What is the difference between spirit and soul. Why spirit and soul are different concepts: what is the difference

Hypnologist session

Question. Please tell me, what is the difference between Spirit and Soul?
Answer. The soul incarnates and changes, but the Spirit is eternal.

Q. In what sense does “The soul change”?
O. The soul, it is plastic. Imagine a Star. These rays of it are the Spirit, and the light that comes from it is the Soul. The Spirit is the basis, more rigid, more unshakable, the Soul is more plastic. If the Spirit is imagined in the form of a ray, then the Soul will be its slightly blurred glow, in other words, the Spirit is a ray, and the Soul is the image of the Spirit and the glow is closed in it.

Q. Is a particular Spirit connected with a particular Soul? Is this couple permanent?
A. Yes, they are connected and they mutually penetrate each other, only one Spirit, as a rule, has several Souls. But by and large, everything is a manifestation of one Spirit.

Q. What is the difference between the Soul of a person and the Soul of a representative of any other civilization?
O. What kind of person do you mean? People here are different and many different civilizations are embodied in People.

Q. We had information that all beings incarnating on Earth in human bodies, if they arrived from somewhere else, are given a pair of the Soul of an earthly person. It can be with experience or still a completely pure matrix, with basic experience recorded on it... Isn’t that right?
A. Almost like that. But it’s not like they are “issued as a pair”, but they seem to merge together, but at the same time retain their individuality. It turns out to be a single Soul.

Q. After completing the Earthly experience, do these Souls separate, or will they be together forever?
A. Everything here is according to their wishes, according to their tasks, depending on where they are going, there are many different points.

Q. What is the difference between the Earthly Soul of Man and other Souls? Is there any specific feature?
A. Yes, you can call it a special aroma... We hope you understand that the "fragrance" in in this case is a metaphor.

Q. Maybe only from the Human Soul can a real Creator emerge?
A. No, every Soul can become a Creator, only they create in different ways.

Q. Well, the Souls of Reptilians, can they also become Creators?
A. They are rather destroyers, but at the same time they create something, even though they destroy.

Q. So how are they fundamentally different?
O. The teachers over there are already laughing at us, they say “tail, tail”!)))
But seriously... They have less love... Rather, even for them it’s better to call it “care”; they don’t have Love. This is partly due to their physiology. In fact, their Souls could also develop this quality in themselves, and they seem to feel it and are somewhat complex because of it.
Those. This Unconditional Love, which is inherent in the Human Soul, is one of the key differences from the Souls of representatives of other civilizations.

Q. What other key differences are there?
A. I now perceive it as a blue light and feel it as a mixture of nobility and sacrifice, the ability to act from principle, sometimes even to the detriment of oneself. All other civilizations are quite practical.

Q. Are there other civilizations with similar characteristics elsewhere?
A. Yes, but only with similar ones. This special aroma of the Human Soul is formed by a whole complex of special sensations that you experience while being close to this Soul. There is no one key point, there is a sum of signs.
There are people who don't experience Unconditional Love, but they are still people.

Q. But why can’t they show this Love?
A. This is a question for these people, not for us.

D_A I’ll add from myself:

The human spirit is the same Spark of the Creator. The soul is those layers, matrices and bodies that the Spark “puts on” itself in order to experience worlds such as Earth. The matrix of the soul is impermanent; they often change, depending on the tasks, lessons and decisions made during incarnation. This does not mean that the soul itself changes completely, however, its cells can change (activate or “fall asleep”), thereby often changing its character. Coming out of incarnation, the Spark gives the majority of shells to those systems for which the accumulated experience was intended (eg the Earth, clan, native civilizations). One colleague described the process this way:

When my grandmother passed into another world, I saw how she rose above the planet and there took on the appearance of a flower. The petals of this flower began to disintegrate and move away, in the end only the Spark remained, which went into its higher dimension, I did not have the opportunity to follow it further.

