Paths To The Soul

Camp Curry in Spring

The morning was cool, not quite temperate yet. 
We walked slowly in the mountain air.  The air was pungent.  The dogwoods were in bloom, the wind was high in the trees, and the music of the spheres was wafting through my soul.  Yosemite does that to me.

Why do we go to the soul?  The soul gives meaning to our lives.  The soul bouys us up when the going gets rough.  The soul understands the deeper purposes of our lives.  The soul has purposes that we do not even begin to understand yet.  Imagine how much easier it would be if we always knew what the soul wanted.  Instead, we find paths to get to the soul.

One path to the soul involves listening to the heart.  The soul often speaks through the heart.  If we listen we can often figure out what the soul is saying.  Many people sit quietly and meditate, taking with them the words that come through the heart.  But the heart also speaks its own thoughts, its own feelings, its own wishes.  The soul will always speak to us through our longings.  Our longings take us where we need to go in life . . .  if we let them, of course.  Our longings often surprise us.

Waiting for Spring

A path often overlooked is the path least thought of as a path to the soul.  It is the path where we are learning to not make mistakes that we have been making.  Overcoming addiction, depression, compulsions, other mental disorders, and behavior patterns that are less than helpful in life are paths to the soul.  The soul is ready to assist in this process.  The soul clears away the debris.

Stillness Breathes

The nature of soul work on this path, whether done in psychotherapy, in recovery programs, or in self-help work, revolves around the meanings and causes of certain symptoms and problematic behaviors.  It also revolves around whether the work is helpful or not.  Soul work helps us get down to the deepest levels, and it helps us decide who we want to be and how we want to behave.

The soul gives inspiration.  And inspiration is a path to the soul.  The paths that lead to inspiration are many.  We have already covered some of them, but there are others.  Spending time in nature is one of my favorites because nature never ceases to astonish us, inspire us, and deepen us in ways we cannot quite understand.  The soul takes us there over and over.  There are so many places in nature that inspire, mountains, lakes, valleys, savannahs, to name a few.  Beaches and oceans inspire, as do forests, trees, canyons, and even deserts reach deep into our souls.  We are intimately connected to the earth, our birthplace.  We are also profoundly inspired by the heavens above, by the star studded skies that remind us that we are a part of a greater cosmos.

When the World Lies Sleeping

And then there are churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques – are these not also pathways to the soul?   Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.  People often go there to hear words of inspiration. They often go there to pray, to give thanks, to be part of a caring community, to ask for help through their life journeys.  All of these can deepen the soul.  But sometimes people go there to join others in hating those who are different.  Sometimes they go there to feel better than others.  Sometimes they go there to increase their status in the world.  Sometimes people go to these institutions to gain self-serving power, particularly power over the community.  Hatred, feeling superior to others, status seeking, and seeking self-serving power over others do not deepen the soul.  Rather, the soul is weakened by these pursuits.

And then there is joy!  Joy is a blessing from the soul.  In turn, joy blesses the soul.  Whether it is celebrating a birthday or hiking through the woods, whether it is joining a community celebration of historical events or looking out over an inspirational point in nature, whether it is a celebration of holiday  or doing something that helps other people, plant life, or animals, we are seeking joy.  Because joy takes us deeper into our souls.  It is an experience that feels like something no one can take away from us.

There are other paths to the soul too numerous to name because all life is a pathway to the soul.  People use all kinds of occupations, interests, relationships, to further enhance the meanings, purposes, and directions of their lives.  We seek out these paths to intensify the work they are doing with the soul’s longings.  We stumble and fall, we lose sight of the pathway, sometimes just a trail.  We reach out for something to get us back on track:  maybe a new job, a hobby,  a relationship.  And these often work quite well to get us back in touch with the longings of our souls.

What are your pathways to the soul?

What enhances your sense of purpose and meaning in life? 

What helps you when you stumble and fall? 

What is your form of soul work?  What deepens your soul? Do you use some form of art to help you get there?  What inspires you?

What communal experiences deepen your soul? What brings you joy? Where would you be without a path to your soul?

Pathways