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a person has a broken spirit at the same time as stating that the wind has been taken out of their sails. In this way we link the past meaning of the word spirit with the present and show that we still have a similar understanding of it.

We may also refer to a human or an animal as having a wild or joyful spirit, showing that we see the spirit as being a form of energy or drive that a being has, rather than is.

An over-all view of the words spirit and soul shows us that we tend to see the soul as being linked to the body and mind. In a way we are part of the soul, where-as we own a spirit. Our soul makes us sentient, feeling beings and helps us to develop empathy and our spirit drives us, provides us with mental energy and perhaps is kept in check by the soul who is less wild and more stable.

Many people believe that when our physical body dies part of us survives to go on into another life, or to go to another place such as heaven. How you feel about this will depend very much on your personal beliefs and values. If we take the interpretations of the soul and spirit and tie them together though, we may decide that both the soul and the spirit live on after death, only the part of the soul which connected with the body must die, hence the biblical translations of early religious writing which tells us that the soul can die.

The soul though, couldn't completely die if any part of our inner selves was really to live on, otherwise our spirits wouldn't have any way of keeping in check and the spirit world would be synonymous with Bedlam. This could, of course, take into a different area which goes on to ponder whether the spirit and soul can be separated and cause problems in the after-life. The idea however, may help us to distinguish further between the soul and the spirit.

Learn more about this author, Bridget Webber.
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