From external:

What is soul and spirit

The soul is the intangible essence of a person, contained in his body, a vital motor. The body begins to live with her, through her he knows the world. No soul - no life.
Spirit is the highest degree of human nature, attracting and leading a person to God. It is the presence of spirit that places a person above all in the hierarchy of living beings.

What is the difference between soul and spirit?

The soul is a horizontal vector human life, the connection of the individual with the world, the area of ​​lusts and feelings. Its actions are divided into three directions: feeling, desirable and thinking. These are all thoughts, feelings, emotions, the desire to achieve something, strive for something, make a choice between antagonistic concepts, everything that a person lives with. The spirit is a vertical guideline, a desire for God.

The soul animates the body. Just as blood penetrates all the cells of the human body, so the soul permeates the entire body. That is, a person possesses it, just as he possesses a body. She is his essence. While a person is alive, the soul does not leave the body. When he dies, he no longer sees, feels, or speaks, although he has all the senses, but they are inactive because there is no soul. The spirit does not belong to man by nature. He can leave it and return. His departure does not mean the death of a person. The Spirit gives life to the soul.

The soul is what hurts when there is no reason for physical pain (the body is healthy). This happens when a person’s desires run counter to circumstances. The spirit is deprived of such sensory sensations.

From early

The personality of any person is holistic and consists of three components: body, spirit and soul. They are united and interpenetrated. Often the last two terms are confused and considered to be . But the Bible separates these two concepts, although they are often confused in religious literature. Hence the confusion that leads to doubts on this issue.

The concept of “soul” and “spirit”

The soul is the immaterial essence of an individual, it is contained in his body and is driving force. With her a person can exist, thanks to her he knows the world. If there is no soul, then there will be no life.

The spirit is highest degree human nature, it attracts and leads him to God. According to the Bible, it is its presence that places the human person above other creatures in the existing hierarchy.

Differences between soul and spirit

In a narrow sense, the soul can be called the horizontal vector of a person’s life; it connects his personality with the world, being the area of ​​feelings and desires. Theology divides its actions into three lines: feeling, desiring and thinking. In other words, it is characterized by thoughts, emotions, feelings, the desire to achieve a goal, the desire for something. She can make choices, even if they are not always the right ones.

The spirit is a vertical guideline, which is expressed in the desire for God. His actions are considered more pure because she knows the fear of God. He strives for the Creator and rejects earthly pleasures.

According to theological teachings, we can conclude that not only humans have a soul, but also animals, fish, and insects, but only humans own the spirit. This fine line needs to be understood, or even better felt, on an intuitive level. Knowing that the soul helps the spirit enter the human body in order to improve it will help with this. It is also important to know that a person is endowed with a soul at birth or conception. But the spirit is sent precisely at the moment of repentance.

The soul makes the body alive, akin to blood, penetrating the cells of the human body and permeating the entire body. In other words, a person has it, just like a body. She is his essence. While a person lives, the soul remains in the body. When, he cannot see, feel, speak, although he has all the senses. They are inactive because they have no soul. The spirit, by its nature, cannot belong to a person; it easily leaves him and returns. If he leaves, then the person does not live on. But the spirit animates the soul.

(), (), the soul of a deceased person () or human soul in general (); 2) high power human soul, through which a person knows God (the human spirit contains Divine grace and is its conductor for all the powers of the soul); 3), character () (example: a person with a strong spirit = a person with strong character); 4) mood (example: warrior spirit); 5) essence (example: the spirit of the work).

"Every person has a spirit - higher side human life, the force that draws him from the visible to the invisible, from the temporary to the eternal, from creation to the Creator, characterizing man and distinguishing him from all other living creatures on earth. This power can be weakened in different degrees, you can interpret its demands crookedly, but you cannot completely drown it out or exterminate it. It is an integral part of our human nature" (St.)

Following St. Fathers, the human spirit is not independent part soul, not something different from it. The human spirit is inextricably linked with the soul, is always connected to it, abides in it, and constitutes its highest side. According to St. Theophan the Recluse, the spirit is “the soul of the human soul,” “the essence of the soul.”

