15 September 2009
Are We Eradicating Soul?
Posted by Robin Easton under: Hobnobbin' with Robin .
I’ve often felt that my culture tends to negate the Soul. We not only negate it, but as a collective we run from our souls. Soul isn’t always predictable and tidy, although it can be both. It often reminds me of a powerful force of Nature with a will and agenda all its own. When unleashed I’ve found Soul to be bluntly honest, lacking ego, piercingly intelligent, dazzlingly beautiful, exquisitely passionate, infinitely peaceful, indomitable, unstoppable, larger than life and usually beyond my control. And oh, how we humans love to be in control. We desperately cling to “mind power” to manifest away the things we don’t like or manifest into existence the things we want. This can be a powerful and highly useful skill in terms of living more joyful lives. However, all too often we deny the Soul its pithy journey of underworld discovery. Soul has little use for social edict, law of attraction or mind over matter type-of-things that we’re so drawn to of late. Soul thrives on learning through raw gutsy experience, experience that can tear our lives apart and doesn’t look neat, serene or socially acceptable.
We often avoid Soul because we can’t control it. We instinctively know it can lead us kicking and screaming into deep dark caverns where things aren’t always familiar, pretty or predictable. I believe Soul to be a lifesaver because it leads us into places that we might not choose to go. And yet, these caverns may be where we discover our most authentic selves, our deepest wisdom and greatest peace. It is in these places that we’re called to learn the difference between conceptual truth and truth we feel and know with our entire being, the difference between desperately clinging to peace and simply letting go and being peace. When “mind power” is not married to “soul exploration” we suffer deeply. We’re like a beautiful tree reaching for sunlight, without our roots sunk into the soil of Mother Earth. We need both Sunlight and Earth. Mind and Soul. In time…Soul becomes the mind.
Many psychological beliefs crush Soul by rushing in and trying to “get to the cause”, and not always with the intent to explore, but with the intent to fix, get under control, make go away or at the very least make presentable, functional and so forth. I would go so far as to say that we often define certain manifestations of Soul as “illness”, where prescription drugs are brought into play at the drop of a hat to get under control the errant personality. I’m not saying there aren’t times when this may be needed. But we live in a society that uses prescription drugs like candy to control and eradicate Soul, and with it our evolutionary process. Maybe it’s time to question our thinking and redesign our culture so we accommodate the needs of the soul. There are currently Ph.D.s who believe that ADD and ADHD and other related “disorders” may play a crucial role in human evolution. You might enjoy Dr. Keven Emery’s article: Why the Increase in ADHD Drug Prescriptions?
A very wise Native American elder once told me that traditionally in his culture people with manic depression, ADD and other “disorders” were not seen as ill. They usually became medicine men, wisdom keepers and seers of the tribe, or what we call shamans. Likewise I have brave friends who’ve explored their “disorders” or addictions in the same way that one would go on a Soul Journey or Vision Quest. They see their “condition” as a portal to deep soul growth and evolution. I would love for us to look more deeply upon all the manifestations of Soul with an open mind and with respect for Life’s intelligence. We all are embarking on journeys into the Unknown. Everything we feel and experience, including our addictions and disorders, is “part of” and not “apart from” our Great Soul Journeys. There is little in us that is to be got rid of, and only that which is to be explored, understood and flowed through and with. We are not made up of parts, good and bad, right and wrong. We are already whole and intrinsic beings. We are — each one of us — a tangent of Life on the cusp of magical evolution. I wish you well as you continue to explore your Soul. Keep faith and go with great courage into the Unknown.
Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.
~ Wayne Dyer
Much Love,
Robin
Related Links:
Dare to Take Risks
Emotions: Portals to Soul
Turn off the Bombardment
Can you slow down
The Deep River Within
This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
40 Comments so far...
Wilma Ham Says:
15 September 2009 at 7:25 pm.
Yeah Robin, go and let us have it. Beautiful, I love what you pour out on this page today.
Order and control has served the hierarchy, it goes for order and control at all cost, it costs us our soul and thus we are still slaves albeit of a different kind, slaves to a hierarchical mind that is now internalized.
Oh let the soul come forward, let it be our guiding star, let it make us the unique individual that we are and let it shake the hierarchies at its foundations.
Let the mind become a common sense thing to make our lives work out at a daily level.
But do not let the mind guide us in bigger things as life purpose and love, that is the privilege of the soul and our heart.
They are the adventurers, the visionaries, the explorers, the courageous ones, the mind is just the booking agent.
Robin, I am with you all the way. Charge ahead, you soulful woman.
Big hugs, Wilma.
Robin Replies
Dear Wilma, You are indeed one of the bravest souls. Your writing here and on your site is all about Soul, even if you never mention the world soul it is what you share with me and others soooo freely and abundantly. I am struck by this over and over. For you there are no holes barred and you meet Life with brilliant life, and with a fully awake and aware soul. It is why you are so powerful and desperately needed in the world. You speak to those of us who also choose to fully live in and of our souls. You are a truly great visionary of our time. You’ve no idea how grateful I am that our souls connect, talk and love. Your wise words here are off the charts beautiful and bold. Hugging you back Wilma. Always, Robin
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Mudd a.k.a. Oza Meilleur Says:
15 September 2009 at 8:23 pm.
As one who was once diagnosed with manic depression and other “disorders,” I was VERY happy to read what your Native American friend told you — it confirms what I have felt all along… in the deepest caverns of my soul.
It’s also always been a belief of mine that people who experience so-called “mental diseases” are somehow lost in other dimensions — but that’s a whole other story! LOL
I find myself drawn to your photo… such a beautiful photo. It reminds me of the darkness I’ve crawled out of after many years of struggling to find the light. I have finally learned to love myself — my soul can now laugh and dance and spread the joy.
Peace & Love & Flying Hippos Over Rainbows,
Mudd a.k.a. Forever Happy Oza 
xoxo
Robin Replies
Dear Mudd, It is a treat to see you here. I have always seen you as a very free and wise soul, someone who was in touch with other words and dimensions. Someone who oozed creativity and free thinking. It is one of the many things I love about you. —I too find this photo fascinating and the actual caves are not only fascinating from the historical point of view but from a soul’s point of view. They evoke so many emotions in me and I am drawn back to the caves over and over. —And YES!, my friend your soul sure does laugh, dance and spread immense joy, and in such an uninhibited way that is often only seen in children. Love to you, Robin
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Michelle Says:
15 September 2009 at 9:22 pm.
ADD and ADHD are not evolutionary, but, external over stimulation. If the doctor’s argument is valid, do we explain away the meteoric rise in Autism and Asperger’s as evolution? Children are no longer required to use their imaginations, have daydreams and experience the world – How do they get to know their Souls? How do we?
