Warning: You Might Have A Soul

Do Humans have a soul? Famous psychologist Carl Jung certainly thought that we did.

How did I get to make that bold claim?

Take a look at your psyche.

Looking at your life from the perspective of Jungian psychology, an approach that is perhaps more widely accepted than most people generally realise, you need to consider your psyche.

Psyche is a word derived from a Greek concept which means breath or soul. Interestingly the Hebrew word for spirit also covers breath, an idea that is closely linked to the concept of our soul in (for instance) Jewish and Christian thinking.

For our purposes, then, you can pretty much start equating your psyche with your soul. Jung defined your psyche with that complete package that contains both your conscious and unconscious self. Because he was more mystically inclined, Jung also suggested that your psyche is, at a much deeper level, connected to a wider collective unconscious that permeates all of human experience.

Does your soul/psyche matter?

Again, taking a Jungian approach, the answer would be, “yes”. Why?

That question will take us a lot of time and effort to explore but, in short, an exploration of your psyche and an appreciation for the idea of your soul will probably pay massive dividends. If that wasn’t the case then the whole approach of analytical psychology would never have taken quite such a firm hold.

What’s my point here? Well… might it be possible that Jung was right when he said that their was a distinct connection between religious ideas (both Eastern and Western) and the experiences that we share in life? Religion is as much about our own psychology as it is about abstract concepts and ideas. In fact, as the testimony of millions of human beings down untold thousands of years of human history will attest, religion is massively practical.

How can you explore your soul?

The truth is that there is no single or definitive answer to that question. If there was, you wouldn’t need to do much searching or put in much effort… and I wouldn’t need to write many more articles.

That said, there are many exciting approaches that you can take in starting to open up your psyche to some amateur exploration. My initial suggestion would be that you start to take the matter of your soul/psyche seriously.

My only caveat is to point out that I am not a fully trained psychologist… not that I’ve ever regarded qualification as a prerequisite and barrier to personal development.

Take this or leave this, it’s your call.

3 Small Steps into your soul.

If you’d like to open up and begin to explore the reality of your soul, here’s 3 easy steps you might like to try:

Step One: Sit in Silence and Stillness

1. Take some time out of your busy day – perhaps as little as 15 minutes – and go to a quiet place alone. Ensure that you have no means of communication with the outside world, like a phone or other people to distract you. Yes, I know that can be tricky… but please try and find a way to make it happen.
2. Sit in silence, say nothing… and focus on stilling your body too. Keep quiet, keep still, and focus on stilling your mind. For as long as you can bear it, sit in silence and stillness, alone. To be honest, unless you are well practiced in meditation, you’re going to find this surprisingly hard. First time out, aim to do it for 5 minutes. Next time, stretch yourself to 10 minutes… and then, third time, to 15 minutes… and so on.
3. Notice the disquiet and discomfort that, if you are anything like most other people, you will experience in your mind… that is, the conscious part of your psyche. You will perhaps recognise some flood of thoughts and worries, or questions, or images, or distraction to trying to sit still and quiet. That’ll be your psyche acting up and impressing upon you how unbalanced your mind really is. If you’re not having those kind of reactions then, believe me, you are incredibly blessed indeed because the majority of the rest of us find this exercise tough

Step Two: Notice Your Dreams

1. Next time you plan to go to sleep, grab a pencil/pen and a sheet of paper (or small notebook) and put it by your bed. You are going to start trying to notice your dreams, so you will need a means to capture them… before they evaporate.
2. Sleep. If you dream, when you awaken, immediately grab the pencil/pen and paper and scribble down any key images, feelings, ideas or stories from what you have experienced. Do it quickly and don’t try to make sense of it.
3. Resist the urge to interpret any of it. Just jot it down and keep it as a record. It’s probably best to date the page, just for reference down the line. This is a way for you to begin to tune in to your psyche’s unconscious experience of life. Tuning in is all you need to do for now.

Step Three: Pay Attention to Your Conscience

1. You know when, as you live, occasionally you might experience those moments when something inside you feels uncomfy with something you’ve done or said? Yes, I’m talking about conscience – which is a word worth looking up in the dictionary if you’re not familiar with it. Well, start noticing when it plays you up. Notice when your conscience pricks at you.
2. Make a note, perhaps in your diary or journal if you have one, of the more significant moments when your conscience gives you a warning. Again, as with the dreaming, consider dating the entries but resist the urge to interpret things too much at this stage.
3. Look for trends in your behavior or words that might give you clues as to what your psyche is uncomfortable with. This is not the time for changing anything if you don’t want to… but it is a useful means to sensing those parts of your soul that are trying to speak to you. Again, all we are seeking is to create an internal awareness.

Try this stuff out for a few weeks, maybe something like 4 to 6 weeks as a starting point. Yes, that probably sounds quite daunting but, you know, it’s going to be worth it in the long run. I know that you are probably going to find it hard to trust me on this, but it really is likely to be one of those experiences that will open up the seriousness of what we are discussing here.

Your soul/psyche is important… and even if you think that’s hokum and a bundle of rubbish, it’s still something that most people on this planet agree on.

What’s that I just said?

Most People on Earth Believe In Something Bigger.

According to the Gallup International Millennium Survey, conducted on the eve of the 21st Century, the percentage of people who would identify themselves as belonging to any religious denomination was around 79%. From this data, admittedly now some 10 years out of date, it might seem that for people growing up in a global society, more connected and integrated than ever before, the question of religion might be very relevant indeed.

Underneath that statistical finding is the heavily implied belief that humanity contains within it a spiritual need. It seems to me that a spiritual need implies a spirit… a breath, or a soul… and thus, coming back to Jung, perhaps a psyche.

It’s up to you to decide. Do you have a soul?

If so, what are you going to do with it?