My spiritual blog & articles - My Spiritual Coach

Plato said that all souls are eternal and indestructible. Do you agree?

5/4/2023

I agree with Plato that Soul is, by definition, eternal and indestructible. Bodies and minds come and go. Everything physical withers away and dies, from the tiniest one-celled animal to the whale. Mountains turn into grains of sand on the beach, worn away by time and weather. And deep rivers have dried up into canyons.

Only one thing is eternal—the fundamental Energy of the Universe, which never had a beginning and has no ending. It always was and always will be. It takes many, many forms, but always originates from the One Eternal Source. That is also true about the Soul because it is through our Soul that we partake of the Universe. It participates in us and we participate in it. But most of us don’t recognize the, because we are run by the mind-stream of endless thoughts, fears, and regrets.

Yet deep within each of us, we know that the Soul we were when we are eleven years old is still the Soul we are now. And when we meet someone who is on the same vibrational level as our Soul, we feel a spiritual reaction. Our Souls are tuned into each other. We inherently know that there is something within us and surrounding us that can never die or be destroyed and we feel it in this connection too. It is in a state of growth and freedom, like the expanding Universe itself.

Plato understood that the Great One Source Energy is the fountain of all that is. And that within each of us, regardless of our individual characteristics, is Divine Consciousness. It’s just a matter of how much are we allowing into our fields of recognition and how much of it we are uncovering. For it is all there, like a lightbulb covered over with duct tape. Take away the layers of the obscuring tape and you will find the eternal light of the Soul within.

What is the relationship between depression and spiritual awareness? Does being spiritually awakened help depressives cope with their condition?

4/4/2023

Simply put, depression is lack of spiritual awareness. Depression is being lost in the quagmire of the ego-mind, the “little me,” and not seeing a way out. It is endless hopelessness and anger turned inward. It is being upset, anxious, and sluggish, lacking in energy. And it is being dragged along by a fearful mind that is bent on survival above anything else, including happiness.

This is because the ego-mind and it’s constant babble shuts out the spiritual vibrational fields that bring inner peace, comfort, joy, and appreciation of all the beauty around us. It focusses on “what’s wrong with this picture?”, finding a flaw in everything and then zoning in on that flaw. This includes finding fault with ourselves, others, and with the world. Of course, at one time this enabled us to survive and rise to the top of the food chain. But now, like the appendix, it is a useless function that causes more harm than good.

Spiritual awareness, which is tuning into another level of vibration and being receptive to it, is the only way out of depression. People have tried drugs for centuries but they are only a quick fix. They usually need augmentation as the ego-mind finds its ways around them (like a fox trying to get into a henhouse). They also do not build coping skills. Some drugs have opened peoples’ consciousness to non-physical realms but they are also only a temporary doorway.

Tuning into the underlying Source Energy of the Universe brings us into an awareness that we are more than our rambunctious minds. We are not so apt to be carried away by the “little me” and it’s perpetual worries. When we allow the natural well-being of All That Is permeate us we are actually harnessing that energy and we can freely flow with life now. We are not stuck in the past and we are not worried over the future because we live in Eternity. This is the only lasting source of happiness, joy, and excitement about being alive. We step back from the mind and all its anxiety and depressive tendencies and allow ourselves to experience eternity, space, freedom and move into the vibrational space of Spirit.

Spiritual awareness needs practice to get there for most people. It’s worth it to find our way to emotional freedom and joy. All other methods, including talk therapy and drugs have been enormous failures, with a few individual exceptions. Also, I am not vilifying our thinking apparatus, the miraculous mind that is capable of creativity, problem-solving, and communication. That aspect of the mind is in keeping with the miracles of the Universe. Being in contact with Source Energy sharpens those aspects of our thinking because we are not giving so much attention to turmoil and unhappiness.

Spiritual awareness also helps people who have chemical or neurological brain imbalances. For they are able to recognize the tricks of depressive thinking. They begin to see how the fretful mind works and are able to put it in its place. They learn to watch their thoughts and even laugh at them, instead of being dragged down into the quicksand. It takes skill and training to do this when we have depressive tendencies. But it’s worth it to uncover the shining light that has always been there: Our Eternal Soul.

Did Oscar Wilde believe in soul mates?

11/1/2022

Oscar Wilde went to prison because of his soulmate relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde ruined his life to be with him. That can be a sure sign of soulmate bonds, which sometimes do not end happily. Though Wilde did not specifically use the term “soulmate,” he refers to the same feelings soulmates elicit, especially in his letter to Douglas.

These letters refer to being together in the afterlife, the divine and otherworldly nature of their love, and Wilde’s inability to be without him, even after he treated Wilde in a cruel and cowardly manner. Here are some statements from Wilde to his beloved, from various letters, which state the infinity of a soulmate interaction:

“I must see you soon — you are the divine thing I want — the thing of grace and genius. . . .”