According to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, the human spirit is invisible and incomprehensible, like the invisible and incomprehensible Mind of God. At the same time, the human spirit is only an image of its Divine Prototype, and is not at all identical to Him.

“What is created in the image, of course, in everything has a likeness to the Prototype, the mental - to the mental and the incorporeal - to the incorporeal, free from all time, like the Prototype, like it avoids any spatial dimension, but according to the property of nature, there is something different with it,” - says St. . Unlike the uncreated Spirit of God, the human spirit is created and limited. In its essence, the Spirit of God is completely different from the human spirit, for the very essence of the latter is limited and finite.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov on the human spirit

“All humanity, which does not enter into a deep consideration of the nature of the soul, being content with superficial, generally accepted knowledge, indifferently calls the invisible part of our being, living in the body and constituting its essence, both soul and spirit. Since breathing is also a sign of the life of animals, they are called by human society animals from life, and from the soul animate (animales). Other matter is called lifeless, inanimate, or soulless. Man, unlike other animals, is called verbal, and they, unlike him, are dumb. The mass of humanity, completely occupied with concerns about the earthly and temporary, looking at everything else superficially, saw the difference between man and animals in the gift of speech. But wise men understood that man differs from animals by an internal property, a special ability of the human soul. They called this ability the power of words, the spirit itself. This includes not only the ability to think, but also the ability to experience spiritual sensations, such as the feeling of the high, the feeling of grace, the feeling of virtue. In this regard, the meaning of the words soul and spirit is very different, although in human society both words are used indifferently, one instead of the other...

The teaching that man has a soul and spirit is found both in the Holy Scriptures () and in the holy fathers. For the most part, both of these words are used to designate the entire invisible part of the human being. Then both words have the same meaning (; ). The soul is distinguished from the spirit when this is required to explain the invisible, deep, mysterious ascetic feat. The spirit is the verbal power of the human soul, in which the image of God is imprinted and by which the human soul differs from the soul of animals: Scripture also ascribes souls to animals (). The monk answered the question: “Is the mind (spirit) different, and is the soul different?” - answers: “Just as the members of the body, which are many, are called one person, so the members of the soul are many, the mind, the will, the conscience, the thoughts that condemn and justify; however, all this is united into one by literature, and the members are spiritual; there is only one soul inner man"(Conversation 7, chapter 8. Translation of the Moscow Theological Academy, 1820). In Orthodox theology we read: “As for the spirit, which, on the basis of some places of Scripture (;), is considered the third integral part man, then, according to the saint, he is not something different from the soul and independent like it, but is the highest side of the same soul; As the eye is in the body, so is the mind in the soul.”

St. Theophan the Recluse about the human spirit

“What kind of spirit is this? This is the power that God breathed into the face of man, completing his creation. All kinds of land creatures were destroyed by the earth at the command of God. Every soul of living creatures also came out of the earth. Although the human soul is similar to the soul of animals in its lower part, in its higher part it is incomparably superior. What it is like in a person depends on its combination with the spirit. The spirit inhaled by God, combining with her, elevated her so much above every non-human soul. That is why within ourselves we notice, in addition to what is seen in animals, what is characteristic of the spiritualized human soul, and above that, that which is characteristic of the spirit itself.

The spirit, as a force emanating from God, knows God, seeks God and finds peace in Him alone. Convincing himself of his origin from God by some innermost spiritual instinct, he feels his complete dependence on Him and recognizes himself as obligated to please Him in every possible way and to live only for Him and by Him.

More tangible manifestations of these movements of the life of the spirit are:

1) Fear of God. All people, no matter what levels of development they are at, know that there is a supreme being, God, who created everything, contains everything and controls everything, that they depend on Him in everything and must please Him, that He is the Judge and the Giver of Rewards to everyone according to his deeds. This is the natural creed, written in the spirit. Confessing it, the spirit reveres God and is filled with the fear of God.