Pain is a part of life and it seems the more numb we are, the more pain avoidance (taking pills) we practice, the less we have to say (or desire to take risks!) Makes me think of “Soma” in Huxley’s Brave New World – a terrible warning we have failed to heed.
I was visiting a local historian today and he told me the story of Johnny Moon a man who came to North America from England as a boy. He was an orphan, badly abused, and shipped off to Canada as child farm labour. He came to Muskoka (grown – but I cannot remember his age), and could hold a job for no more than 5 to 6 weeks. He was well liked and worked hard but could not take direction. He was so well liked, he’d get the same job over and over again only to be fired again.
He tended gardens, and lived in a cave on the side of the Muskoka River. Johnny had a basic education from England (which was much better than the Canadian equivalent at the time) so he was literate. Some kids were afraid of him – many others were drawn to him like flies because he could tell a story like nobody else.
The community rallied together for this well liked wandering storyteller and built him a shack – which he lived in for less than a month and moved back to his cave. He kept chickens in the shack. After he died, people visited Johnny’s cave to find it full of wine bottles and stacks of books. There was also a diary of his life written in his own hand. I wish I could remember the lines that it opened with because they were the lines of a master novelist. I sat across from this local historian as he handled one of the books found in that cave – Johnny’s Bible – one of the books with no marks in it.
Today, Johnny would be institutionalized or just homeless for his choices. And yet, I would wager that he knew his soul better than most of us.
Robin Replies
Dear Michelle, What powerful comment and LOVELY story. I just chewed through this and now want to read more about it. I loved your line: “I would wager that he knew his soul better than most of us.” Wow! What a fascinating life and human being.
Oh there is so much in this juicy comment that I hardly know where to start. I’ve been thinking a lot about evolution and it would take a whole book to even explore WHAT it is and the many possible motivations, reasons and ways that prompt Life to evolve. In relation to “disorders”, there seems to be so many schools of thought as to the “causes” of ADD or ADHD or Asperger’s and other disorders, everything from over stimulation to heavy metal poisoning to fetal development to psychological trauma to a shift in species evolution and more…or all the above combined. So all I can say is that possibly a form of evolution may be that our culture/species will have to eventually look at these rapidly increasing “disorders” and ask, “Are we going to drug an entire class room, an entire generation, are the drugs even working, and is there ANOTHER way? Are we over stimulating our children? (I TOTALLY agree with you that we are). Are we altering their brains with all of our technology? …And then, if we are a healthy species we would ask how can we change our culture, our world, so that this is no longer happening? As opposed to trying to suppress or control the rampant disorders. Questions we might ask could be, What is it that children (all of us) need? How can we live healthier lives. And then to act accordingly to make the cultural changes. Yes, it seems a drastic and almost impossible task to bring an entire culture or entire planet into awareness, healthy living and balance, but I believe as a species it is where we must head and many ARE heading. In essence that is evolution. A species responding to existing conditions and even potential conditions.
I also LOVED your comment on pain. Pain has been one of my most, if not THE most, potent teacher and powerful catalyst for growth. I’ve never been one to numb pain…well, not since the age of twenty-five when I realized it’s enormous potential for growth, clarity of insight, vitality, awareness, etc. Thank you dear Michelle for sharing your insights and wisdom. I so appreciate it and you.
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Robb Says:
15 September 2009 at 10:16 pm.
Kia ora Wild Sister,
I have written to you before how that photo, that place, reminds me of Kura Tawhiti, a mystical place in the south island. When I went there it just called to me to remain and I slept on the warm rocks, and absorbed the energy of the Earth. Had I not thrown off the shackles, or started to, of trying to figure out how I fit into the world out there, and instead simply embracing my Soul and celebrating who I am becoming, I would not have gotten that. I would not have seen my beautiful son literally change from 16 year old sullen teen to a little boy in the mountains and find him again, and let him find the child inside of me as well. If we open ourselves to Nature She will find us.
As to our over medicated culture, you are so right. It seems because we have have pills and lotions to take or rub on sore muscles, and joints, we extend that to include a pill or over analysis of every perceived mental ailment as well. Of course these drugs can have a place and use, but it should benefit humankind and not just drug companies.
I know I battle with inner demons still, but I would rather deal with them by a mountain river, or high on a ridge, on my own terms. And starting to find my Soul I am becoming so much better at knowing the moments when the mountains call to me the loudest. Rave on Wild Sister!
Aroha always,
Robb
Robin Replies
Dear Wild Brother, Yes, my caves and sand stone rocks are so much like your Kura Tawhiti, which I one day will see. I love how you slept on the warm rock. I could just feel that in my bones. There are a few places around here that are so dear to me, where wind and water have worn slot canyons through mesas and the profundity of these place often makes me weep. I too will lay myself down sun warmed rock as if my sanity, my life depended on it. It does.
My heart soared when you said that Taylor transformed from a sullen teen to a little boy in the mountains. I could feel that in my soul, feel how that environment just washed away all his fears and resentments. Kids are so plugged in and smart, they see what we are doing to the world, they see the world they are being asked to live in and be part of. Even if it doesn’t register in conscious thought their souls and bodies feel and see it. Many are angry, and we adults often suppress that anger with words, actions or drugs. And YET, that very rage in many of them is what’s going to give them the energy and impetus to change the world for the better. I don’t mean through violence, but merely through motivating them to act on their convictions and speak out in ways that WILL change the world. Each generation will contribute more and more.
The healing power of Nature is beyond words and limits. Endless love and healing found in Nature. We both know that so well. And once we establish that connection, Nature is with us always, strengthening and healing even when we have to be away from her. Sadly so many young people have never established a connection with Nature, so Nature is not real to them. They can’t even imagine it’s potential. Nature is not part of their mapping or imprinting. This is also true for many adults. We are a species that is losing our connection to Nature and the wisdom of all other species, and water, clean air and rock. I am so moved that you took Taylor with you and that your souls touched and loved. I am grateful and proud of you. Know that. Yes, Rave on Wild Brother…always. Aroha, Robin
[Reply]
Steven Aitchison Says:
15 September 2009 at 10:29 pm.
Robin you’ve done it again, managed to touch the core of the human condition with one article. I agree with you that we take prescribed drugs like candy. I also believe many prescribed drugs don’t really make the condition better, it’s the mind believing that the drugs will make it better that cures us.
I found this fascinating to read and always look forward to your posts.
Steve
Robin Replies
Dear Steve, Thank you for your kind words; they help me to better understand myself. Yes, it is tragic as I’ve seen people I know go through various drugs one after another trying to find the one that will work and to have none of them work. Or if it helped with the “disorder” they lost all their creativity and passion and felt completely numb, which was devastating for them. One of them actually felt set free when they realized that none of the drugs would work and that they simply had to “be with” the disorder. It set in motion a huge change in their lives by inspiring them to change their diet, take up exercising, reading uplifting and healing books, gardening and hiking. If nothing else they are proud of their new life and said they are learning patience, endurance, courage and compassion. I was very moved and humbled by this person.
