Soul, Psyche, Life, Breath, Nephesh, ψυχή or Sentience: is it all the same concept?

[Scuba Pete]

I remember many, many years ago I first read here on RF that people actually thought that souls were myths and a figment of the theists' over active imagination. I've always thought that was wrong, and still do. It was one of those things that just didn't sound right, but I didn't have the inclination to research it nor did I get one of those flash of insights that allowed me to easily connect the dots. I kinda felt that it had something to do with sentience, but that was about it. Life can be demanding and so it became one of those projects without a start or due date that simply waited on inspiration.

Recently, the book, American Gods by Neil Gaiman was recommended to me by a good friend. In fact, given my background, he was rather incredulous that I had not read it. Consequently, I shelved (saved) the Science Fiction I was reading and loaded it onto my Kindle App. Interesting to say the least, I found it one of those rare tomes that was insightful as well as inciteful. While I have a fair vocabulary, I am always up for refining as well as increasing it. In Kindle, you can put your finger on a word and get a quick definition. It's a nice feature, and the more I have to use it within a book, usually the more I like the book. I'm a closet philologist by heart. I'm not even in the closet about it but I'm nothing but a hack. I was trying to suss out the word 'gyre', which I knew what it meant, but could never remember using it. Somehow, I hit a close word which happened to be 'psyche'. The quick definition of psyche was indeed "the soul".

Wow.

Wow. Wow.

There, in that minor mistake, I had the inspiration to connect a lot of the dots. No, I'm not even close to having a full understanding of the concept, but I am now inspired. It took me a year and a half to sort through all the crud and misdirections concerning the Biblical concept of grace (charis). That changed my life and understanding of Christianity. Mostly I keep it to myself. I found one of the quickest ways to alienate any self proclaimed Born Again Christian is to explain why I believe they've got it all wrong. This will take a bit of time and I'm sure I'll have to compare it with Spirit (pneuma) to fully comprehend the meaning. This will be a chaotic process and I do encourage anyone with a unique view of it to post right in here. I'm not really looking for regurgitated dogma (spew) but for original thoughts on any of the words/concepts listed in the title. Also, I'm not looking for a debate but rather for discovery. Also (#2), I'm not looking for a bunch of negativity. If you don't believe in the soul, that's fine, but this thread's not for you. This is a true journey of the soul to discover just that by fellow seekers of knowledge, truth and comprehension.

Oh yeah... the 'g' in 'gyre' is soft like gyrate and not hard like gail. All these years and I thought it was a hard 'g'. No wonder I never used it before. I hadn't seen the connection.

 

[Windwalker]

Soul, Psyche, Life, Breath, Nephesh, ψυχή or Sentience: is it all the same concept? I make distinctions myself in what these point to, but I should point out they are not completely separate things but all interact with each other and influence each other. If I were to try to break them down a little:

The psyche includes the conscious, subconscious, and the unconscious mind. It is more than the thought-person, but the personality, its impulses and fears, hurts and hopes, the ego and the soul, and all of that complex soup that goes into shaping and forming our minds. Psyche is much more related to what comprises our individual temporal "self" in all its visible and hidden influences.

The soul is that which is who we are beyond the psyche, beyond the mind, beyond thoughts and personality and hidden subconscious and unconscious variables. It is the last "individual" "I" before dissolution into the infinite. It the unique self that is beyond the body and the mind, the essence of the individual when all that comprised the person with their mind and emotions and thoughts and ideas is left behind in death. It is the very-subtle self.

Life is Being itself. It is energy that gives form to all that exists, be that material or immaterial in nature, animate or inanimate. It is creative and cyclical, from Itself to Itself. Is is the being and becoming of God, when I speak of God.

Breath is Spirit. Spirit is Life in motion. It moves through all that is and brings all together. It is within us and with everything.

Sentience is a type of awareness itself. It is the ability to perceive one's own world as an individual.​

As I said, all of the above interrelate to interinform and influence the quality of itself. Awareness of one's own soul, knowledge of this beyond thoughts and ideas, influences the psyche. Knowledge and awareness through experience of Life itself, of Spirit itself, influences the soul, and the mind, and the body. And so forth. All is interconnected, all is bound together, as well as unique as individual in forms.