“Let us always be infinitely dear to each other, as indeed we have been always. . . .I think of you daily, and am always devotedly yours.”

Wilde says that he cannot be without Douglas, no matter what, which many soulmates feel. They often take it literally and many documented cases show they even die together, though this was not the case for Wilde and Douglas:

“It is really absurd. I can’t live without you. You are so dear, so wonderful. I think of you all day long, and miss your grace, your boyish beauty, the bright sword-play of your wit, the delicate fancy of your genius, so surprising always in its sudden swallow-flights towards north and south, towards sun and moon — and, above all, yourself.”

In this excerpt, Wilde places their relationship in the context of life and death:

“Death and Love seem to walk on either hand as I go through life: they are the only things I think of, their wings shadow me.”

Here, Wilde talks about his soul’s yearning, and brings in eternity (now and forever) once again.

“London is a desert without your dainty feet… Write me a line and take all my love — now and forever.”

And finally, we see eternity mentioned again. He was sure of the deathlessness of their love. He wrote this just before he got out of prison for practicing “The love the dares not say its name.” Here he talks about meeting Douglas in the afterlife. This is what gives him hope after the ordeals he suffered in this life to continue his contact with Lord Douglas:

“This is to assure you of my immortal, my eternal love for you. Tomorrow all will be over. If prison and dishonour be my destiny, think that my love for you and this idea, this still more divine belief, that you love me in return will sustain me in my unhappiness and will make me capable, I hope, of bearing my grief most patiently. Since the hope, nay rather the certainty, of meeting you again in some world is the goal and the encouragement of my present life, ah! I must continue to live in this world because of that.”

Therefore, we can see, that though the term “soulmate” is not explicitly used, Wilde feels in his deepest heart and Soul, that this love is the most profound relationship of his life. He has a “divine belief” it it. And he feels that it will continue forever. It will never die. And that is what characterizes soulmates.

Does consciousness depend on the brain, or is it dependent on something else like soul or spirit?

10/23/2022

There are different levels of consciousness. They range from simple mental awareness, depending on the brain, to body-levels of consciousness that include the gut and the endocrine systems. We also exist within a higher level of consciousness, called Cosmic Consciousness, which is the organizing intelligence of the Universe.

The level of awareness that most call consciousness is dependent on the brain and body. It would go away if we starved ourselves to death or didn’t drink anything for 10 days. That level of consciousness, which is what helps us survive and navigate through the physical world, would just vanish. When we are brain dead, we don’t know our name, gender, or any of our physical attributes.

Yet we also have a circulating nervous system, or second brain or layer of consciousness. It is called “the Enteric Nervous System.” It is located inside of our gut. It causes us to feel emotions, such as butterflies in our stomach when we’re excited or nervous. Or feeling sick to our stomach when we’re frightened or repulsed. The Enteric Nervous System is made up of more than 100 million nerve cells. These cells line our gastrointestinal tract that runs from our esophagus all the way down to our rectum.

This second brain communicates directly with the brain in our head. But it is non-verbal. This is called the brain-gut connection or gut brain link. For a long time, doctors thought that anxiety and stress were the root cause of gastrointestinal problems, but it’s actually now thought to be the opposite. Poor gut health can send signals to the central nervous system and influence our moods, and how we perceive the world.

The endocrine system, our hormones, are also another layer of consciousness within the Enteric Nervous System. Hormones and other neurotransmitters travel along the gut-brain axis to send chemical messages. So we now know that he brain is not the only origin of thinking, feeling, and the operation of intelligence. “Messenger molecules” associated with the brain circulate throughout our body via the bloodstream. They also affect our health, the way we think and perceive our environment and other people.

As I said, outside the brain, intelligence and consciousness is nonverbal. For example, the immune system can identify and fight invading bacteria and viruses, and is sometimes called “the floating brain.” Yet it does not use language to communicate. It can be influenced by our thinking but it can also influence our thinking, causing us to have moods and other reactions, inducing ill health.

Then there is Cosmic Consciousness. That is the overall, underlying organizing intelligence of the entire Universe, in which we live. We abide within this level of consciousness and it is beyond our control. Even after we are brain dead, that level of consciousness, of which we are a part, exists for eternity. That is our Soul. It is felt within our hearts as well as all around us. Most have to enter a mystical state to perceive this level of consciousness. Yet, even people in a coma exist within this Cosmic Consciousness, for it is the underlying structure of the universe and all that is.

In other words, our Cosmic Consciousness is using the physical brain and the circulating brain as processing devices, moving molecules where they are needed to create the sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell of the world. Cosmic Consciousness does not depend on the brain’s mechanics of thought, perception, and transforming raw data into the world around us. The brain depends on it.

