How many souls do you have? Of course, as far as non-duality is concerned, thinking that you have one is crazy. But Aboriginals think you have four. What happens with that?
At first blush that might seem like a crazy question. But what makes us think we only have one? Who told us that? Have we ever questioned it?
Aboriginal knowledge tells us that we have four souls. Each of the souls interconnects with the world and with each other in interesting and diverse ways. I’m not saying it’s true or not true. I’m not saying it’s better or worse to have four souls. But the very thought changes everything. Right? Changing just that one thought is a radical leap.
How much energy has been spent over the last few centuries worrying and wondering about our soul? Think about the religions it has spawned. Think about how the idea that we have only one soul has informed our deepest thinking (and worries) about right and wrong. All the perennial questions about life hinge on this one belief: Are you a good person? What is the meaning of life? What happens after we die?
The idea of four souls is different though. It’s more complex and it’s more interconnected. With this idea of four souls one is the molecules of the body, the physical life that moves us. One is our interconnections with other people and things. One is our narcissistic mind. A different thing happens to each one when we die. When we are alive we can manage and intertwine them all in different ways… some ways are harmful, some are beneficial. But it’s certainly a riper and deeper way to look at the human experience.
So… how many souls do you have? What in the world ever made us think we might have just one? Why have we blindly believed that without question? What else might we be missing? How deeply can questioning go?
And finally… if we constantly try to answer life’s questions by asking the wrong questions… how can we live? What if the right kind of question carries it’s own answer? What if confusion and seeking is the circular, never ending, result of being told unhelpful stories in the first place?