Could something as intangible and hard to define as "soul" determine your well-being?
by Catherine Honora Kineavy
ver the past months, I have been discussing
different types of healing modalities including massage, ecopsychology and
macrobiotics to name a few. It has been my hope to present alternative methods
of healing in an effort to assist you on your road to achieving health.
As I have stated in the past, there are many levels to health: physical,
mental/emotional, and spiritual. Most of us are keyed into our physical
health and our mental/emotional health, but how many of us can assess our
spiritual health, or more specifically, the health of our soul? These words
"spiritual" and "soul" turn some people off because
they sound too "religious." Also, they are not scientifically
quantifiable. Yet, I believe that it is the health of the soul that forms
the basis of any healing practice. It is soul that I wish to discuss in
this article, particularly as it relates to our well being.
The 1990s mark a renaissance of sorts in a
conscious understanding of the soul. Visionaries of this century are prompting
us to open a dialog with our souls. It is necessary to awaken our soul's
consciousness, they contend, if we are to heal individually and collectively.
"Soul" is not often discussed in
traditional healing modalities. Yet, if our soul is not living its truth,
our bodies exhibit dis-ease symptoms The soul is just as much a part of
psychology as it is biology. We cannot tangibly measure the soul's contents;
however, its contents can manifest as joy, healthy self-esteem, contentment;
or boredom, depression and anxiety. Therefore, it is necessary to understand,
at a conscious level, the health of our souls.
Okay, what is the soul? Well, it is different
for many people. So, then how do we know what it is for us? And, how do
we know if our souls are healthy?
First of all, I would suggest that we think
of our soul as our true essential self. That is, our self that we are without
being anything to another person. In other words, throughout our entire
lives we are told by our families and society that we should act a certain
way, or that we should do a certain thing. So, we become who we are told
to become. Or, the opposite could happen we could be told not to become
who we naturally are.
Let me use myself as an example. I come from
a family of writers. My sister is an outstanding poet and so is my brother.
When I was a child, I used to write poetry as well, but because I was not
"dubbed" a poet, I stopped writing poetry for many years. It turns
out that writing poetry is natural for me, it flows from my pen like milk
from a mother's breast. My point is that, well, deep in the recesses of
my being, I am a poet. That is part of my essential self. Writing poetry
is exercising my soul. It is living my truth! When I write poetry, a peacefulness
overcomes me, I feel a sense of contentment, joy and hope. But most of all,
I feel free. As the poet David Whyte says, we all have our own way of belonging
in this world. It is in knowing how we belong that we can claim a place
for ourselves.
So, soul is that part of ourselves that makes
us completely unique from another individual. Yet, what so often happens
in our society is that we are not allowed to express our uniqueness; we
wind up conforming. In the meantime, we do not nourish that part of ourself
that is our essential core. We live lives that are in contradiction to our
natural self.
What happens when we do this? We get sick,
either physically or emotionally. Many illnesses that have occurred throughout
the ages have had no physical explanation. People get easily fatigued, they
are not interested in the world, and they go about their daily routines
without creative expression, rather than cherishing the moments and celebrating
in the wonder of life. They are not living in harmony with their souls.
Again, none of this can be measured. But it is evident, given the number
of people who have heart attacks on Monday morning. If we are not doing
the work we love, our soul suffers. Perhaps we cannot get out of a work
situation for some reason, but we can decide to change our perception of
it.
This is no small task, caring for the soul.
But it is as important as caring for the body and the mind. Richard Carlson
says, "Nourishing the soul is a lifelong journey, traveled day by day
that is worth making the most important focus of our lives." What happens
when we do not care for the soul? We begin to die. We feel disconnected
from life, the spark begins to fade, we are susceptible to dis-ease, and
we live in constant hunger for something to fill a void. Often times, addictions
result from soul loss.
We need to check in with our souls. Quiet is
needed to do this. I believe that if you are quiet, the soul will speak
to you. Perhaps, going into nature will elicit the soul to stir. My best
thinking occurs when I sit with the trees. So many great thinkers have alluded
to the power of the soul to bring us to health, Robert Frost said, "Something
we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves."
Marion Woodman speaks to the power of the soul by saying, "It is amazing
that our souls - our eternal essences, with all their hopes and dreams and
visions of an eternal world - are contained within these temporal bodies.
No wonder suffering is part of the human condition." The soul is that
which is the foundation of ourselves. It needs to be discussed, it needs
to be nourished.
A western medical doctor will not discuss the
health of your soul. You need to become your own healer, take your own inventory.
Be quiet. What is it that fills you up with joy? What is it that stirs your
compassion for life? What is it that makes you feel peaceful? That is the
soul at work. The soul is the ocean of our being, it fills our bodies like
the blood fills our veins. Treat your ocean with love and compassion, listen
to its movement, find out what causes waves and find out what makes it reflect
your true self. It is then that you will begin to heal your entire being.
Catherine Honora Kineavy, M.A. is a historian,
macrobiotic vegetarian, free-lance writer/editor, shiatsu masseuse and has
just started her own company to educate and spread the word about healing
ourselves and the environment. Catherine's email number is down, if you
would like to reach her you can contact her at 557-4491
