LESSON FIVE

SOUL, SPIRIT AND BODY

      In Metaphysics, you will hear of a number of trinities, the most important of which is soul, spirit and body.  These three, when in harmony, are the greater you.

      The soul can be described as a radiant sphere of light surrounding you.  Another term used is the etheric body or etheric double.  This is the real you, the immortal you.

      The soul contains:

            1.  God's consciousness

            2.  Sub-conscious mind

            3.  Memory bank

            4.  Conscious mind

            5.  The Silver chord (Your tie to the Universe and

                  each other.)

      Let us rephrase this.  The soul is our link with God, the fourth dimension and with each other.  Since your soul is never ending, it is your link with the knowledge of the Universe.  It  is through our soul that we are able to take guidance from our helpers and guides and from God.  When we go soul to soul in a reading, we are in tune with another's guides, family, friends and can reach out and touch them whether or not they are carnate or disincarnate.

      An old and beautiful soul will be so illumined that the "light" is visible all around this person and although this "light" is from within, it surrounds him causing him to "glow in the dark."  When someone gives you a compliment, your earthly mind usually assumes that they are admiring your dress or makeup, or that new tie you are wearing.  Using your God mind, you will realize that it is the light that shines from within that is drawing like a magnet (energy to energy) causing you to deserve that compliment.  When the soul is sufficiently cleansed and purified, this magnet will draw people to you, thus improving your social and business relationships.  Using the dark as a symbol, aren't you truly glowing in the dark?  Were you to shroud your soul in darkness, the light would not shine through and all you would attract is darkness.

      When your soul is illumined, your mind is able to perceive with a deeper and greater level of understanding.  This mind which is all over your body, in each and every cell, enables you to control your body as well.  This ability to perceive is what we term expanding the mental realm through your God-consciousness.

      It is sometimes a shock to suddenly start seeing the people who have been around you through these "new eyes."  You will recognize their inherent qualities both negative and positive.  Accept the fact that they have the free will to be any way they want to be, will learn when they are ready, and it will not throw you.  This is part of "proper attitude and respect," another term we frequently use.

      The soul is the immortal part of us.  It grows with each learning experience.  Even when we do not like the pain either emotional or physical that learning experiences contain, we need to be thankful for the opportunity this growth affords our souls.  When we are immersed within a negative experience, this is difficult to remember.  Inevitably, we see the benefits gained.  Trace your own so-called negative experiences, note what you have gained and in behalf of your soul, say a great big THANK YOU.

      What is the spirit we hear about?  For the moment, let us separate it into two parts.  First, we have the All-Pervading Spirit which is God.  Secondly, we have the life force of our bodies.  When we are reborn in this physical body, the umbilical chord is cut and the spirit comes from the soul into the body.  Until this time, we have lived on the life support system of our mothers.  This is the breath of life referred to in the Bible.  At this point, the spirit is totally pure and it is up to us to keep it pure from then on.  It is when this spirit is depressed to its lowest ebb, that death occurs.  You might consider the concept that "it is the Spirit which giveth life" before you permit yourself to be in "low spirits."

      Your spirit has no power of its own to reason.  It is a robot.  It is vulnerable to your thoughts and the thoughts of those around you.  This is how people are programmed both negatively and positively.  Thoughts are given to the sub-conscious mind and the spirit acts them out automatically.

      Let us cite examples of these.  Telling someone that they are sick, they are deaf, dumb, blind, incompetent etc., or setting limitations upon them are ways in which we program them negatively.  You can do this to yourself as well.  When you harbor the thought that you are diseased, you are giving power to the thought of disease and are programming your spirit to hold onto this negative manifestation of thought.  The most common occurrence of this is in the case of allergies and colds. 

      This does not, however, mean that we do not treat the manifestation by the best means possible.  Remember that Metaphysics teaches harmony and balance.  You have already brought this into reality.  While you are taking the medication which has been prescribed by your physician, work on removing from your life the negative thought which has caused this inharmony and replace it with thoughts of health and harmony.  You will then heal and not create a reoccurence of this or a similar problem.

      From the physical viewpoint, the body needs rest to heal.  Meditation is a wonderful tool for doing so.  For those of you who have accomplished the art of getting out of your body at will, in soul form, do so often when your body needs rest.  You will heal much more quickly.

      Make it a way of life not to listen to negative programming from other people or even your television set.  When someone is intent upon impressing you with their negative thoughts and you are having difficulty quieting them, say, "By the Grace of God remove that."  There are some who simply say, "CANCEL."

      Now let us give an example of positive programming.  This is done through the use of the power of suggestion.  Suggest to someone who is complaining of disease that they will be well shortly or even that they ARE well.

      A good illustration of positive programming is the following story.  A man we will call Sam is having a heart attack.  His spirit is depressed and in the process of leaving his physical body.  His wife yells or whispers in his ear, "Sam, come back."  Sam's spirit, having no power of its own to reason, is now programmed and remains in his body.  He opens his eyes with the standard question, "What happened?"  He probably would not understand what truly happened.  However, his wife saved his life.  This is a true story.

      It is important to note here, that she did not yell, "Sam, come back to me."  God does not recognize selfish motivation and you can see that the same results would not have taken place under these circumstances.

      Whispering in the ear is a method of contacting the spirit directly.  However, remember the law of karma, what you put out comes back to you, before you are tempted to manipulate your mate or another human being.

      It is up to you to keep the spirit of life within you alive.  It is the "middle man" between your soul and body and the harmony you maintain is reflected accordingly.  If you choose to live in confusion, your body will do so also.

      Now let us discuss the spirit at the time of death and thereafter.  The spirit, once again, becomes a part of the soul which goes on to the higher planes of learning prior to reincarnation.  Please note that the spirit only functions as a part of the soul whether in the body or out.  It is a robot.  Therefore, it is technically incorrect to call a dear, departed friend or relative SPIRIT.  That is like talking about an arm rather than a whole person.  These folks, called "Familiars," are IN SPIRIT, meaning the world of Spirit.  Since this is the world of the Almighty Spirit, it is sometimes called, "The Higher Side of Life."

      You will frequently hear the question, "Do you have an Aunt by the name of Mary in Spirit?"  Your soul is a part of God's soul world.  She is in a purer form, a part of God's Spirit, in His Higher World, the world of Pure Consciousness.  However, keep in mind when weighing the advice of Aunt Mary given you by a medium that she may not yet be any smarter than she was when she was in a physical body.  It depends upon what plane of learning she has reached in the soul world.  If you did not wish to follow her advice when she was on the Earth Plane, it might be questionable to follow it now.  The best advice comes from God through your guides, teachers and helpers.

      We are never alone!  When a medium brings in a message from a "familiar," it is usually to reinforce the fact that the residue of consciousness left behind is always with us.  It is greatly reinforcing to know that in addition to guardian angels, guides, teachers, helpers and such, there is always a residue of more familiar consciousness as well.

By the way, Aunt Mary may now be reincarnated, but a portion of her consciousness will remain and can be touched in with.

      God relies on us for the use of the intelligence he has given us.  Use this intelligence to keep your body, "His Temple," in harmony.  This means a well-rounded diet, proper rest and relaxation, and thinking pure thoughts in order to maintain the harmony between soul, spirit and body.

      The alliance between our thoughts and our physical well-being cannot be stressed sufficiently.  Although our thoughts have a powerful influence on our bodies and control them, the reverse influence is true as well.  We encourage you to learn more about Huna, the practice of healing in Hawaii.  They stress the balancing of our energies.

      The trinity of soul, spirit and body is our Divine Heritage!

Lesson Six