. IIRC this portion can do some natural reasoning in connection to...
(3) The nous/spirit. This is the "highest part" of the soul, the part by which we can know God and purely intellectual things, through which we can receive meaning through something like letters and symbols which goes beyond the natural world. St. John Damascene says: "the soul does not have the nous as something distinct from itself, but as its purest part, for as the eye is to the body, so is the nous to the soul."
(3) is often in Scripture called the "heart" or the "eyes of the heart" or sometimes even your eyes at all, depending on context. Examples include "I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" or "my ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You [God]" or "the eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light" or "blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God." The word "nous" also means "mind" and is often translated as so, but do know that this is often equivalent to "heart" or "eyes" or "spirit." An example of this in translation (both the faculty working to understand, or perceive, or "see" something spiritual) and it being called mind simply is this in Luke on the road to Emmaus: "He [Jesus] opened their minds [nous/spirit/heart/eyes] to understand the scriptures."
Another example in the Old Testament is this: "Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." With the spiritual eye opened the man could see the Heavenly armies.
The problem with context is some authors will also call (2) the mind. Sometimes "spirit" just refers to your life, like "into Your hands I commend my spirit" Jesus said, then died. Sometimes "soul" is used for that also. So it really depends on the context, even in the Bible, although it gets easy to recognize and to distinguish.
But there is a difference but they are all "parts" of the soul so-to-speak. Note also, IIRC, (3) is what makes us a true "person." Which is important for it related to the doctrine of the Trinity: God is a Person who loves other Persons eternally. See the first video in my signature. Persons are subjects, "who," that have a nature (the divine nature or human nature or angelic nature) which is a "what." The other animals do not have this part of the soul, just like plants do not have the sensitive part.
When you pray the Psalms note often the language of heart, for it speaks of (3) often, such as in Psalm 50 (51 in Hebrew): "create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within me..."
I used to wonder about these same questions. The word 'Mind' does not appear in the Hebrew. They use the word 'Heart' instead. (I think its because it is near to the lungs where the air goes in but don't know why.) In the Hebrew feelings are not in the heart but are in the bowels. You and I use brain and heart, but they use heart and bowels. That doesn't mean that they don't know anything about the brain but that the heart is what is used in the books. Instead of 'Life' the Hebrew uses the word 'Soul' which it also uses for thoughts and thought related things.
Animals are living souls as are people. The phrase 'Living soul' seems a little different from the word soul alone. Perhaps it incorporates all of the person's mental functions together. It is not known to me whether Hebrew writers had words like psychology or like brain, however they used soul for many psychological phrases. I think that they assumed thinking was located in the heart and blood. I think the language is unassuming, but I think souls are made of air but go into the blood. I think the idea is that your blood has your souls in it. If you wish to take an action such as moving your hand the thought-path is not from your brain through your nerves but from your heart through your blood to your hand. Your heart and blood are your nerves and brain. Your souls operate your body by means of your blood.
You might have more than one soul. A soul might be everything you have ever learned about Math, so you might have a Math soul and a French Language soul. You might also speak of all of your thoughts together as a soul. This would not be your heart but it would be associated with your heart.
That changes in the NT books. The Greeks may use different words and may assume a different vital pathway for thoughts, feeling and actions. The NT scriptures do use a similar word to soul but it is Pneuma and other air related words. They also use 'Heart' but no longer use bowels for the feelings. They use other words for psychological terms that the Hebrew does not use.
Psalm23
Well-Known Member
Thank you!
RestlessSoul
Well-Known Member
Perhaps Mind, Body (heart), and Spirit are one , in the same way that Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one.
The Crimson Universe
Active Member
In my religion, the Spirit is our higher Self. That is what we truly are in our unmanifested state. It is infinite like the vast outer space. But once we, the Spirit manifest as matter/physical bodies, we are known as humans, animals, plants etc.
The soul, mind and heart are the same thing. Its the totality of mind or the whole psychological process and also the storehouse of memories, dispositions, etc.
In short, the soul is simply a mental body , which is subtle in nature. The soul is not who we really are. We are spirit.
The soul, mind and heart are the same thing. Its the totality of mind or the whole psychological process and also the storehouse of memories, dispositions, etc.
In short, the soul is simply a mental body , which is subtle in nature. The soul is not who we really are. We are spirit.
To me, the terms are useless when used in the context of "of a person." This presumes that we are humans trying to have a spiritual experience. I don't see things as such.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.