2) Conscience. Conscious of being obligated to please God, the spirit would not know how to satisfy this obligation if conscience did not guide it in this. Having communicated to the spirit a piece of His omniscience in the indicated natural symbol of faith, God inscribed in it the requirements of His holiness, truth and goodness, instructing it to observe their fulfillment and judge itself whether it is correct or not. This side of the spirit is conscience, which indicates what is right and what is not right, what pleases God and what does not please, what should and should not be done; having indicated, he imperiously compels one to do it, and then rewards it with consolation for fulfillment, and punishes it with remorse for non-fulfillment. Conscience is a legislator, guardian of the law, judge and rewarder. It is the natural tablet of God’s covenant, which extends to all people. And we see in all people, along with the fear of God, the actions of conscience.

3) Thirst for God. It is expressed in the universal desire for the all-perfect good and is also more clearly visible in the general dissatisfaction with anything created. What does this dissatisfaction mean? The fact that nothing created can satisfy our spirit. Having come from God, he seeks God, desires to taste Him, and, being in living union and combination with Him, he calms down in Him. When he achieves this, he is at peace, but until he achieves this, he cannot have peace. No matter how many created things and blessings someone has, everything is not enough for him. And everyone, as you have already noticed, is searching and searching. They search and find, but having found it, they give it up and start looking again, so that, having found it, they also give it up. So endlessly. This means that they are looking for the wrong thing and in the wrong place, and what should be looked for and where. Doesn’t this tangibly show that there is a power within us that draws us from earth and earthly grief to heavenly things?

I am not explaining to you in detail all these manifestations of the spirit, I am only directing your thoughts to its presence in us and asking you to think more about this and bring yourself to the full conviction that there is definitely a spirit in us. For it is the distinctive feature of man. The human soul makes us small, nothing higher than animals, and the spirit shows us small, nothing lower than the Angels. You, of course, know the meaning of the phrases we hear: the spirit of the writer, the spirit of the people. This is the totality distinctive features, real, but in some way ideal, cognizable by the mind, elusive and intangible. The spirit of man is the same; only the spirit of the writer, for example, is seen ideally, and the spirit of man is inherent in him as a living force, testifying to its presence with living and tangible movements. From what I have said, I would like you to draw the following conclusion: whoever lacks the movements and actions of the spirit does not stand on a level with human dignity...

The influence of the spirit on the human soul and the resulting phenomena in the area of ​​thinking, action (will) and feeling (heart).

I take up what was interrupted - exactly what came into the soul as a result of its union with the spirit that is from God? From this, the entire soul was transformed and from animal, as it is by nature, became human, with those powers and actions that are indicated above. But that’s not what we’re talking about now. Being as described, she reveals, moreover, higher aspirations and ascends one degree higher, becoming a spiritualized soul.

Such spiritualization of the soul is visible in all aspects of its life - mental, active and feeling.

In the mental part, from the action of the spirit, the desire for ideality appears in the soul. Actually, spiritual thinking is all based on experience and observation. From what is learned in this way, fragmented and without connection, she builds generalizations, makes suggestions, and thus extracts the basic principles about well-known circle of things. This is where she should stand. Meanwhile, she is never satisfied with this, but strives higher, seeking to determine the meaning of each circle of things in general population creations. For example, what a person is is known through observations of him, generalizations and inductions. But not content with this, we ask the question: “What does man mean in the totality of creation?” Seeking this, another will decide: he is the head and crown of creatures; another: he is a priest - in the thought that he collects the voices of all creatures praising God unconsciously and offers praise to the Almighty Creator with an intelligent song. The soul has an urge to generate thoughts of this kind about every other kind of creature and about their entirety. And it gives birth. Whether they answer the point or not is another question, but there is no doubt that she has the urge to seek them, seeks them and generates them. This is the desire for ideality, for the meaning of a thing is its idea. This desire is common to everyone. And those who do not value any knowledge except that of experience - and they cannot resist being idealistic against their will, without noticing it themselves. They reject ideas with language, but in reality they build them. The guesses they accept, and without which not a single circle of knowledge can do, are the lowest class of ideas.

