LAURA'S VIEWS

Love is a strong driving internal motivating force which can be blinding at times. This emotion has been used as an excuse, an answer, a goal, an intention as well as an ideal.

The term love is often misunderstood, misused, and overly used.

SELF

The self includes internal and external components--it includes the will, the mind, the heart, and the soul as well as the body.

The self is shaped by all events and occurrences in life as well as environment and examples that one has to follow and look to for guidance in life. This is how a person may define her/himself.

Although the body is only the shell that contains the self, people often define themselves with their body rather than their internal self or soul as referred to by Simone Weil).

SOUL

The soul is one's true Self.

What makes up the soul?? The conscious and unconscious? the id and super ego? Emotions and feelings? Past and present life experiences? Is the soul the internal serene place we feel safe enough to talk to our Higher Power? Is it our Higher Power so dazzling that we are afraid to look too closely (as referred to by Iris Murdoch)?

The American Heritage dictionary defines soul as

1. The animating and vital principle in a person often conceived as an immaterial entity that survives death;
2. a spirit; ghost;
3. a human being;
4. the central or vital part of something;
5. a person considered as the embodiment of an intangible quality;
6. a person's emotional or moral nature;
7. emotional or expressive intensity (esp. in music).

In our research as well as our many conversations, we have tried to find a definition for soul that we felt suited what we felt the term represented. I don't believe any of the above definitions comes close. Jeannemarie feels number 6 comes close. The more we discussed and searched the more we found what the soul was not. Our search continues.

Return to Main Page or Jeannemarie's page.