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David Says:
16 September 2009 at 12:12 am.
My soul was jumping up and down while I was reading your post. You would think it was starved for attention or something!
Robin Replies
Dear David, I am over joyed to see you here. Makes my heart happy. And this sweet precious comment stayed with me all morning because it the personification of Soul, and more specifically YOUR soul. The soul of you that I know so well. I laughed and grinned and my soul did a dance reading this. Thank you dear one.
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MGL Says:
16 September 2009 at 6:29 am.
It seems to me that part of the problem is organized religion. They talk about the soul, but they really don’t do much unless it’s to make you feel guilty in order to get you to put money in the plate.
Robin Replies
Welcome MGL, I appreciate and honor your honest outspoken comment. I think historically that many organized religions have strayed far from their original principles of Love and Compassion. It makes me think of both Keats and Gandhi who basically said: Love is my religion. I really relate to that. Thank you.
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Shirley Says:
16 September 2009 at 6:40 am.
I don’t believe in medicating for ADD or ADHD. My brother has ADHD and he has never been medicated now he makes $30,000 at a job he loves. My husband is ADD and he was placed, as an adult, on Strattera. My husband noticed that he wasn’t feeling right. He was given a blood test and his liver enzymes were elevated (he had a fatty liver). Long story short, he was on a path that led him to death. He was placed on this medication by a facility that treats psychological disorders. His doctor told him he was lucky. This was killing a lot of people in this manner and my husband took action before it could take him. The doctor tested him for ADD. It turns out that my husband doesn’t have ADD and the doctor was upset that proper steps hadn’t been taken and a life could have been lost. What ever happened to “Do no harm?”
We suspect my oldest has ADHD. The school system wanted us to take him back to his neurologist, at birth he had seizures that went away. I know my son acts unusual since I have worked with a lot of kids in my time and I also knew it would lead to medication or a learning disability class if we didn’t do something. My son reads better than any kid in his class so we knew what had to be done. Together, my husband and I made the decision to pull him from school. It was a tough decision but we feel that my son will be better for it. There are so many studies linking medicated kids to psychotic or suicidal tenancies in the future. For disorders like this I don’t believe medication is necessary.
For someone like my mother-in-law it is necessary. She has bipolar disorder. My husband gets nervous when she visits because he has seen things that are really frighting. She, at one point, screamed “There are devils in the house!” She pulled my husband who was just 7 into the street. She and my husband were hit by a car. My husband said he thinks he may have flat lined briefly but he isn’t sure.
The difference between my son and my mother-in law is my son doesn’t have potential to kill you and my mother-in-law does.
I mentioned to my son’s teacher that I don’t want him to be a zombie and that is how we began to home school and our reasons. I will not have my kid have a pickled brain.
Robin Replies
Dear Shirley, Thank you for taking the time to share such an amazing story. I have known about your son through some of your previous writing and our personal sharings, but had not heard the story of your husband. You were so blessed to have caught this in your husband and to have taken action to find out what was going on. You make an important point in that it is always a good idea to be as proactive in one’s treatment as possible and to look at all the options and even get several opinions as to what might be going on. Both the body and psyche are complex. What might work for one may be disaster for others. Not only are we complex beings, but so much of our “science” and medicine is still in it’s infant stages. And sadly a lot of it is still driven by profit hungry corporations who don’t care about the effects their drugs have on people, but merely how much money they are making. So yes, it is always smart to be proactive in as many facets of our lives as possible by educating ourselves and asking lots and lots of questions from more than one source. —I also am just profoundly moved by what you are doing for your son, as it is not an easy task. I know it involves enormous research and time on your part. It is a deep act of love and caring. I think it will just be amazing to see how he blossoms being home schooled. From all you’ve told me about him he is an exceedingly intelligent child. I thank you for caring and daring to think for yourself. You are one gusty gal who won’t stand for any nonsense and yet has the pure heart of an angel. I look forward to hearing how it all goes as I’m sure many others do as well, especially mothers with kids. Thank you hon.
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Evita Says:
16 September 2009 at 8:58 am.
This is amazing Robin. You have touched on a very common topic in such a unique and new way.
Yes, our society does not cater to the soul. In fact I think it does as you mention, everything it can to suppress it. The way you have so deeply described the Soul, only shows that you are very connected and aware of your own. That is beautiful and most powerful, as we learn best not by what others say, but by their example. You indeed live out all this and more.
I was fascinated too, but not at all surprised by what the Native elder told you. In my years of teaching, some of the most ADD/ADHD kids were what I called my “indigo” kids. They were blatantly so gifted, and yet society chose to label them as something negative.
My eyes were opened to this so well after I saw the movie “Indigo Evolution” a couple of years ago. It is such a beautiful movie and one I recommend for every parent and teacher to see, no matter how old or young the kids in their care – it is amazing.
This is a most important topic to touch on today, so thank you, as I know the Universe thanks you so much for being the vessel you are and bringing this through!
Much love
Evita
Robin Replies
Dear Evita, What a lovely presence you are. Thank you for your kind words; I know our souls are connected. They always have been; it’s is why I recognized your right from the start. We are kindred. I am as always grateful for your wide open heart and mind. Just to read your words here is like fresh mountain air, that uplifts and makes one breathe deeply. You radiate your own beautiful soul in all that you do and it alone heals and soothes all that you touch. I love you for this and more.
Some time ago I read about the indigo kids, but it was quite awhile ago so I will have refresh myself on this. And yes, I think historically we humans (at least in my culture) have often labeled or crushed that which is different from us, that which we don’t understand or invites us to grow or which leaves us stripped of our conditioning or that which does not fit into “the box” (or is not easily controlled). We all too often perceive these things as troublesome, ill, perverse, errant, etc. And this applies to so many aspects of our culture, whether it’s the women who fought for the right to smoke, vote, become a doctor and have equal pay, or the people with colored skin who fought for the basic right to freedom and equality (these things were considered outrageous demands and often still are), or children who were bored in school and could not sit still and were “disruptive” to the planned program, or whether it applied to someone who danced to music that no one else heard, or someone who had great visions of what was to come, or channeled wisdom that others could not hear or see. There is often great pressure in my culture to normalize and assimilate. Thank you for having an open heart and mind. You change the world in doing so. —I’ve not seen the “Indigo Evolution” but am now very curious and will see if I can find a copy of it somewhere. Thank YOU my dear kindred sister. I am heartened by your sharing here and your wisdom….as well as your remarkable ability to “see” and feel even without words, without explanation. You are doing GREAT things in the world. I am honored to have share a path with you. Not only honored but overjoyed. Much love to you also dear friend. Robin
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Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Says:
16 September 2009 at 1:38 pm.
Hi Robin, this may sound strange, but I have found that the concept of soul varies widely from soul to soul (ha ha!). So, for the sake of clarity, I would like to ask for your definition of SOUL.