The ideal image of view is metaphysics and real philosophy, which have always been and will always be in the field of human knowledge. The spirit, always inherent in us as an essential force, contemplates God himself as the Creator and Provider, and beckons the soul into that invisible and boundless region. Perhaps the spirit, in its likeness to God, was destined to contemplate all things in God, and it would have contemplated if not for the fall. But in every possible way, even now, those who want to contemplate everything that exists ideally should proceed from God or from the symbol that God has written in the spirit. Thinkers who do not do this are, for that very reason, not philosophers. Not believing the ideas constructed by the soul on the basis of the inspirations of the spirit, they act unfairly when they do not believe what constitutes the content of the spirit, for that is a human work, and this is Divine.

In the active part, the action of the spirit is the desire and production of selfless deeds or virtues, or even higher - the desire to become virtuous. Actually, the work of the soul in this part of it (the will) is the arrangement of a person’s temporary life, may it be good for him. Fulfilling this purpose, she does everything according to the conviction that what she does is either pleasant, or useful, or necessary for the life she arranges. Meanwhile, she is not content with this, but leaves this circle and carries out deeds and undertakings not at all because they are necessary, useful and pleasant, but because they are good, kind and fair, striving for them with all zeal, despite the fact that that they do not provide anything for temporary life and are even unfavorable and harmful to him. For some, such aspirations manifest themselves with such force that he sacrifices his entire life for them in order to live detached from everything. Manifestations of this kind of aspirations are everywhere, even outside of Christianity. Where are they from? From the spirit. The norm of holy, good and righteous life. Having received knowledge about it through combination with the spirit, the soul is carried away by its invisible beauty and greatness and decides to introduce it into the circle of its affairs and its life, transforming it according to its requirements. And everyone sympathizes with this kind of aspirations, although not everyone completely indulges in them; but there is not a single person who would not from time to time devote his labors and his wealth to works in this spirit.

In the feeling part, from the action of the spirit, there appears in the soul a desire and love for beauty, or, as they usually say, for the graceful. The proper business of this part in the soul is to perceive with feeling the favorable or unfavorable states and influences from the outside according to the measure of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of mental and physical needs. But we see in the circle of feelings, along with these selfish - let's call it that way - feelings, a number of unselfish feelings that arise completely apart from the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of needs - feelings from the delight of beauty. I don’t want to take my eyes away from the flower and my ears away from the singing, just because both are beautiful. Everyone organizes and decorates their home one way or another, because it is more beautiful. We go for a walk and choose a place for the sole reason that it is beautiful. Above all this is the pleasure delivered by paintings, works of sculpture, music and singing, and above all this is the pleasure of poetic creations. Fine works of art delight with more than just beauty external form, but especially beauty internal content, intelligently contemplated, ideal beauty. Where do such phenomena come from in the soul? These are guests from another realm, from the realm of the spirit. The spirit that knows God naturally comprehends the beauty of God and seeks to enjoy it alone. Although he cannot definitely indicate that it exists, but, secretly carrying its destiny within himself, he definitely indicates that it does not exist, expressing this indication by the fact that he is not content with anything created. To contemplate, taste and enjoy the beauty of God is the need of the spirit, it is its life and the life of heaven. Having received knowledge about it through combination with the spirit, the soul is carried away after it and, comprehending it in its own spiritual image, then in joy rushes to what in its circle seems to be a reflection of it (amateurs), then it itself invents and produces things in which wants to reflect her as she presented herself to her (artists and performers). This is where these guests come from - sweet, detached from all sensual feelings, elevating the soul to spirit and spiritualizing it! I note that of the artificial works I classify in this class only those whose content is the divine beauty of invisible divine things, and not those which, although beautiful, represent the same ordinary mental and physical life or the same earthly things that make up the eternal the environment of that life. The soul, led by the spirit, does not only seek beauty, but expression in the beautiful forms of the invisible beautiful world, where the spirit attracts it with its influence.

