The questions of what is the Soul and what is the difference between Soul and Spirit have been the subject of much confusion, many confusing the two and often believing that the Soul is Eternal. In this blog post therefore we will discuss the reality of this matter.
What Is The Soul
After a person transitions from Earth during the process erroneously known as death, and subsequently spent some time, often days or sometimes even hours focussed within their Etheric body, living close to the physical world, they will usually proceed to make the full transition to the Astral planes, often known as the Astral “planes”, “spheres” or “realms”.
To reside in the Astral planes, it is necessary to be focussed within an Astral body of exactly the same level and degree of vibratory frequency as the corresponding level of the Astral realms to which they have transitioned. The Astral body is also known as the Soul or the “desire body”, due to its interaction with the Astral worlds, often known as the “desire worlds”, where, having left Earth after the change known as “death”, people continue to pursue their material desires. At this point, having left the physical and etheric bodies behind, the person lives on as Soul and Spirit, the former of which is transient, and only the latter Eternal.
When a person first arrives in the Astral planes, they still think and express themselves in exactly the same way as they did while living on Earth. They will, for example, still think in terms of food, houses, cars, physical appearance, recreation, etc. These Earthly, material desires are largely driven by the Ego and materialistic thought and a lack of understanding of true purpose and ultimate destiny. This is also the very reason that the mid-Astral planes are so similar in appearance to the physical world. They are created by the minds of humans based upon physical life experiences, believing the physical work to be reality. Humans in both physical and Astral create the things they believe they need, desire and feel most comfortable with in accordance with the demands of the ego.
This is the main reason why the Astral body is known as the “desire body”, the body with which all mundane Earthly desires are fulfilled. It is not possible to progress to the true Spirit worlds or to evolve further along the Path until all material desires have been completely purged and seen as the illusions they truly are. This process of realization might take a very short time as measured in Earth time, or it might take hundreds or even thousands of years depending on the person.
Many people believe that upon passing from the physical world, the Astral world is their true home or even “Heaven”. Eventually, however, everyone must realize that, like the physical world, the Astral worlds, created by the minds of people after their perception of reality based upon the physical world, exist at close to the lowest Energy levels of the greater Universe and are simply another aspect of the ongoing learning process and Spiritual evolution. As previously mentioned, the “Heaven” of the Astral worlds is based entirely upon the human concept of “Heaven”, which is, in turn often based upon material things or religious teachings.
So in considering the issue of wat is the difference between Soul and Spirit, if the physical world is first year kindergarten, the Astral worlds are second year kindergarten, still a very, very long way from achieving graduation from university with full honours. The true “Heaven worlds” of the Soul are the Spiritual worlds of the Mental, Celestial and Cosmic planes, not the Astral planes. The Astral planes exist as a transition zone created by the minds of humans and other Beings, between the physical world and the realms of Spirit, and, like the physical world, will eventually no longer be needed at which point will dissipate back in undifferentiated Energy.
Every person has a unique Astral body comprised of Energy at a unique vibratory frequency. The balance of the elements, a person’s character, Ego, temperament, beliefs and many other individual factors will be reflected in the composition of the Astral body, the Soul, and its unique Energy signature.
The unique characteristics of the Astral body are determined by the Energy constitution and vibration of the Electric and Magnetic fluids, as well as the elements within the Energy field constituting the Astral body. Again, the Electric and Magnetic fluids are not fluids in physical terms in the same way as water for example, but rather characteristics of Energy. The character of a person is, therefore, in accordance with the balance of the Electric and Magnetic fluids and the balance of the elements which in turn influences the vibration of that person.
What Is The Eternal Spirit
Once a person living in the Astral spheres has satiated all material desires and transcended the influence of the ego, the Astral body, the Soul, dissipates into Universal Energy and ceases to exist completely, leaving the Mental Body, the Eternal Spirit to continue its progress.
So in considering the question of what is the difference between Soul and Spirit, only the Mental Body or Immortal Spirit is Eternal. The physical Etheric and Astral bodies are only the transient outer garments of the Spirit body which are discarded when they have served their purpose.
The element of Fire is the fiery aspect of the Spirit and is responsible for will. The element of Air is responsible for intellect. The Water element manifests in the human being as life and feelings. The Earth element is represented by the unification of Fire, Air and Water and is responsible for the individual “I” Consciousness of the human being.
The Mental planes are the spheres and origins of thoughts and ideas. A thought begins as an idea in the Mental planes and develops into a “Thought Form”. This Thought Form is conveyed first through the Mental matrix and then through the Astral matrix, where it is received by the Subconscious Mind and then the conscious Mind as a thought appearing to originate in the Mind of the person as their own “idea”.
Contrary to the perspective of most sciences, all thoughts and ideas originate in the highest aspects of the Mental planes and not from within the organic brain, which simply serves as an organic interface between the body and true Mind, and is incapable of originating thought processes. Likewise, long-term memories are “stored” in the causal Mental body, the aspect of the Immortal Spirit having its existence within the causal sphere of the Universe.
The organic brain is not the seat of Consciousness, but, as previously mentioned, is rather a mediator, interface or filter between the conscious and Subconscious Minds and therefore the inner bodies and the physical body. This is why Astral and Mental projection is possible, as we will discuss in further blog posts, both being an inwards projection of consciousness and not of the body itself. The organic brain of a physical human being is not the originator of thought, and the organic brain is accordingly not the Mind.
Humans can be likened to a “receiving station”, and all thoughts coming from the world of ideas of the Mental planes through the Mental matrix, the Astral matrix, the etheric matrix, and, finally, the organic brain. Everything in existence that humans believe to be a result of their own intelligence or ingenuity has actually been received from the world of ideas of the Mental planes through mental induction, where they already exist, have always existed.
The ability and likelihood of receiving any particular thought from the world of ideas of the Mental planes will always be in accordance with the circumstances in which a person exists within the physical world. For example, a scientist, due to conscious thought, will attract scientific types of thoughts and ideas in accordance with the vibratory frequency of that thought, and likewise a technologist will receive technical thoughts and ideas, an artist will receive artistic thoughts and ideas, and so on.
These examples all illustrate one of the most fundamental Principles in the Universe, the Principle of Expression, often erroneously known as “the law of attraction”.
All thoughts, like everything else in the Universe in all spheres, are ultimately pure Energy. It is this Energy that gives each thought its own unique characteristics. Within the inner realms of life, where Energy vibrates at a much higher rate and the density of the Akasha is much finer and more subtle, thoughts can be seen to take shape as they are created by the Mind.
So what is the difference between Soul and Spirit? It is the Immortal Spirit alone, in the form of the Higher Self, after having freed itself from the cycle of incarnation and therefore the materialism and egotism of the physical world and the desires of the Astral worlds, that continues the onward ascent, the inner journey of Spiritual evolution towards the vibratory frequency of Source.
And So It Is.