Robin Replies
Hi Dear Jonathan, This does not sound “strange” at all to me. It’s a wonderful question, one I expected someone to ask or explore. Here are the lines (below in quotes) that I took out of my original post on Soul, as the post was way too long. I am learning a somewhat uncomfortable and yet rewarding aspect of blogging, which is to not cover ALL aspects of a topic, but to leave loop holes so that there is room for others to raise question and express their insights and beliefs. If my articles are all wrapped up there is no room for others to speak. It doesn’t always foster conversation or varied opinions, which I just love.
“Today I’m not going to attempt to define Soul. There are probably as many definitions of Soul as there are people. Besides, I’m not sure I can or want to define soul. It would by akin to defining Love or God or the Universe. Science could tell me all about the Universe in relation to the stars and various black holes and nebula and possibly quantum physics, but they still haven’t told me WHAT the Universe is or WHY it exists. Science could do the same for Love, but they still haven’t told me WHAT Love is or WHY it exists. So in that regard, Soul is a bit like Love and Universe, and maybe it IS those things as well. I think Soul is something that each person must experience themselves and find their own definition, if they feel a need for one. I am someone who is perfectly comfortable not defining Love, Universe, God or Soul. I simply am in love with the Great Mystery of it all. I would not choose to live in a finite world where I had all the answers or definitions. I would feel trapped with no Unknown to explore. In all honesty, I think it would be presumptions of me to define it, certainly for another person. I would lose much by locking myself into a rigid definition. I would miss all the variations of what Soul means to each one of us. I find Soul indefinable. I can only do what I have done in this post and tell you how I have experienced Soul. And even that is like a mouse scratch on a vast glacier. Each of you will have your own experience or definition of Soul, if any at all, which I hope to hear about. Next week I will ask you: “What is Soul?”
So, hopefully next week you will share what Soul means to you, dear Jonathan, if it is a word you use or even relate to, which it may not be. The word Soul doesn’t necessarily resonate with everyone. Just as the word God may not. That is as it should be. Also, the finest feelings and experience often have no words at all and must simply be felt. I like this. I like that we are all different. We live in a world with millions of definitions and categories, which definitely allow us to communicate, clarify and share in certain ways, but I smile knowing there are still things in the world that cannot be defined. I find that singularly beautiful. Thank you my very dear friend for inspiring me.
[Reply]
Bern Says:
16 September 2009 at 1:40 pm.
We must uncover the soul which has been suppressed by the habitual loops and tendencies of daily living. Forgive and erase one attachment and the soul is that much closer to being released to the surface. The soul feels in the present moment and welcomes the stimulus of Being. It knows not the past or the future. It responds and attracts that which it resonates with.
I agree, sickness, illness, and dis-ease are indications of issues coming to the surface that are in need of resolving. However, instead of facing these, demons, these ghosts, these long ignored and buried feelings, society tends to bury them deeper with denial and drugs.
If we fully feel and acknowledge the fears created in the past and the anxiety of the future, we become that much more closely aligned with Soul where the world is always new and alive.
I enjoyed your post Robin.
Robin Replies
Dear Bern, So wonderful to see you here. I love your definition of soul, beautiful. Next week I am going to ask everyone to share what soul means. I think it will be interesting to explore all the varied definitions and meanings of soul. I strongly relate to what you wrote about souls here. I particularly love this line: “…we become that much more closely aligned with Soul where the world is always new and alive.” That is very beautiful, especially the outcome of the world always being new and alive.” I just LOVE that and couldn’t agree more. I’ve just been exploring your delightful site. Just a joy and so intriguing. It really enjoyed it; it did me good. Thank you.
[Reply]
Zeenat{Positive Provocations} Says:
16 September 2009 at 2:58 pm.
Hi Dear Robin,
I’m with you completely on this issue. Well to me its an issue when people today are all over mind control..and how to do telepathy and how to connect computers to the mind to read it..and put chips in it…and all the while forgetting that they are killing their soul. They are so hell bent on making the mind another wonder toy, that in doing so are totally neglecting the core of the soul and what it needs.
Initially while i was doing college, i wanted to get into medicine specifically psychiatry. But while i was researching i started having an aversion for it…for the pill popping culture specifically. The worst case i have seen is, a 9 year old girl, who was very free spirited…but her parents thought she was being difficult and socially unacceptable. So they took her to a psychiatrist and he didn’t even have a 20 minute session with her..and prescribed Zoloft (an antidepressant). Taking these pills she became totally quite and dull…so to say she lost herself. After 3 years of suffering and being on again off again on pills…the parents brought her to me. I did want to scream my head off …but instead calmly listened. Suggested she come for a few sessions…and in counseling her and just talking to her, so many hidden issues came out..which were the actual cause of her behavioral problems. In time and today this little girl is not so little…leads a normal life…and has a boyfriend and is crazy about Evan Mcgregor All this and her vibrance was lost because of pills.
Many reasons put together i went into counseling psychology instead where medication is a last or no resort. And my curiosity lead me to learn so many more holistic and naturopathic methods of treatment…that today a herb in your kitchen cabinet will indeed treat your depression and other medical conditions. You don’t need pills for everything.
Yes severe cases do need it….but i believe they also can be controlled with Love attention counseling and the right foods and herbs.
This is a topic so close to my heart….see how much just poured out of me….
Your posts have a way my dear.
Lots and lots of love….
Robin Replies
Dear Zeenat, What a wonderful sharing. Your story and insights moved me deeply. I also am honored and fascinated to learn about you and your life…and your beliefs. I have a friend who is extremely creative and wise beyond words, lives in a world that most don’t even understand, brilliant. But when he said he had trouble fitting into “normal” society and went to see a psychiatrist, he was given medication, which he tried, but said it completely destroyed his passion, creativity, inspiration and more. So he went off the drug. I think he also had other more physical side effects from it. So today he comes to terms with being different in a world that he feels pressures and requires him to be “normal”. But he so enjoys his creativity and passion that he prefers to feel supposedly abnormal in a supposedly normal world. I think where it really worries me is with children who are given drugs at a younger and younger age, as I say, at the drop of a hat. Not that it may not be needed sometimes, but often alternatives aren’t even explored or we as, a culture, don’t look at or change the systems we have in place. Actually, there are many who are researching, creating and implementing alternatives, new ways of thinking and social change so I just applaud these people and institutions who are doing this. As well as the parents who raise questions, get second and third opinions, or like Shirley who is home schooling. I just love these dear souls who are free thinking, ask questions and bring about positive change. And you are one of these souls. This is not to judge anyone for their choice. I have no need to judge and have close friends who have and do take prescription drugs to help them deal with. I just don’t judge. But I also love how people are questioning and searching for alternative and more healthy intrinsic ways. Thank you dearest Zeenat for being part of this change. I think there is much that is close to your heart and it is a beautiful heart, which I am blessed to have you share here, always. And yes, lots and lots of love to your too dear.