So this is what the spirit gave to the soul, being combined with it, and this is how the soul becomes spiritual! I don’t think that any of this will make it difficult for you; I ask, however, not to skim through what has been written, but to discuss it carefully and apply it to yourself.

1. Spiritual life is what elevates a person, fills his activities with deep meaning, and contributes to the choice of the right guidelines. It requires constant enrichment through communication and especially through reference to the works of Russian and foreign philosophers, holy books world religions, masterpieces of domestic and world fiction, music, painting.
2. Moral self-education means the unity of consciousness and behavior, the steady implementation of moral standards in life and activity. Only through the experience of good deeds and opposition to evil can one consciously carry out moral self-improvement.
3. Our time allows a person to make ideological self-determination. But it should be remembered that the ordinary worldview leaves a person at the level of everyday concerns and does not give him sufficient grounds for orientation in a complex and rapidly changing world. modern world. Everyone chooses for himself what, in his opinion, helps him live.

Document

From creative heritage Russian philosopher S. N. Bulgakov,

Two principles constantly struggle in a person, one of which attracts him to the active activity of the spirit, to spiritual work in the name of the ideal... and the other seeks to paralyze this activity, drown out the highest needs of the spirit, make existence carnal, meager and base. This second principle is true philistinism; the philistine sits in every person, always ready to lay his deadening hand on him as soon as his spiritual energy weakens. The struggle with oneself, which includes the struggle with the outside world, is what moral life consists of, which therefore has as its condition this fundamental dualism of our existence, the struggle of two souls that live in one body not only in Faust, but in every person...

Questions and tasks for the document

1. What, according to the philosopher, consists of a person’s moral life?
2. How do the concepts of “soul” and “spirit” differ in Bulgakov?
3. In what sense does the author use the words “spirit”, “spiritual”? Justify your answer using the text.
4. What ideas expressed in the paragraph are consistent with the ideas of the philosopher?
5. What conclusions can be drawn from this text?

Self-test questions

1. What are a person’s spiritual and moral guidelines, what is their role in activity?
2. What is the content and meaning of the “golden rule” of morality? What is the essence of the categorical imperative?
3. What are moral values? Describe them. What is special meaning moral values ​​for the citizens of our country in the most difficult moments of its historical development?
4. Why is the development of a person’s moral qualities impossible without self-education?
5. What is the essence of a worldview? Why is worldview often called the core? spiritual world personalities?
6. What types of worldview does science distinguish? What characterizes each of them?
7. What do the concepts of “morality” and “worldview” have in common? What is their difference?
8. What is the significance of worldview for human activity?

Tasks

1. Do you think morality forces a person to act in a certain way or does it give freedom? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Scientists argue that value orientations determine life goals person, the “general line of the individual.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons for your position.
3. The English thinker Adam Smith noted the importance of a wise and creative course of action, a combination of prudence with valor, with love for humanity, with sacred respect for justice, with heroism. “This prudence,” said Adam Smith, “involves the union of an excellent head with an excellent heart.” How do you understand the author’s thesis about “combining an excellent head with an excellent heart”? What, in your opinion, is the connection between this provision and moral values?
4. Academician B.V. Rauschenbach wrote: “Isn’t it alarming that the characteristics of “a successful businessman”, “a good organizer of production” sometimes turn out to be more important than the assessment of “a decent person”? Do you agree with the scientist's opinion? Give reasons for your position. Try to formulate your own definition of the concept of “decency”.

Thoughts of the wise

“The more you live a spiritual life, the more independent you are from fate, and vice versa.”

