The items found on this blog were written during the past few years and strictly reflect my own opinions. Because these articles deal with difficult issues they are bound to be controversial. They reflect my personal analysis based on the limited information that I have. I am certainly no expert and fully respect different opinions. Difficult issues would not be difficult if there were clear-cut answers. Although you will see in reading some of my material, I don't like being pigeonholed with a label, I will admit to being politically independent with a tendency to be more conservative fiscally and slightly more liberal with regard to social issues. Having lived through the 1940's, I have a great appreciation for the sacrifices made by our armed forces and, in fact, all Americans during World War II. The greatness of this country shone bright as we rehabilitated and rebuilt our enemies after winning that war. I am very patriotic and proud of our country. While we are far from perfect, we're not as far from that ideal as most other countries in the world.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

 Stuart’s Thoughts 7/4/2021


The Essence of Life



Do  we humans have a soul?  If so, exactly what is it?  Do other animal forms  have souls?  What about plants?  If the answer to the above questions, especially as it relates to humans, is no, how should we describe the essence of life?  What separates the living elements of nature from the inanimate?  Is there a creator or did everything in our awareness arise spontaneously from a primeval singularity with subsequent expansion to form everything in existence?


The above are some of the basic questions humans have been attempting to answer since the beginning of time.  Now that our species has had 66 million years to evolve our intelligence and address these essential questions, where do we stand today in our understanding? 


If we claim to have a soul, what is it?  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary some of the definitions of a soul are “the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life: the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational or spiritual beings, a person’s total self, an active or essential part, the moral and emotional nature of human beings”


Essentially, we seem to know souls exist and have some poorly defined understanding that what is meant by the soul is an awareness of the existence of one’s essence, i.e., one’s self.  However, we can never seem to complete the unending task of becoming totally oriented in the boundless morass of time and space which comprises the total sum of existence.  Where does one’s soul fit in this boundless  morass?  Do souls exist have a temporary existence in time or do the exist forever? We seem to agree that souls are not to be found in the material world and tend to think of them as components of the spiritual world but where dose that mysterious spiritual world exist i  the  morass?


Does that sound like gibberish?  I agree that it does and unfortunately helps little in clarifying the nature of the soul.  Unfortunately that is exactly the problem we humans always seem to encounter when we try to discuss the soul, its nature, its source and especially its immortality or lack of immortality.  Does it continue to exist in some spiritual sense after death?  If so, to what end?  If not, does that mean that death is the ultimate end of a relevant human mind with no continuing recognition of a spiritual self?


This is a nearly impossible question to address because there is an apparent impenetrable curtain between life and death.  However, there are several sparks of hope that we might investigate.  The first is the few cases where individuals have apparently come back to life after being declared clinically dead.  In most of these cases, the individuals report a vivid sense of self throughout their experience.  Some report looking down and viewing their own bodies from a supposed, brightly lit, spiritual perch. Are these truly reports from death or have brains not actually completely died during this interlude?  The other compelling concept is one given us by the physicists, the idea that no information contained in the universe can ever be lost.  That is, information itself is immortal.  What does this imply about the vast stores of information within the minds of dying humans?  Perhaps that lingering information existing somewhere in the architecture of infinite space is what some might call a collection of souls.  No-one really knows and we will likely never know for sure.  However, for the present, it seems to me, it may be appropriate to suggest that the souls of deceased humans may be represented by a collective library of human information and knowledge existing in the universe or, if you like, the multiverse.  I don’t know what, if any, significance this has to the living but it may give some hope that upon death we may experience a continuing awareness of self or, at least, a continuation of our essence.  The truly religious believe that our spiritual souls will all be reunited with the souls of deceased family and friends as well as with the essence of a supreme being or God.  Many others avoid this seemingly unanswerable question andprefer the simpler choice i.e., - “I just don’t know”.



For me personally, there is no rational path to follow to arrive at an opinion, but, why not hope for a glorious revelation upon death.  It can do no harm and, in fact, may enhance lives of the living.



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