[Reply]
Nadia Says:
16 September 2009 at 3:26 pm.
Hi Robin,
Beautiful post and I so much agree with you. Even though I am a big believer in happiness, I think society has distorted what is happiness and the journey to happiness. People think happiness means no pain or no suffering. That is not happiness.
Happiness is a certain awareness of oneself and of life. So for people to admit that they are hurting or feel sad can be viewed negatively by others. In my very unhappy days, I knew people who preferred taking Prozac inside of looking within to see why they felt the way that they felt. To be candid, many people thought that my spiritual quest was insane because it involved so much introspection and seemed too deep.
Part of being in touch with one’s soul is to go through the pain and face the demons. That is part of the process to heal. You have to confront the issues, work through them and then eventually you will reach the other side. That was my process. It took years to deal with but it was so worth the journey.
Thank you for such a beautiful post and for showing me that I am not alone in this mindset. I am grateful.
Robin Replies
Dear Nadia, I’ve seen you on so many of the blogs I visit and always enjoy your very thoughtful comments. So this is a wonderful treat and honor to have you visit here. And true to form your comment here is dear to my heart. You touch on a topic that I too have given much thought: Happiness. I’m a very happy person and all my friends would tell you that I am exceedingly and naturally optimistic. However this does not mean my life is without pain or that I run from my pain or have a need to quickly get beyond it. I simply embrace it and explore it all as Life. I too feel that I live in a culture that is oddly in enormous pain and yet has a great aversion to feeling or expressing pain in a healthy way. Even in new-age spirituality, religion and the psych world I often see a tendency to contextualize emotions as good and bad, and a certain pressure to be in a perpetual state of Nirvanic happiness. As opposed to simply exploring all that happens with an open mind and heart and having no need to put any of it into context. I also realize that living with less context can be daunting for many people. We can feel lost and alarmed walking upon seemingly unstable ground.
Having shamelessly, even hungrily explored deep into my own pain and done so without contextualizing my emotions was a very liberating experience. When we can do this I think it allows us to view other people’s pain without judgment. We also grow emotional muscle. Although it’s more than that; I think it simply makes us vast and allows for an abysmal, well rounded and rich life experience. Like you, I feel it is more than worth it. Thank you dear Nadia. It is a joy to connect with such a beautiful wise soul. ….and no, you are not alone.
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Julie Says:
16 September 2009 at 5:37 pm.
Society does like nice, neat boxes.
A friend’s son has Asperger’s. With unlimited dedication from his mother in a variety of NATURAL ways, he grew to be a responsible and sociable young adult. This young man, for all his “hindrances,” is more “in touch” than most adults I know!! Just this morning, I called to tell my friend something her son shared on Facebook; she was astonished and so very proud of his sensitivity on the subject. I also told her that I believe he has always had one foot in each world, this very tangible one and The Other Side. He’s very naturally and nonchalantly quite psychic!
Just because we don’t readily understand something doesn’t mean we should subjugate it. Perhaps these issues are part of soul agreements, for the individual and relatives but also for society. How we care for and manage each person’s place in life, others’ as well as our own, shapes our growth, individually and collectively. Call it a test, if you will. How are we doing?
I love, love love love, how you bring these topics up for discussion. Hope shines through them all.
Robin Replies
Dearest Julie, You must tell your friend (the mom) how proud I am of her for her unwavering commitment to her son. That is a beautiful love and life story. Her son aptly fits the description of a few people I know, as to having a foot in two worlds. I must admit that I relate deeply to this. Also, your comment about soul agreements is deeply profound and one I have experienced in my own life. This line of yours is absolutely stellar and is one the most beautiful I’ve heard in a long time: “How we care for and manage each person’s place in life, others’ as well as our own, shapes our growth, individually and collectively.” Yes, my friend I too know this as truth. I know many might not agree, but we are SO blessed to be offered continual “tests” or opportunities to expand our awareness and our ability to experience emotions and Life itself. We are so much more than what our culture conditions us to believe. And we are all far more connected that we are taught to see and believe. I walk around, Julie, in a ocean of souls, beings that tell me so many things. I seeing fascinating soul connections and agreements between people. It simply is how I view the world. It is almost impossible for me to view it any other way. I seem unable to. So I tread lightly because I usually see so much of a person, and some of it they may or may nor want to share. So I just love them and let life unfold in its own time. Nonetheless I am over and over again astounded by the beauty of the souls I meet. You are one those very malleable and open souls who touches my life in quite a profound way. Thank you for such beauty. It goes a long long way.
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Tara S. Dickherber, M.Ed, CPC Says:
16 September 2009 at 6:04 pm.
Hmmmm….very interesting post with some very interesting comments. It’s a big world out there, there are as many paths to happiness as there are people.
Robin Replies
Dear Tara, Thank you for sharing here, and yes, I agree with you completely that there are as many paths as people. I would even have to say that my own path is a forever changing one. It is a gift of freedom I give myself by allowing my awareness, my perception, beliefs and insights to be forever changing. I have a quote I wrote many years ago that goes like this: “Freedom is to allow ourselves a forever changing perception in an infinite world.”
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Roger Says:
16 September 2009 at 6:18 pm.
Thank you so much for this post Robin.
ADD and ADHD is a topic that touches me deeply. Thankfully, medications to treat these “disorders” were not available when I was growing up since I am sure I would not be the person I am today had they been. A large percentage of children receiving medication exhibit nothing more than normal childhood energy and curiosity. They are being victimized by an educational and social system that simply does not want to put the extra effort into harnessing this energy into the positive and wonderful outcomes possible with a little work. The long term effect of robbing them of their souls is devastating.
Several years ago during a meeting with one of my son’s middle school teaching team, we were asked to consider medication for him. The reasons behind this request made my jaw drop as it was explained that the teachers felt he was bored during class causing him to be disorganized. They all agreed that he was always ahead of the rest of the students and became distracted easily. I asked about placing him in a more challenging program to which one of the teachers proudly exclaimed, “we got rid of the gifted and talented programs because they created an elite class of students that made the slower students feel bad about themselves”. I have to admit that I did not quite know how to respond calmly and what I ended up saying was not well received.
