What Is The Soul...

Dr. Guterson: you talk a lot about the soul. Maybe you can help me understand what the soul is?

A: The soul is that still soft voice that we hear at those moments when we feel a profound sense of belonging. The soul is hidden, within our body, but it is the essence of who we really are. We are all searchers, looking for that inner peace and happiness; yearning to be ‘relaxed’. We can try to distract our lives with material stuff, but inevitably it won’t last long. We wind up feeling a certain emptiness which can lead to all sorts of anxieties and depressions. and that’s one way to keep us psychiatrists in business.

Disarmed

It was Christmas time and so, to spruce things up on an otherwise dreary psychiatry ward, a tree was put up! Imagine everyone’s shock and surprise when twenty year old Tina started sobbing and then grabbed one of the hanging Christmas ornaments, broke it, and held the jagged edge to her wrist. “Dr. Guterson, come quick, we have a crisis!” I ran to the scene and there was Tina in front of the Christmas tree. She demanded that everyone stay clear or she would surely cut herself deeply: “I’m gonna end my life, right now, just watch me”, she cried out. The scene was intense and her screams infected the other psychiatric patients whom I could hear weeping in the distance. Twenty staff members were there, trying to talk her down, but to no avail. So they turned to me and said, “Dr. Guterson, you’re in charge, do something!” Ladies and gentlemen… there I was, a rookie psychiatrist, recently out of my residency. I had no idea what to say or do. My thoughts quickly jumped through my education: organic chemistry, anatomy, peering into a microscope, brain MRI’s, neurons and serotonin and frontal lobe and cognition. I put this all together and blurted out two essential questions: “Tina, what is your favorite Christmas song? Maybe we can sing it together?” “But, Dr. Guterson, look at you. You’re Jewish. What do you know about Christmas music?” “Try me.” ”Ok, ‘Silver Bells’” “One of my favorites, Tina. Let’s go for it. But first, please hand me that thing in your hand.” Disarmed, Tina’s spirit shifted and the two of us launched into: “Silver bells, silver bells; It’s Christmas time in the city!” Soon the entire ward, workers and patients, joined in. The celebration escalated as we all chimed together: “Ring a ling; hear them ring; Soon it will be Christmas Day!” Not exactly Freudian psychoanalysis but, at least for a day, disaster on the psych ward was averted.

What Is The Soul...

Dr. Guterson: you talk a lot about the soul. Maybe you can help me understand what the soul is?

A: G-d blew His essence into Man. His essence is our essence. And so, when we are truly in touch with our soul, we operate on an entirely different level.

In a talk I studied from Rabbi YY Jacobson, he explains that there are six essential features of the soul. The first five features are: Confidence, Honesty, Innocence, Joy, and Love. This week, the sixth feature: Faith

Faith is a tricky word. There are some sages who say that to connect to a Higher Power isn’t based on faith; rather, it’s based on a sense of knowing. Then there are others who talk about ‘blind faith’ or ‘taking a leap of faith’. But it would be foolish to live our lives based on something that starts with blinders and leaps.

Faith is a skill that every soul has. When that skill is refined, it allows us to experience ultimate reality. Physically speaking, we have five senses. Think of the soul as having a sixth sense, a sense that perceives the reality of

G-dliness. In the words of Rabbi YY Jacobson: “Then there’s a relationship with G-d that’s as real as your five fingers.”

I imagine that when this happens, then ‘faith’ becomes ‘knowingness’.

We just have to cultivate it.

To be continued…..