The eyes are often described as “the window to the soul”. What does this saying really mean? If we are a body with a Soul does our Soul shine through our eyes? And is it possible to see another person’s Soul when we look into their eyes?
If you want to gain a theoretical understanding of the Soul you’ll find a wide range of definitions of the Soul presented in the writings of Ancient Greek philosophers, as well as in most spiritual literature. Although there appears to be a common view that the Soul represents the ‘essence’ or non-material aspect of human beings, there are many different interpretations of the nature and functions of the Soul.
Some Ancient Greeks had the notion that the Soul was responsible for the movement of the body, while others thought of the Soul as having the powers of perception and knowledge. Others yet again viewed the Soul as a form of harmony of the elements of life. In his treatise, ‘On The Soul’, Aristotle argues that the Soul is separate from the body, and can be seen as ‘all existing things’ since all things that exist can either be thought or sensed.
From a Christian point of view, the Soul is the life force or spirit that God breathes into man, and includes the conscious and subconscious mind, emotions and will. While Buddhism denies the existence of an immortal Soul, Hindus believe in a Soul that lies beyond the mind and the senses and is invisible, immortal and unchanging. Hindus also believe that the Soul reincarnates in many successive lives on its journey towards perfection and re-uniting with the Divine Source.
Beyond the ideas of Ancient Greek philosophers and the beliefs of different religious streams lies personal human experience. My own spiritual experience, which I can only describe as the emergence of my Soul, has shown me that my Soul is a beautiful glow of soft yellow light, perfectly at peace yet highly aware; it is also pure essence in the form of shimmering, crystal clear Light.
If it is true that the eyes are “the window to the soul”, what do we see when we look into another person’s eyes? Are we perhaps seeing what we want, or hope to see there, or are we able to put our own thoughts aside and look into another person’s eyes in a way that allows them to show us what is there.
And how would you know that you are seeing their Soul?
When you look into someone’s eyes and see a sparkle and shine, a crystal clear light that shows the person is ‘alive’ you are seeing their Soul. Equally, when you see the warm, gentle glow of Love looking back at you, you can be sure that you are seeing their Soul.
Next time you look into someone’s eyes, what will you see there?
http://www.answers.com/topic/soul
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/a8so/book1.html
http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/spirit-soul-and-body-tripartite-nature-man
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/beliefinsoul.asp
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/reincarnation.asp
Living Inside Out by Gabrielle Holmefjord is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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