There was no way that I was going to medicate the spirit out of this beautiful child just because he was smart. We worked with him as best we could through his continued struggles and today he one of the most articulate and capable people I know. Yes, I am biased. I shudder to think who he might be had we heeded their advice.
It is within our deepest reaches of the soul that the individual resides. All the creativity, spirit, ingenuity and individualism that makes us special needs to be nurtured and encouraged, not medicated away. A society that chooses institutional convenience over individual growth is doomed to fail. I fear this is where we are headed if we do not start taking a hard look at what we are doing.
I am not saying there is no place for medication but I stand behind the fact that it is often being used to make life more convenient for adults at the permanent expense of the future of the world.
Thank you for this.
Robin Replies
Dear Roger, I am so moved by this sharing, both of your own experience and your sons. I thank you from my heart for it. You have acted with much courage and deep caring and patience with both your self and your son. We are a quick fix culture. Patience, unfolding and individuality have little room in the current system. It may not always be convenient and easy to accommodate uniqueness, high intelligence, kids who’s little bodies don’t want to sit still and are bored with school, but it is definitely in our best interest as a culture and species to do so. We are not machines which can be automated, programmed, homogenized and controlled. Although we as a culture have done a good job of trying to do this, but sadly (and maybe blessedly) the seams begin to burst and increasing repercussion come to light with each passing year. Our children (and adults) are sending us a strong message for change. I mean, how many are we going to drug before we are forced to look at the need for drastic change in all areas of our culture. So again I applaud you and others like you questioning, patience, free-thinking even when it may not have been easy. If nothing else we need to slow down and really look at what we are doing, and ask who is it serving, is there another way, and do we need change. Thank you my friend for sharing so openly and honestly. It is a gift. Thank YOU, Roger.
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Emily@remodelingthislife Says:
16 September 2009 at 6:51 pm.
Hi Robin, I just clicked over after seeing your follow on facebook. I can’t believe how timely this message is for me. I am thankful for you sharing your perspective on the subject. It’s left me feeling inspired and much lighter than a few minutes ago. Thank you.
Robin Replies
Dear Emily, What a sweet and poignant comment. I just loved your beautiful site. I am so glad we have connected and that my message found a place in you heart and made a difference. Do you know that your site left me feeling the same way, inspired and somehow lighter. Thank you for you sensitivity; it is appreciated.
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Robin Easton Says:
16 September 2009 at 8:11 pm.
Dear friends,
I will be back tomorrow to respond to the rest of your beautiful inspiring comments. I am just stunned by your level of openness, curiosity, experience and gut level sharing. It is such a huge gift. I am blessed and honored.
Until tomorrow.
Love,
Robin
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Gail @ A Flourishing Life Says:
16 September 2009 at 8:35 pm.
Dear Robin,
What a beautiful expression of our inner urge for wholeness. We deny the soul because of fear, and when we are willing to meet the fear in love, we reclaim ourselves. The only control we have is where we place our attention. When we are open to shedding light on our challenging thoughts and deeply held belief systems, all the riches of life and nature become available to us.
Love, Gail
Robin Replies
Dear lovely Gail, I am touched to see you here. I LOVED your words: “…our inner urge of wholeness.” That is sooo beautiful, unifying in terms of the humans condition, the soul. Yes, we all yearn for wholeness and each in our own way are headed “home”. I also find great peace in your words: “The only control we have is where we place our attention.” I too have found this true. In fact there is powerful healing in knowing this and living it, in choosing what we want to focus on. —A bit of an aside: I love to focus on gratitude because I find that which I am deeply grateful for comes more fully into my life. That is not WHY I give thanks almost every moment, but it does seem to be the outcome of feeling such gratitude. I give thanks because I am compelled to; I am so deeply grateful just to have the mysterious experience of being alive….and all it entails. Thank you Gail, Love, Robin
[Reply]
Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Says:
17 September 2009 at 8:10 am.
Thanks for the sincere response Robin. I do relate to the word soul, but not in the way many others do. The Bible says that man came to be a living soul. It also speaks of the soul that dies. So, while others may feel that the soul is something separate from the physical person, I see it as the living person in their entirety. This includes all physical, mental, and emotional aspects of the person (and any other aspects we may not know about). Soul is in no way limited to or by our understanding or acknowledgment. In my estimation, a soul is not something we have, but something we are. Admittedly, even this simple definition does not make the concept of soul any more comprehensible or any less of a mystery, and like you, I am more than fine with that.
Robin Replies
Dear dear Jonathan, I cried reading this. I feel that you wrote the words I could not find, the words I feel so deeply that I have no words. I have simply become them, become Soul. This is the MOST BEAUTIFUL definition of Soul I’ve ever read or heard. I don’t read the Bible and don’t follow any religion. Although, Dad used to read it to us as kids along with other spiritual and self-improvement books, but I don’t remember it as it was too long ago and I’ve not read it since. So I didn’t know the biblical definition of Soul. From what you wrote here the biblical definition would not fit for me either. All that aside, if one could take the feelings from my heart and place them into words, you have done so, my dear friend. Yes we ARE Soul. I AM Soul. All…of…me. Everything I am is Soul. There is no “other” or separate parts. I am this vast endless all encompassing being. I don’t know how to live any other way, not since my time in the wild. I have to tell you that I am sitting here crying. I can’t help it. What you wrote is SO beautiful and I could not have worded it in a more beautiful or truer way. I am SO grateful that you took the time to share this. It has changed something in my life. Yes, Soul is something we ARE, Jonathan. Thank you for your deep grounded wisdom, for your freedom of thought and for taking the time to share it with me and others. I am so grateful. Hugs, Robin PS I would love to share this definition of Soul in my next post if you don’t mind. Either way is okay, because I’ve already received a shinning gift.
[Reply]
Vin - NaturalBias Says:
17 September 2009 at 8:15 am.
Great article, Robin! I think we could all benefit by paying more attention to our intuition and letting go of some of our desire for absolute control.
Robin Replies
Dear Vin, thank you for sharing. I am SUCH a big fan of intuition. I just love when I read things like this. I find them so Life-affirming. If we did nothing more than listen to our intuition we would be what we really and already are, phenomenal beings. Thank you Vin.
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Chris Edgar | Purpose Power Coaching Says:
17 September 2009 at 10:20 am.
Thanks for this Robin. I’ve been noticing some of what you said firsthand in doing exercises from a great book called Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine, which involve just looking at different people and objects and noticing how your body feels when you take them in. It’s been amazing to me how much my intuition (or we could call it my soul) tells me about every situation I’m in when I listen to it.
