Re: soul/mind/...

[Steve Ames <steve@virtual-voodoo.com>]

On Tue, May 02, 2000 at 08:27:20AM -0500, Kevin Collins wrote:
> I would like to request that everyone with a book read the section
> that explains the roles of the SOUL, MIND, SPIRIT, and LIFE (FORCE?).
> 
> I have heard a couple of people say that the SOUL is a link to the 
> divine.  Does this mean that nomads can function fine without souls?
> What about other characters that have no intention with gaining 
> divine spells or attract the power of the gods?

I said link to the divine meaning things that are greater than nature...
not necessarily the "gods".

Elves are the big exception to everything. No one has been willing to
go through and define elves as soulless beings should be defined. Without
a soul your really little better than a sentient animal. Your artistic
creativity is stunted, your only grasp to the supernatural comes through
your "spirit" which should have lead to animistic religions, etc... You
_CAN_ function without a soul... but you won't think the same as people
who do... and if your born with one, you really can't live without one.

> I don't see why the MIND/SOUL/SPIRIT should be linked to one another.

Because they are. *shrug* In order to function as a complete being
these things become codependant, completely entertwined upon one another.
If you somehow manage to surgically remove the soul, that person's
perceptions of the world will be forever altered. Life will lose its
flavor. Depression and death will follow. To lose the mind would drive
a soulful creature mad. Every bit of their being will yearn for more
and have no way to achieve it or even to understand the lack. For a 
soulless creature to lose their mind they would become animals. Spirit
is imagination. Its our link to the dream world, to the kurago. While 
you can certainly live without it, life would be pretty damn dull...
rather Vulcan-esque... moving with logic rather than intuition,
imagination or spirit. Without spirit, your emotionally devoid.

> I thought the book stated that there are four separate aspects that make
> up creatures.  This would allow creatures (including elves) to survive
> and prosper without having a SOUL.  Since an elf can become a nomad and
> make nomadic incants, it proves that the SOUL is not linked to the SPIRIT.

No. It proves that to use incants you need spirit and not soul. That's 
all it proves. Certainly you can have spirit without soul and vice-versa.
However when you have them you use them... simultaneously and as a 
cohesive whole. You don't use your spirit for some things and your soul
for others. You bring everything you have to bear at the same time.

> Unfortunately, the book mentions the "spiritual soul".  This makes things
> confusing because the book also has a separate description for the SPIRIT.

Probably pre-nomadic rantings from madmen.

> 
> Just my thoughts.

Ditto.

-Steve