I know I said I would write about drinking games, but screw it, its been a tough couple of weeks and I guess I am in the mood to write whatever I feel like instead. It's amazing, I have found, how cracking a bottle of root beer can feel very much the same as cracking an actual beer. The feel of the bottle in your hand, the sound that taking the cap off makes. Heck, the sound of chucking it into the trash when you finish it and crack a second one - all psychological things that seem to reward your brain in some strange way, just like alcohol did.
I actually dislike discovering those things, because they make me feel like our brains are simpler than they are, you know? Like knowing that you can train yourself to drool on command like Pavlov's dog, I don't like knowing that about people, especially not about myself.
I think philosophers then distinguish the mind and the soul as two completely separate entities, and I agree with that. It seems to me, the "soul" is something that is apparently tormented and shackled by the weaker "mind" which is the part of you that wants to stay up late playing video games to reward itself with dopamine.
I suppose the nice thing about knowing the distinction is that I can then begin to train my "mind" so that it eventually brings my "soul" to where it can grow and flourish. I know that the body is the vessel that carries the mind and soul around, but what then is the "spirit"? (mind, body, spirit, soul, right?)
Oh well, happy two months in:) Ten to go...
What is spirit? I can't answer that without bringing in (my) religion.
ReplyDeleteAs compared to the soul or mind, is it also something separate? Ugh, no wonder people have multiple personalities:)
ReplyDeleteThe words have been used so interchangeably that it is confusing what the difference is now. Looking to scripture, the Hebrew word for Soul was also used for life, which was used to describe humans and animals. The soul is the entity which represents our fellowship with others (humans and animals). For humans, it comprises body (which includes heart, mind/brain, etc.) and spirit. The spirit on the other hand is our fellowship with our creator (which only and all humans have). They are different. See Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the ***dividing asunder of soul and spirit***, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discern er of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
ReplyDeleteSo the way I read it, we as humans, *are* souls, and we *have* spirits. The soul is mind/body and spirit. And right at the heart of Christianity, souls that believe (and are therefore forgiven) have spirits that are alive. Whereas souls that do not believe (their sin remains) are spiritually dead.
That's why Christians are encouraged to abstain from drunkenness (not alcohol) because it directly affects your brain/mind which then can affect the soul.
Another angle is, the soul is something that you can write on a piece of paper and sell to your best friend for 5 dollars.
Thank you for the explanation. If you watch the movie 'cold souls' with Paul giamatti, you also find that the soul looks like a chickpea and can be stored in a vault for safe keeping.
ReplyDeleteCongrats mate.
ReplyDelete