Imagine if you discovered the one thing that gave your life meaning. At the root of all your searching for inner peace, you stumbled upon a magical key that unlocked the door to what you’re looking for.

Years ago, my teacher said that all wisdom and knowledge can be captured in one word that allows us to understand ourselves and the true meaning of life. When discovered, that one word unlocks the door to true happiness.

What if that one word is Soul? What if the Soul unlocks the door to understanding? What if living a Soul-centered life is the key to who we are and what we seek?

The Soul is most like God. It’s the eternal vessel through which the Creator communicates with us.

The Soul leads us toward goodness. Like a magnet, it draws us toward the divine source of our truest self.

The Soul overrides our false ego and the misinformation we’ve fed ourselves over the years.

The Soul has an energy that invites us to follow whatever is true and life-giving. The Soul is embedded into the heart of God. Like a fertilized egg sustained in a mother’s womb, our Souls exist in the divine womb of God.

Why Is Our Soul the Key to Life? 

Demkovich says the Soul has two powers: knowing and desiring. The Soul integrates these two powers within us because it is One. These powers are the key to a life well-lived.

Knowing

The Soul provides humans with divine understanding. It seeks truth and wisdom, and provides those gifts when we listen to God’s inner voice of love.

Solomon asked God for the gift of wisdom. He received it as he listened to his Soul through a dream.

Desiring

The Soul seeks to love and create more love and goodness through our lives. When we follow the movement of God through our Souls, we are continually drawn toward our highest good. We follow the path of true happiness and joy as we live from the depth of our being and co-create with God.

By listening to the desires of her Soul, Mother Teresa left her career as a teacher and entered the slums of India to live out her true calling.

This Is How We Do It

When we view our lives through the lens of our Souls, we receive the grace of deeper understanding. We can sense the movement of God in our lives toward our greater good. We are purged of what we are not and discover who we are.

We recognize there are instincts in our Souls far deeper than human reason. Soul-centered living becomes the key that unlocks our inner self to Divine wisdom and truth.

While sitting in a jail cell meditating, John of the Cross said he experienced God through his Soul. He wrote, “Through contemplation, God teaches the Soul secretly and instructs it in the perfection of love without its doing anything or understanding how this happens.”

St. Catherine of Sienna echoed John’s insights about the importance of the Soul as the key to life. Through God’s grace, she said, we open our Souls to the movement of the Divine Spirit in our lives. We are clothed by God with our Soul.

The Soul is the presence of God in the depth of our human existence. Unfortunately, our modern world has discarded the idea of the Soul as being unmarketable, irrelevant, and too hard to grasp in our I-want-it-now culture.

We can restore our ability to live Soul-centered lives through spiritual practices, which, like exercising our bodies, nourish our Souls. Here are several ways to consider:

View yourself and the world through the lens of your Soul

Let your Soul become the lens through which you view yourself, others, and the world in which you live out your daily life. See the world through God’s eyes, the Divine eyes through which your Soul sees everything.

Picture your Soul

Imagine what your Soul looks like. For example, you might visualize it as a glowing warm light tucked behind your heart. It might be a refuge you find deep within your heart or the aura of light that surrounds you. Have fun with your Soul. Let it befriend you.

Listen to the voice of your Soul

Your Soul speaks with the voice of love and wisdom. It has an instinct far beyond human reason. Listen for the silent whisper of love within you.

Observe

Like John of the Cross did, learn to observe the movement of God in your life. Notice the patterns by which God directs your life in real ways, through words, serendipitous events, and light-bulb insights. Notice how God nudges you toward places, events, and people that are life-giving.

Care for your Soul

Nourish your Soul with daily times of quiet and solitude. Meditate. Be still on the inside. Unplug from cell phones, social media, sky-is-falling news, and other distractions so you can become familiar with your True Self and God’s Divine Presence in you.

Seek Wise Counsel 

Surround yourself with people also on the spiritual path. Seek a spiritual mentor, guide, or teacher to gain deeper insight and learn from their journeys and insights.

Ask for the grace of discernment and understanding

Ask God for the grace of discernment and clarity. Talk with God about where you think the Creator is leading you and ask for the wisdom to follow the right path.

Read

Read inspiring books whose words flow into your being. Spend 20-30 minutes each day diving into inspirational books or listening to podcasts that center you in your Soul-space. Seek the wisdom of others a little further than you on the spiritual path.

Trust your Soul

Your Soul is the all-embracing gift you’ve been born with that leads you to your highest good, the deepest truth, and the wonder of God within you. God clothes you with your Soul. Trust it. When in doubt, seek wise counsel to discern.

Spiritual Practice: Live a Soul-Centered Life 

For the next several days, view your world through the lens of your Soul. Imagine it is the key, the one word that gives all understanding to who you are and what is your life’s purpose.

Know that your Soul is where you are closest to God, and nothing can take your Soul away from you.

Follow your Soul and eventually your feet will catch up.

—brian j plachta
brianplachta.com

PS…Hey Friends, next month I am going to be restarting my free monthly Zoom workshops. Let me know what topics interest you. What are you interested in learning?

Email your ideas to me at: brian@brianplachta.com