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soul and spirit. Usually, but not always, the spirit is that supernatural part of the human being which is conscious and can exist outside of the body. It retains memory and personality and is mutable, meaning that it can change over time. It grows, it can be harmed, it can even, in extreme circumstances, be destroyed. For instance, in many pagan traditions, the soul can be removed from the body and placed in a container, torturing the soul, and gaining control over the consciousness of the human. The human, in such a case, loses his volition, his ethical agency and his animus (or will to survive, to some extent). He is a puppet, although he can function, obey orders, and even mimic his normal behavior.

In this sense, the soul is separate from the intelligince, but there is, invariably, some overlap. For instance, in the writings of some Christian and Muslim mystics, the soul can be freed from the body to explore heavenly realms. In these instances the soul is that part of the human being that is the "I." When the soul is apart from the body, the body cannot function as a self-aware entity, although it can go through the motions of common living.

The spirit, however, seems to be that supernatural part of a being that is its connection with the divine. The spirit, for instance, has intuitive and sensitive capactities beyond the natural world. My wife, for instance, is sometimes aware of "the Spirit" weighing heavily upon her heart, or feeling comfotable and "right" with everything going on. In this kind of situation, the spirit is that supernatural part of the human being that communicates between the angelic and the intellectual. It is that messenger agent that communicates between the physical and the metaphysical world. God touches us through this spirit, and it gives us the basis for our Spiritual existence.

Learn more about this author, John Devera.
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