L. N. Tolstoy (1828-1910). Russian writer

Yeshua on Lightworkers
Contributed via Pamela Cribbe

From the chapter "From Ego to Heart IV"

Your (esoteric) traditions share spirit, soul and body.
The body is the physical residence of the soul for a limited period of time.
The soul is not a physical psychological anchor of experience. She carries the experiences of many lives. Over time, the soul develops and slowly turns into a multi-faceted beautiful stone, where each face reflects different type experience and knowledge based on it.
Spirit does not change or grow over time.
The spirit is outside of time and space. It is eternal, it is a timeless part of you, One with the Creator who created you. It is this divine consciousness that is the basis of expression in space and time. You were born from the sphere of pure consciousness, you took part of this consciousness with you and carried it through all incarnations in material form.
The soul takes part in duality . All experiences of duality affect and transform the soul. The spirit is beyond duality. This is the basis on which everything develops and evolves. These are Alpha and Omega, which you could simply call Being or Source.
Silence, external and especially internal, is the best entrance to the feeling of the ever-present energy that is you in your deepest core. In silence you can come into contact with the most wonderful and self-evident thing: Spirit, God, Source, Being.
The soul carries within itself the memories of many incarnations. She knows and understands much more than your earthly personality. The soul is connected to psychic sources of knowledge, such as your past life personalities, and guides or companions on the astral plane. However, despite this connection, the soul can remain in a state of confusion, ignorance of its true nature. She may be traumatized by specific experiences and remain in darkness for some time. The soul is constantly evolving and gaining an understanding of the duality inherent in life on Earth.
The spirit is an immovable part of the development of the soul. The soul can be in a state of darkness or enlightenment. This does not apply to the Spirit. Spirit is pure Being, pure consciousness. He is both Darkness and Light. He is the Unity underlying all duality. When you reach stage 4 of the transformation from ego to heart, you connect with Spirit. You connect with your Divinity.
Connecting with the God within is like stepping out of duality by remaining fully present and grounded. At this stage the consciousness is filled with a deep but quiet ecstasy; a mixture of peace and joy.
You realize that you are not dependent on anything outside of yourself. You are free. Truly, you are in the world and, as it were, outside it.
Connecting with the spirit within is not something that happens once and for all. It is a slow and gradual process in which you connect, disconnect, reconnect…. Gradually the focus of consciousness shifts from duality to unity. Consciousness reorients itself, finding that over time it is more drawn to silence than to thoughts and emotions. By silence we mean this: to be completely centered and present, to be in a state of non-judgmental awareness.
There are no fixed ways or means to achieve silence. The key to connecting with Spirit is not to follow any training (meditation, fasting, etc.), but to truly understand. Understand that it is silence that brings you Home, not thoughts or emotions.
This understanding grows slowly as you become more and more aware of the mechanism of thoughts and feelings. You let go of old habits and open up to a new reality of heart-based consciousness. Ego-based consciousness withers and slowly dies.
The spirit is silent and eternal, and yet it is a creator. The reality of the Divine cannot be grasped by the mind. You can only feel it. If you let it into your life and become aware of it as a whisper in your heart, everything slowly begins to fall into place. By tuning into the reality of Spirit, the silent awareness of everything that lies behind your experiences, you stop imposing your will on reality. You allow everything to be in its natural state of being. You become your natural true self. And everything happens in a harmonious, meaningful way. You feel like everything comes together in a natural rhythm and natural flow. All you have to do is stay tuned to the divine rhythm and let the fears and misunderstandings that make you want to interfere go away.

From the chapter “Your Self of Light”
The soul experiences its greatest joy from the interaction of Spirit and sensation, the interaction of divinity and humanity. This is the secret of the Universe.
When you are pure Spirit, your reality is static. Nothing changes. Sensation and movement only occur when there is a relationship with something outside of you/Spirit. When you experience something other than yourself, there is an invitation to explore, to sense, to discover. But in order to experience something other than you, you have to remove yourself from absolute Unity, from God/Spirit. By doing this you become an individual soul.
You are an individual soul with one foot in the realm of the Absolute and the other in the realm of the Relative (= duality).
By exploring relativity (duality), you can move so far away from Home that you lose contact with the element of Spirit within. Then the soul is lost in the illusion of fear and separation.
The greatest joy is possible when you participate in the realm of Sensation while remaining connected to Spirit, to Home. The balanced interaction between Spirit and Soul is the source of the greatest creativity and Love.
From this perspective, you are all on the path of finding the right balance between the state of absolute Oneness and the state of the individual soul.