Does stoicism have a cosmology and views of a soul or life beyond the human experience, or is it more so a philosophy of how to effectively live life?

10/18/2021

For the most part, people think of Stoicism as an extremely practical way of living. It is about accepting what we cannot change. It is also about living life to the fullest because we never know when it’s going to be our last day.
But the Stoics also had a cosmology and a concept of the soul.

They believed in what in Hinduism is called Prana—the breath of life. But they called it the pneuma The pneuma a mixture of the elements air and fire.

This pneuma is the creative force behind the all life, all inanimate objects, and the cosmos as a whole. The highest form of the pneuma is our soul, which they called the “psyche.”
The psyche is a a small part of the overall pneuma, which is the soul of God. Everything that exists is part of the pneuma in some way. Stoics divide it all into two categories:

Passive—matter and the material world, including us and our bodies

Active—divine purpose, or the “logos”

The Stoics saw the cosmos as an all-encompassing presence, with a mega-soul. This is where the god Zeus come into play. He’s the one that holds it all together with the power of the pneuma. And everything in the world is imbued with the pneuma.

I am completely in agreement with this view of the cosmos, minus Zeus. But I understand the need for humans to embody the forces of the Universe, and put a label on them, such as “Zeus” or “God.”

Is constant unbearable physical pain the result of one’s karma?

10/1/2021

Pain comes with the body and may not have anything to do with your karma. The body breaks down or has inflammation or it itches, it aches, it has stabbing pains. We can point to obvious physical causes: We stubbed our toe on the table, we cut ourselves, we got into an accident. On one level, pain is our friend because it is telling us that something needs to be attended to.

Maybe we didn’t eat as nutritionally as we could. Maybe we are careless or overindulge. We don’t want to blame all this on Karma. Karma isn’t like that anyway, giving out pain as punishment. It is more about how you face your life when you are ready to cross over. How much love did you show?

Humans often want all the pleasure of the body but we often don’t understand the yin/yang of pleasure and pain. Are we going to have all the pleasure and fun and none of the pain? That is not how the Universe manifests itself. Actually, people who cannot feel pain at all, die at an early age because they can bite their tongues or seriously injure themselves and just bleed to death because they have not sought help.

Don’t blame yourself for your pain. You don’t need that added psychlogical burden to your discomfort. Separate the pain from the suffering and see the difference. You can’t choose the pain, but you can choose the suffering (or not to suffer).
Yet pain has nothing to do with who you really are, as a Soul. The Soul feels nothing of pain or distress. It is not physical.

How does Eckart Tolle's "Power of Now" help people who live in countries which are a failed state with the lack of basic everything and not a glimmer of hope for improvements?

10/1/2021

All of us, no matter how wealthy or well-fed have found ourselves in terrible circumstances beyond our physical control. Eckart Tolle teaches methods for finding the peace within, from which we can solve whatever problem presents itself. We cannot solve any problem from a position of upset, anger, want, lack, need, and distress. Those emotions only cloud our problem-solving ability.

We cannot solve the problem of a failed state from a position of greed of the elite, torture, imposed hunger, and terrorism. Those are all the results of the lesser, human ego mind that seeks to entrench its position through domination and control. Only an enlightened understanding of the peace that dwells within the soul produces cooperation, preservation of resources, and the overall happiness of all in any society.

Eckhart Tolle’s books are not a magic bullet for all of a sudden getting rid of the human greed and cruelty that fuels world hunger and other human-caused disasters.

Eckart Tolle’s work has helped people who are in prison, on death row, and other circumstances that are beyond the individual’s control. He explains that you can be in the worst of circumstances and still find that peace within. From that standpoint, you can then work to embrace your life, and understand that you are more than a survival machine that eats, procreates, and dies.

But first, we must clear our minds of all the garbage and fear that it automatically generates. Then we must find a path to where our inner peace lives. After that, no matter what the circumstances, they do not affect our inner happiness or peace.

Tolle uses the example of being stuck in the mud or quicksand. It would do no good whatsoever to kick and scream in fear and upset until you wear yourself out and get taken under. Better to acknowledge, “This is where I am right now. What is my next step to get out of this?” Thinking clearly and calmly will bring much better results. That is all Eckart Tolle is about. Get rid of the little, fear-filled human mind and tune into the rich territory of the Soul.

The Soul is connected to all the natural intelligence of the Universe. And when people tune into it, problems get solved. Even if you do get taken under, you will not die in an agonized state of resistance, but will surrender to the larger forces that work within and are much larger than the individual ego.
Tolle is very clear that anything in the physical state is unstable. We cannot expect anything in the physical to last. But he points the way to what does last: The Eternal Soul.

What's the difference between your heart and your soul?