[Reply]
Robin Easton Says:
17 September 2009 at 3:22 pm.
Dear Friends,
I am taking a computer break for the next 3 – 4 days starting right now, thursday afternoon, 4:20 PM, Mountain time, USA. LOL!!! I simply need to shut off my computer and not be near it for a few days. My brain has to shift back to its own rhythm and not be bombarded. Remember? My post Turn Off the Bombardment? Well, that is exactly what I am going to do. I am instead going to sit in the garden, harvest my veggies, walk in the woods barefoot and take time out to remember who and what I really am.
Your comments will automatically be posted. Forgive me if a spam creeps by; I will delete it when I turn my computer on Mon. or Tues. I have cherished all your comments here more than I can express and I will read all new comments that come in when I fire up my system.
Take time out to listen, to sit, to be still….just to be…period.
Love,
Robin
[Reply]
Lance Says:
17 September 2009 at 7:15 pm.
Robin,
Soul…a place so close to us, and yet a place so far. You’d think that something that reside within us should be so easy to get to. And yet…with everything else in our lives, the noise, the medications, the “going through the motions” – it’s so easy to never really and truly “see” our soul. Or maybe even better – to “feel” our soul.
For a long time, my soul was unknown to me. In the last few years, though, I’ve really began to get more in touch with this part of me. In fact, I can trigger exactly when it happened, our a spiritual retreat and a time like I’ve been moved before or since, about four years ago. I literally felt a Spirit within me. It’s so hard to explain, and at the same time so, so real.
And since then, even though moments haven’t been as vivid as that – this spiritual journey continues. And for me, that’s been a journey into my soul.
And even just two days ago – I had this very scary thought – where am I going? And this was very much my head speaking in response to what my heart (and soul) were saying. I believe that’s much like these unknown places you talk about – and there’s something about the not knowing that my head has a hard time really and fully comprehending. Still, I’m really learning as I evolve – this is good and right – if it’s coming from my heart.
Robin, your words are so comforting today…
Enjoy your time away and your time to “be”
With much love,
Lance
[Reply]
Walter Says:
17 September 2009 at 10:21 pm.
In “Markings,” Dag Hammarskjold quotes the famous Sufi/Muslim mystic and poet Rumi: “The lovers of God have no religion but God alone.” He quotes Zoroastrianists, ancient Chinese mystics, and Greeks.
As Gustaf Aulen writes, “God does not work only in the Christian sphere. His activity is universal, and its signs can easily be recognized everywhere with non-Christian religions. It is thus no accident that ‘Markings’ contains quotations from non-Christian authors. On the contrary, Hammarskjold has searched – we might say, eagerly searched – for statements that can transcend the barriers between different religions.”
Hammarskjold was a Swede who loved his nation and the Scandinavian sense of “community obligation to others” (which conservatives decry as “socialism”), and an internationalist liberal with a PhD in economics. But in his heart he was a mystic.
Here are a few of his entries, just to give you a taste, a feeling, for his voice in this extraordinary diary:
Look at the human soul. Sometimes intellect triumphs over the base self, and sometimes the carnal self and its appetites prevail over the human being.
“‘To the pure all things are pure.’ But if a man can only reach this state by making compromises, then his striving is itself an impurity. In such matters there are no differences of degree.
“‘What! He is now going to try to teach me!’ –Why not? There is nobody from whom you cannot learn. Before God, who speaks through all men, you are always in the bottom class of nursery school.”
***
“Before Thee in humility, with Thee in faith, in Thee in peace.”
***
“So, once again, you chose for yourself – and opened the door to chaos. The chaos you become whenever God’s hand does not rest upon your head.
“He who has once been under God’s hand, has lost the innocence: only he feels the full explosive force of destruction which is released by a moment’s surrender to temptation.
“But when his attention is directed beyond and above, how strong he is, with the strength of God, who is within him because he is in God. Strong and free, because his self no longer exists.”
“It is not sufficient to place yourself daily under God. What really matters is to be only under God: the slightest division of allegiance opens the door to daydreaming, petty conversation, petty boasting, petty malice – all the petty satellites of the death-instinct.
“‘But how, then, am I to love God?’ ‘You must love Him as if He were a non-God, a non-Spirit, a non-Person, a non-Substance: love Him simply as the One, the pure and absolute Unity in which is no trace of Duality. And into this One, we must let ourselves fall continually from being into non-being. God helps us to do this.’”
You can kill me now Robin, but Dag said it better than I could have.
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Tweets that mention Naked In Eden Blog - Robin Easton » Are We Eradicating Soul? -- Topsy.com Says:
18 September 2009 at 4:47 am.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steven Aitchison, RusticContempSpirit, RobinEaston, RobinEastonand others. RobinEaston said: Are We Eradicating Soul? http://bit.ly/17ADM4 [...]
Ophelia Rising Says:
18 September 2009 at 7:24 pm.
Robin, so incredibly beautiful and uplifting, this. I am with you, all the way, in every way – I was reading your words, “Many psychological beliefs crush soul by rushing in and trying to ‘get to the cause’, and not always with the intent to explore, but with the intent to fix, get under control, make go away or at the very least make presentable, functional and so forth.” And I thought, Oh, it reminds me of medicine and how we interpret this in our society with the proliferation of prescription meds, etc. – and then you wrote, “I would go so far as to say that we often define certain manifestations of Soul as ‘illness’, where prescription drugs are brought into play at the drop of a hat to get under control the errant personality,” and I thought, Yes. We are right together, here.
And you are correct, I believe. There is too much emphasis on fixing, getting to the cause, etc., but with no regard to the process of healing, or at looking at the issue as a whole. In many cases, our bodies can fix themselves, if we would only let them – many times with the help of good foods, we can heal. This is all a part of soul, this gentle, thoughtful, sort of loving way of looking at the process of healing – whether we are helping our bodies, or our heads.
And then, this can also be applied in terms of our world, and how we live in it – what we do, how much we pay attention, and what we pay attention to. How often do people sit in reflection nowadays – just sit and hum with the soul? When do we take the time to honestly nurture that which is wholly NOT thinking, but simply deeply connecting to that which is inside us, and also all around us? I sat the other day looking out the window – a rare thing for me to do, actually – and I felt as if I could have sat there for literally hours, I was so starved for it. I needed to do it so badly, but couldn’t, sadly, with a small child about and needing my attention. But what a valuable lesson for her, to see mommy sit – just sit! – and connect with her soul. Important for children these days to realize that sitting and thinking (or not thinking) can be their direct and speedy route to soul – especially in an age where technology, and the consequent insidious pressure to be busy DOING something – sometimes two or three things at once – is an constant, looming presence.
