Chapters
From IConnecting
I-Connecting : The Quest of the Soul
Contents |
FOREWORD
By Robert Sardello
This is a radical and remarkable book in many respects. Kristina Kaine, in a clear, straightforward, and simple but sophisticated manner, provides a very new and different view of the life of the soul; that is one aspect. Then, on that basis, she develops an even more clear understanding of the individual human spirit; that is a second aspect. Then, she also proceeds to show us how each of these dimensions intertwine in actual daily living. This is certainly a substantial writing, but it is not for the academic or for the intellectual effete. We find ourselves on every page of what she says. It is a strong book, a strong writing, which, if you take the needed time to study, issues into a different way of living, one that is full of inner excitement that surely expresses itself in behavior and will be readily noticed. You will become more calm, more centered, more able, more heart-oriented, and, most of all, more selfless and interested in others.
Suggesting these qualities result from developing a sense of the I may sound like a string of new age promises, but there is a difference, an enormous difference. New age material is typically conveyed in a way that makes us believe that we already have the capacities to achieve the kinds of qualities stated above, and if we just do one kind of simple practice or another, wear an amulet, hold a crystal, learn the latest approach to the Tarot or some other divination device, the desire will be achieved. The book you hold is not this kind of self-help manual. Rather, you are invited into the riches of becoming a participant-observer in soul and spirit life. It is work, but a very different and new kind of work that can perhaps be characterized as play-work. That is, it is fun, the imagination gets engaged, and you begin to notice things in your daily relationships that make favorable differences.
Because this is a book about soul and spirit life, it seems to me that it might be helpful to clear the ground a bit for readers, as I tried to do above by indicating that this is not another of the more typical self-help books. A second distinction is also necessary. In our time, when the term ‘soul’ is used, we think of depth psychology – not only the contributions of C.G. Jung, but also James Hillman, Thomas Moore, and the revival of depth psychology in archetypal psychology. This book is also not within that genre. Depth psychology’s approach to soul is situated within a Platonic cosmology. I don’t want to become lofty here and go into ancient philosophy. However, if we do not know what cosmology we stand within, then we are simply lost and wandering around, homeless.
INTRODUCTION
The need for an understanding of soul and spirit
The deep longing to know ourselves takes us on many quests. A feeling of emptiness often accompanies our achievements when the fruits of our life do not satisfy us as we expected they would. Global affairs, especially the many natural and man-made disasters, give rise to despair. Our inclination is to look outside ourselves to understand these issues. Could we be looking in the wrong direction? Would greater self-knowledge change the way we see what is happening in the world? Could understanding our soul and spirit make a difference?
We are at a crisis point in evolution, a pivotal time for humanity.
This book explains that we are beings of body, soul and spirit and that, for too long, knowledge of our soul and spirit has been ignored. Do we have a complete picture of a car by describing its shell, its shape and colour, while ignoring the engine, mechanics and the driver? The truth is that our physical body without our soul and spirit is just an empty shell. There is a good case to make that, because we think of our total being as just a physical body, we are at such a crisis point.
Take a long thoughtful look at what is happening in the world today. Why are youth suicides increasing? How can we explain the rise of new and sometimes untreatable diseases? Why are people turning to the past for fundamental religious values which can foster terrorism, or at least undermine free will? Is it fear of the future which makes the past more attractive than perhaps it should be? Change is everywhere. Scientists regularly make discoveries which lead them to rethink their hypotheses about what it means to be a complete human being. Understanding our inner world can help us deal with the rapidly changing outer world.
This book is for all people interested in experiencing firsthand what is hidden in human nature. Knowledge of the soul and spirit is not complicated. By using the guidelines set out in this book it will become clear that all we are required to do is to become more observant in life. Then we need to think deeply about our observations.
Chapter 1: HUMAN SOUL:
Identifying our soul
Before we can explore the nature of our “I” we must first understand the activity that is our soul.
Our quest is not for a soul-mate but to be mates with our soul.
How can we discover our soul and experience that we are more than just a physical body? It is a great exercise to ask a few people if they have a soul. After a long pause many people say, “Yes”. Then ask them where it is. Some people wave their hands vaguely around their heart and neck. Others think that their soul is not connected to them, that it has to do with their family or their environment. Many others think of their soul as a thing associated with death, that it leaves when the body dies, but they have few ideas about what it does while the body lives. Still others think that the soul has something to do with religion, and if they reject religion therefore, they conclude, they probably don’t have a soul. There are, however, an increasing number of people who are beginning to experience their soul and “I” and they are able to explore how they actually work within their daily life. The author is one of these people; and in this book I invite you to join me in my exploration of a more complete human being-ness.