7/13/2021

The heart is the vehicle through which our Soul is expressed and experienced. We cannot contact our Soul, the part of us that is eternal and connected to All-That-Is, through our brains or minds. It is through our heart center that we make contact with our eternal being, the Soul.

Our minds are logical, dissecting mechanisms that are very good at solving material problems. But when it comes to the spiritual, we must use the heart. And I don’t mean the organ made of flesh and blood. I am talking about the energy center of our bodies that resides almost exactly where the physical heart lives. But it is something else. It is our unseen heart that feels love and joy in proportion to how we are tuned into our Souls.

The Soul is the part of us that never dies. It cannot be destroyed and it feels no fear. The mind, on the other hand, is a master of fear and is constantly looking out for the next threat to our survival. The path to the Soul is therefore, not through the mind but through the heart center.

The spiritual gut, which sometimes manifests in the physical gut as well, works in conjunction with the heart to contact and download the presence of Soul. You can feel this when you say, “I had a gut reaction.” Add this to your heart center and tune in to who you really are.

Do all enlightened beings renounce their worldly possessions?

4/29/2021

It’s not that enlightened beings renounce their worldly possession, it’s just that they don’t cling to them. They understand the everlastingness of their spiritual identity and therefore do not place a significant value on things that can be stolen, lost, or destroyed.

Enlightened beings may enjoy beautiful objects but they do not place high emotional value on them either. They don’t even have to own them to enjoy them. They can appreciate objects and experiences for what they are: Transitory and ephemeral, not lasting and eternal. Like a gorgeous butterfly that settles nearby and then flies away. The enlightened being does not need to place a pin in the butterfly and frame it to keep it for all time.

Enlightened beings do not put great importance on anything that comes and goes, or can disappear or be taken away. They focus their attention and energy on what is lasting and deep. Therefore, enlightened beings may even be extraordinarily wealthy, but they would be just as happy if they had nothing. With enlightened beings, it is never about the external manifestations of reality and more about the internal discoveries.

We don’t need to make a big fanfare of giving up everything that makes life comfortable to show that we are enlightened. We can just hold what is really valuable and enduring in our hearts and souls. Then we can be thankful for whatever good comes our way but not depend on physical items for our happiness and peace of mind.

Is the pursuit of enlightenment less of a thing for women?

1/25/2021

Enlightenment has been the center of my life since I was a small child. And I am a woman. At a young age, I also became aware that some religions don’t believe that women can achieve enlightenment or even be allowed into sections of an all-male heaven. I was perplexed.

Are you going to tell me that I won’t be allowed into the boys club of enlightened beings because I have been blessed with certain physical attributes or a certain distribution of hormones in my system?

Whether we have testosterone running through our veins or estrogen has nothing whatsoever to do with our Soul’s path. Those things belong to the body and determine whether we are male or female strictly for reproductive purposes.

From an enlightened point of view, we are not our bodies. They are the vehicles through which our Souls experience physical existence as part of their karmic journeys. It’s absurd to think that a male, regardless of how he behaved in this life, has a better chance of going to heaven than a female who has led a life of caring and spiritual pursuits.

One example is Digambar Jains. I am generally a big fan of Jains except on this one point. They believe that women are not capable of being enlightened. Svetambar Jains have opposite beliefs, believing that women are capable of enlightened and can become religious role models. But women, especially among Svetambar Jains, are believed to be deceitful. They believe that deceit is the foundation of their character. The reason they were reborn as a woman is because they were deceitful in a former life.

One of their sacred texts states:

“As the result of manifesting deception, a man in this world becomes a woman. As a woman, if her heart is pure, she becomes a man in this world.”

And men aren’t deceitful? That is my question. What does gender have to do with it? According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 93.% of the population in prisons are males and 6.7% are females. Is it not deceit to steal peoples lives through murder, theft, racketeering, con artistry, and other crimes? So please don’t tell me how holy the male population is, based on their criminal behavior.

According to a study entitled: Women in the Afterlife: The Islamic View as Seen from Quran and Tradition by Jane I. Smith and Yvonne Y. Haddad:

“The most basic relationship in Islamic society is not between a man and a woman but between a man and God: It is definitely not between woman and God.

. . .men, have, upon occasion, apparently used the assurance of their own place in eternity as a tool of control and of dominance.”
Yet other religious systems based on the Goddess, instead of a patriarchal punitive God, have deemed women as the leaders in enlightenment.

Heaven, (which I have experienced as enlightenment here on earth) is not a physical place of luxury where women take a subservient role as they wait upon men. This is fun fantasy for the male ego. This fairytale is not based on spirituality or any of my own deeply-held experiences of enlightenment. It looks like a pride-based and greedy imaginary man-made creation, based on physical dominance, very similar to life on earth.