“I believe Soul to be a lifesaver because it leads us into places that we might not choose to go. And yet, these caverns may be where we discover our most authentic selves, our deepest wisdom and greatest peace. It is in these places that we’re called to learn the difference between conceptual truth and truth we feel and know with our entire being, the difference between desperately clinging to peace and simply letting go and being peace…In time…Soul becomes the mind. ”
These words resonate so deeply with me. It CAN be frightening and sometimes daunting to face the authentic self – but without it, what are we? I firmly resolve to get to that place, where my soul has become my mind. Perhaps someday I’ll be in that place. In the meantime, I struggle in the dregs, hoping to achieve a small ounce of wisdom that I can grasp firmly.
I love you, Robin, my sister. Thank you for this. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
[Reply]
Mike Foster Says:
18 September 2009 at 11:58 pm.
Let the soul flow, like a spiritual river. Robin, this wonderful post reminds me of what my acupuncturist tells me while she is jabbing me with needles as she attempts to fix my sore shoulder. She tells me the needles help to unplug or release the chi, or inner energy (could this not also be soul?), that is not flowing through me properly, in essence not getting to the injured part of my shoulder. This method of healing is not for everyone, nor is believing in the power of Soul. For me, and obviously for you, I feel we are incomplete without soul, to go along with mind and body; my triad of balance.
peace,
mike
livelife365
ps. I want to thank you, again, for all of your amazing support and incredible comments for my posts and videos at livelife365; those words of encouragement, coming from you, mean a lot. That said, I also wanted to congratulate you on your pending book deal–you deserve it! I have been writing for years and have been trying to break into the competitive world of publishing and know what a great accomplishment this is.
[Reply]
marcel lemieux/starflight Says:
19 September 2009 at 1:00 am.
Hello my friend.
Soul and self have never been apart..it just a question of time to realize that..i,m sure it has a blueprint of my choices and of my journey,but i don,t remember any of it.So life gave me 1000,s of opportunity,s to explore and try things….as for what i do or don,t understand ,when i will cross -over ,in the higher planes ,i sure i will see the whole picture..and there will be laughter among the stars…love to you and all your lovely visitors…peace
[Reply]
Liara Covert Says:
19 September 2009 at 8:18 am.
This world and every being, is expanding into unimaginable potential. To acknowledge this is to embrace new levels of human nature, co-creation and the move into a state of fearlessness. Soul is that untapped part of the unauthentic self that is emerging into new forms and formless states. Consider inner knowing. Take in experiences. You and everthing mirror what is true.
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Nothing profound Says:
20 September 2009 at 6:16 am.
This was an amazing post full of illuminating insights. Much food for thought. Personally, I’m not sure where I stand on this subject of soul. I tend to see it as a metaphor for our poetic nature. Though what I mean by that I’m not exactly sure.
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gene Says:
21 September 2009 at 12:00 am.
Whoa it’s hot here, not sure if I”ll be able to type, but I’ll try!!
I too don’t believe in prescription drugs as a quick fix, and I told myself that I will never be on chronic medication, where I have to take 2 of these pills 3 of those pills and 8 of those pills to live a normal life. I believe in alternative healing, and in my opinion if you can’t be healed ‘alternatively’ you weren’t meant to be healed… at this time. We are all here to experience life and what is the use of taking something that man made to make us “normal”? We won’t be learning anything on this journey if we Fix everything immediately.
No matter what it is that makes you ill, or not ‘normal’ you are suppose to learn something, and sometimes you can learn what you need to learn immediately (without a quick fix), and sometimes you have to wait a bit longer to learn, but in the end you will learn what you were suppose to learn, and experience what you are suppose to experience.
[Reply]
Dorothy Stahlnecker Says:
21 September 2009 at 8:38 pm.
What wonderful ideas you have regarding our soul and so enthralling thinking about the mind of the medicine man or healer and it made me wonder about the medium and what must possess their soul. I believe I will wander in my mind and find out what my soul is thinking and attempt to make sure it is nurtured and serene this is such a beautiful post by a very wise women.
When Joe and I traveled the Adirondacks this past week we talked about your courage when you travel with your back packs alone and open to the beauty of the land and what it does to your soul how fitting you should write this now. We are in awe of your strength and determination as to how you find balance with the earth and how you share your joy with all of us..thank you again.
My best,
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
[Reply]
Emily Says:
24 September 2009 at 12:43 pm.
Hey, Roby! Am just checking in! Had an “aha” on the part in reference to people who use their “conditions” as a Vision Quest, etc–I realize that is how I have approached my whole life! Love you, Emmy
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Liara Covert Says:
24 September 2009 at 2:43 pm.
We all continue to experience vibrational shifts. They trigger ah-ha moments that enrich everything everywhere. Human beings are bginning to realize they are awakening on more levels that were previously discerened and accepted.
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soulMerlin Says:
27 September 2009 at 2:03 pm.
Hi Robin ~ I think people are often troubled and do not want to entertain the idea of “soul” because if they did, they would have to accept the spiritual dimension. The evidence is in front of their eyes. It is jumping up and down and almost biting their noses. But they cannot accept…otherwise the walls of disbelief would come tumbling down.
henry
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Lisleman Says:
28 September 2009 at 11:55 am.
Good thought provoking words, which is noticeable from the many comments.
I just watched the start of the PBS Ken Burns series on our national parks. When it was describing John Muir, I thought of you. You probably have studied John Muir. If not, you sure seem to have similar ideas about soul and nature.
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Nicci Redfearn Says:
4 October 2009 at 8:06 am.
What a lovely blog post.
Not listening to our soul is painful. So instead of learning how to listen and act upon our soul’s desires, we learn how to numb ourselves with overeating, drinking, tv, dull repetitive work, gossip – anything not to hear and feel that wild passionate inspiring part of ourselves.
And yet we can’t drown it out completely. If we won’t learn the easy way, we get to learn the hard way through discomfort, pain and illness which often form the gateway for a renewed interest in spiritual development.
And then we get to connect with that inner part of ourselves, which is what we really wanted all along.
[Reply]
Coach Rosie Says:
8 October 2009 at 6:06 am.
“There is little in us that is to be got rid of, and only that which is to be explored, understood and flowed through and with.” Possibly one of my favourite lines ever. Something I totally agree with and identify with. Nice one.
[Reply]
Kaushik Says:
22 October 2009 at 1:52 pm.
You’re right that the mind is attracted to power–it shows up as the movement towards control or security or approval or separateness. The mind is a fast, noisy habit-machine so we we attend to it right away.
The soul, spirit-I just call it awareness–is gentle, unoccupied, effortless, here and now, and true. It has immense power and flow, but it’s not the kind of power which the mind understands. In this awareness, life just flows–there is no resistance from limiting beliefs or the desperation of the LOA or the angst of trying to figure anything out.
What makes us shift from mind to awareness? That’s a mystery.
Thanks for an insightful article.
k
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