Dr. Guterson: you talk a lot about the soul. Maybe you can help me understand what the soul is?
A: As I wrote last week, the Bible says that 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 feature is: Confidence.
Confidence means that the soul does not need approval from anybody to feel good. Nor does it get depressed with criticism. This is because the soul IS good, period. No external pretenses are necessary. All too many of us live lives with a cover up, always monitoring how we are perceived by others.
But if that is so, then I am not really me - I have become you looking at me! Which means my sense of identity is based on a mask , a shell. True confidence puts an end to all this. And subsequently - when I am I because I am I…..and you are you because you are you - then we can have a true relationship.
To be continued….