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1. Introductions and Definitions

 

This is Ms. Havisham, as the heading above reads. I am the writing personification of Richard's heartansoulanmind in this blog. Heartansoulanmind sounds metaphysical and centered in its borders, spiritual. Richard allows me free reign in here. As such, I'll lessen the spiritual depth to the base: the human spirit's potential. This is what I write about, along with the personification of Grandmother Earth, whose focus on past stories of the human condition remembered from beyond the grave. - H

 

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HUMAN SPIRIT

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The human spirit is a component of human philosophy, psychology, art, and knowledge - humanity's spiritual or mental part. While the term can be used with the same meaning as "human soul," the human spirit is sometimes used to refer to the impersonal, a universal, or higher component of human nature in contrast to soul or psyche, which can refer to the ego or lower element. The human spirit includes our intellect, emotions, fears, passions, and creativity.

In the models of Daniel A. Helminiak and Bernard Lonergan, the human spirit is considered to be the mental functions of awareness, insight, understanding, judgement, and other reasoning powers. It is distinguished from the separate psyche component, which comprises the entities of emotion, images, memory, and personality.^[1]

John Teske views the human spirit as a social construct representing the qualities of purpose and meaning which transcend the individual human.^[2]

DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL

According to historian Oswald Spengler, a distinction between Spirit and Soul has been made by the West and earlier civilizations, which influenced its development.^[3] The human spirit can be seen as the heavenly component of a human's non-material make up - the part that is impersonal or universal. Whereas souls are the personal element unique to each individual. As Spengler writes in The Decline of the West:

... more important than all this is the opposition of Spirit and Soul (Hebrew: ruach and nephesh, Persian: ahu and urvan, Mandasan: monuhmed and gyan, Greek: pneuma and psyche) which first comes out in the basic feeling of the prophetic religions, then pervades the whole of Apocalyptic, and finally forms and guides the world-contemplations of the awakened Culture - as seen with Philo, Paul and Plotinus, Gnostics and Mandeans, Augustine and the Avesta, Islam, and the Kabbalah. Ruach means originally "wind" and nephesh "breath." The nephesh is always in one way or another related to the bodily and earthly, to the below, the evil, the darkness. Its effort is the "upward." The ruach belongs to the divine, to the above, to the light. Its effects on man when it descends are the heroism of a Samson, the holy wrath of an Elijah, the enlightenment of the judge (e.g. Solomon passing judgment), and all kinds of divination ecstasy. It is poured out. As in Isaiah xi, x, the Messiah becomes the incarnation of the ruach.^[3]

Some Christians believe that the Bible identifies humanity's three basic elements: spirit, soul and body. They emphasise that the human spirit is the 'real person,' the very core of a person's, the essential seat of their existence. They believe that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour, their human spirit is transformed as they become 'new creatures' in Jesus Christ. The soul, which is the seat of the will, mind, and emotions, does not get converted but needs to be renewed daily through the recommended Christian disciplines such as prayer and reading the Bible.^[4] In Islam, Muslims are viewed as having their own spirits, but one that in a sense is one with God's spirit. For Spengler, this idea's perception of unity was important for the emergence of the "consensus" that maintained harmony in Islamic culture, especially during the Golden Age of Islam. 

 

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

 

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Mr. Orndorff's spiritual nature leans toward Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophical sense of Transcendentalism. For this blog, I'll also broaden this sense of the human spirit to include these aspects of Unitarian Universalism to better show my Center Core. - H

 

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning" Unitarian Universalists assert no creed. Instead, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a dynamic, "living tradition." Currently, these traditions are summarized by the Six Sources and Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, documents recognized by all congregations who choose to be a part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. These documents are 'living,' always meaning open for revisiting and reworking. Unitarian Universalist (U.U.) congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership—and there are U.U. churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies all over America—as well as others around the world. The roots of Unitarian Universalism lie in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.^[7]

BELIEF, COVENANT, AND SCRIPTURE

Unitarian Universalists practice a non-creedal religion.^[47] Their individual beliefs are diverse, and they acknowledge each other's beliefs and traditions with acceptance or tolerance. Rather than focusing on doctrine or belief systems or keeping a narrow religious tradition, Unitarian Universalists place primary significance on the formal statements of their mutual covenant, or shared agreement, of a religious community. Accordingly, congregants and member congregations of the movement agree to "affirm and promote" the Seven Principles^[48] and to embrace a "living tradition" that comprehends the Six Sources as drawn from the multitude of sources of human knowledge and experience.^[49]

SEVEN PRINCIPLES

Typically, the Seven Principles are voiced in unison by congregants during services or ceremonies, as follows:

We, [ .. members ... ], covenant to affirm, and promote:

1.   The inherent worth and dignity of every person; 

2.   Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; 

3.   Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; 

4.   A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;^]

5.   The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; 

6.   The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; 

7.   Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. 

SIX SOURCES

Unitarian Universalists emphasize the responsibility of the individual and the community for achieving spiritual growth and development. The complete statement of the Unitarian Universalist covenant describes the Six Sources upon which current practice is based: 

1.   Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

2.   Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

3.   Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

4.   Jewish and Christian teachings call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

5.   Humanist teachings counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and science results and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

6.   Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with nature's rhythms.

Over time, Unitarian Universalist principles, purposes, and sources have been changed, or 'grown,' by the movement to manifest a broadening acceptance of beliefs and traditions among the membership. 

For example, both the seventh Principle (adopted 1985) and the sixth Source (adopted 1995) were added to provide inclusion for members with neopagan, Native American, and pantheist spiritualities.

 

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

 

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In their broadest sense, the above definitions cover my and Mr. Orndorff's philosophical concepts of the human spirit in this blog. – Ms. Havisham – 

 

Now, I turn this opening page to Grandmother Earth, a personification showing what it is to live a slice of someone else's earlier consciousness, perhaps an ancestor carrying an aspect of your living DNA, a part of your unrealized biological memory. After all, individual human beings are products of thousands and thousands of years. Beyond that, all Homo sapiens are cousins to one degree or another. - H

 

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Hello, I am Grandma Earth, a representation of Nature in its broadest practical and universal sense. I add, not only are Homo sapiens cousins, they are composed of organic chemistry and embedded in the natural laws of physics, just as I am in this story. I will introduce a selection of stories told by once human spirited conscious beings who are still telling stories remembered from life experiences. In here, almost everyone has a personal story they want to say to anyone who will listen after passing into the consciousness field of the once-living. It is not always easy telling a story that most everyone doesn't want to listen to, even on the other side. In this book, everyone has to tell a private story to others who are sometimes forced to listen to learn something they did not know about what it is to be a human being, something more than being species, Homo sapiens.

 

That's it for the first day of entries. I prefer the sky-blue color, and Grandma Earth feels the rich black earth soil runs truer to her own clothing. Earth and Sky have rich mythology. Each human being with a rich sense of higher consciousness also has some tales all herorhis own, as we will see within this blog. Have a good evening. – H

[Please note, Grammarly Pro is used to correct probable errors for consistency and readibility.]

 

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