Chapter 2: HUMAN SELF: the “I”
What is the “I”?
We know that each person is an individual with a specific character, a particular make-up, and each person expresses self in the world accordingly. This ‘self’ is the name we call ourselves when we say “I”. The “I”, the self, is the essence of the individual, it is our “I”dentity. Because it is an integral part of us, we often do not notice what it is, or how it works. The “I” is the kernel of our personality which we cannot grasp as we are not able to grasp our right hand with our right hand. Our “I” enables us to function as beings of soul and spirit, not just as physical beings. Our “I” experiences the world through our soul and body; they are its vehicles. As we have been discussing, this is a developing thing, an evolutionary thing. Our “I” is not a fully conscious part of our being yet. Its connection with our body and soul grows over time; the more it grows, the more conscious we become. Then, the more we are able to have original thoughts and ideas, and also to be flexible about our thoughts and ideas. We could also say that meaning originates in the “I”. For instance, when we speak, specifically about something we have thought about ourselves, the meaning from our “I” is expressed through the vocal cords of our body.
Our “I” can be found in our ability to concentrate, to be attentive by focussing our attention and by being observant. The more we can do this, the stronger our I-connection and the more conscious we are.
Chapter 3: THREE SOUL FACULTIES: feeling, thinking, willing
The functions of feeling, thinking and willing live in our soul. They are our soul faculties which act as forces within our being. Our “I” works into our feeling, thinking and willing using them as its tools – to a greater or lesser extent. The stronger our I-connection, the greater we can control these forces. They can act automatically out of habit, or they can be consciously directed in response to the situations we meet in life. Like the garden without a gardener can grow wild, but if properly tended the garden can be a place of order and beauty.
Keep remembering that our being is not a combination of separate parts but one activity which moves and weaves to form the integrated whole person that we are. Our hand, for example, only operates as a hand while it is an integral part of our body - the severed hand is less useful than a table or chair. Even though we can examine the components separately, they function as an interactive set of forces; each one affecting the other in various ways. By becoming aware of these interactions we can alter them to assist our personal growth. We will now look in more detail at this activity.
Chapter 4: THREE SOUL REGIONS: impulse, reasoning, awareness
If we are to understand ourselves - to truly become mates with our soul - we need a more detailed picture of the inner activity of our soul life. As we consider our soul it is important to remember that our “I”, our self, experiences life through our soul, which is in turn expressed through our body. The picture of the “I” as the artist, the soul his work of art and the body as the canvas is a good way to remember how these parts of our being work together.
Different cultures have different soul moods.
Our soul is coloured by all the different influences in our lives; our environment, our family, our friends, our work, events and experiences, our country and culture, and even by the climate. This author is Australian and views life from an Australian perspective. The Asian, Spanish or American person will view things differently. Hopefully the following detail about the different soul regions will assist people from all cultures and countries to understand how they express themselves through the different tones of their soul.
There can be no question of racism in the study of our soul, but simply the recognition of different soul influences and different soul moods. In fact, when we pursue this knowledge we can also discover that some people feel more comfortable with those of the same soul mood, others relate easily to a variety of soul moods. The stronger our I-connection the more easily we relate “I” to “I”, less influenced by soul moods.
Chapter 5: HEALTHY SOUL, STRONG I-CONNECTION: exercises
Our journey so far has given us a detailed picture of our soul and its three regions, and how our “I” expresses itself through feeling, thinking and willing in our soul and our body to interact with our environment. The stronger the I-connection the more conscious and purposeful these interactions will be. We have also seen how the soul and the I-connection have developed throughout history and that this development has been focussed in certain countries throughout the world. It would be an interesting study to link this to the power of nations and their economic development.
We have experienced how our “I” is actually the eye of our being. By now we should have some idea of how blind we can be if our soul obscures the “I” by expressing its habitual patterns. Our “I” can ‘see’ to the extent that our soul is awake and connected with our “I”. The more we ‘see’ the more conscious we become and the healthier we are on all the levels of our being; body, soul and spirit.
When we become more conscious we have more choice in our life and hence more freedom. The beginnings of freedom can be as simple as the awareness of choices. The urge to freedom is inherent in our being and restlessness is often its birth pangs. How we apply our will to direct this restlessness and, in turn, how we express freedom is pivotal to the health of our soul. An important step is to become more aware of the subtle way we use our will. Do we try to influence others by imposing our will on them? This can be as simple as trying to convince others of our own view of things. Or do we express ourselves as individuals in community with other individuals? The greatest test for this is how strongly we cling to our own ideas without remaining open to the ideas of others, and whether our own ideas evolve or stay the same.
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