How to Know that Your Soul Exists

First, some background. A few weeks ago, fellow Hubber, ergenzinger, asked a question: "Do you believe in the existence of a soul?"

Kate-olson reminds us of what C.S. Lewis said, "You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

So, the soul is not some appendage that we use, or can sell to the devil, unless we submit ourselves to slavery. Regrettably, too many have unknowingly done that. They've become slaves to greed, pride, lust and other mortal desires.

The soul is the true self. For most of us, it remains dead asleep. That is the tragedy which religion and spirituality is attempting to resolve. That was the subject of Christ's mission to Earth.

The usual, everyday "self" which most people use to address the world is ego. This is a physical universe construct, created by the true self (the biting of the forbidden fruit).

But our consciousness typically resides in the mind and the brain. This is the physical "self."

For most, the physical self and all its sensory input overwhelms any awareness of the true self.

Science is the body of knowledge and activities which studies the products of creation. Science has made a fine art of this study and has accumulated great things.

I have studied many aspects of science and technology for the last half century—from astronomy to computer science and the physics of electronics to geology. Man can be quite clever, but pride through ego exalts that cleverness and forgets the true self.

Science is pretty cool. It has helped us build civilization. But we should not become so distracted by it or enamored with it. Science is only a tool. It is not the end goal.

Without these Homo sapiens bodies, we would remain unable to think. All would be merely a dream of the sleeping immortal, and all too frequently a nightmare—trapped in ego. When the true self attaches to a body, if that body does not have the ability for intelligent speech, then the true self (soul) is the slave of physical reality.

That's why the Homo sapiens bodies were created (evolved?). And when the purpose of these bodies was jeopardized (the mission to awaken the sleeping true selves), God cleared the board of that jeopardy (the real wickedness behind Noah's Flood) and protected a few who were pure enough to ensure that civilization would one day be possible.

Now, we are upon the real purpose of these Homo sapiens vessels. This is it. This is our chance to awaken fully. The decision is ours. And I don't know if I'm going to make it, because I'm not humble enough, yet.

There are many ways to know your soul—your true self. Perhaps the simplest method is that of deciding to know. Many people are intimidated by this. They feel inadequate to the task. They want a physical path and that is a bit crazy—like building a highway to Alpha Centauri.

My first inkling of my true self came to me when I was about 3 years old. I had a dream of flying wherein flight seemed entirely effortless—an ancient secret suddenly remembered. In the dream, I found myself losing my confidence and starting to fall. This made me critically self-aware and with a glimmer of the stark contrast between faith and doubt.

Another inkling came when I was 18, living in my parents' apartment in Los Angeles. One morning, I felt groggy and in dire need of shaking off the detritis of sleep. An idea crossed my mind that I merely needed to get out of my head and look back at myself. The concept and action of looking back at the source of awareness shocked me into startling clarity. One moment, I remained fitfully lethargic; the next, I felt clarity and energy.

When I was about 21, I experienced my first solo flight. I was receiving spiritual counseling at Scientology's Advanced Organization in Los Angeles. And don't let anyone fool you. Scientology may have warts, but it also contains a wealth of spiritual discovery. One evening, the chief executive of finance was running "power processing" on me. I had already had the lower "grades" of Scientology, but this stuff was blowing my mind. Suddenly, the room went gray and a tunnel appeared between me and the counselor. And then I couldn't see him any more. I couldn't feel my body or the chair in which it was sitting. Instead, I saw the side of the second floor wherein my body sat. I saw the cracks in the building's pink stucco, illuminated by the lights in the Chez Claude restaurant parking lot, next door. I saw the closed grayish-blue blinds which separated me from my body. I saw the near empty parking lot, and 5 meters below me the pavement of the driveway leading to the Scientology center's back parking lot. The moment I realized that the light of the restaurant parking lot was passing right through me, I felt self-conscious again and suddenly felt breath coursing into my body's lungs.

Perhaps the most heavenly realization of my true self (so far) occurred in 1977. It involved a Miracle on Wilshire Boulevard, about which I have written another hub.

We can use the logic of science to analyze these experiences. If they were not hallucinations (and I know they weren't), then they prove the existence of the non-physical self. No part of the body's anatomy floated outside the church window that evening in 1971. No physical ability of the body could perform a miracle like that which happened on Wilshire Boulevard. Only a child of God with the blessings of the Father could experience such things.

Naturally, the skeptic wants video tape or some other evidence. But what would they do with such evidence? Mock it? Say the tape was doctored? So, what value is proof?

In the realm of awakening spirit, proof only comes after faith. This is the great difficulty against which Christ came to battle and which gave purpose to his sacrifice. So many were finding difficulty crossing the great chasm separating us from awakening.

Proof is a bit like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. In science, you can't know the location and the momentum of a particle, but you can know one without the other. In spirituality, you can know your soul—your true self—but you can't cling to physical reality at the same time.

When a child is lost in a deep well, we desire to get them out. The child cannot remain in the well and be free of it at the same time. That is a logical impossibility. And so many refuse to be rescued or even to admit that they are who they really are.