The Relation Between the Body and the Soul

The body can be considered ‘a complex network of resonance and frequency’ (McTaggart, 2000, p.53). All the organelles (cell’s ‘organs’) are rotating and vibrating. Each of them is involved in this ‘musical’ activity of creating rhythmic waves of energy.

Non-material energy consists of wave patterns too, so there are reasonable grounds to believe that, at least in some cases, they can resonate with the waves produced by its material equivalent. In other words, the soul and the body can be considered different forms of energy that are linked via waves. This enables them to work together and influence each other. One curious characteristic of life is that, unlike machines, life cannot be interrupted. For example, a car can be switched off and turned on again much later. Life cannot. A living organism needs constant activity. In principle, this should not be necessary in order to preserve body functioning, and is ineffective from the energy consumption point of view. It is more likely that the constant working of the body is needed to maintain the vibrations that connect the body and the soul[1].

But how is this connection established in the first place? DNA is particularly important in this respect. DNA produces a wide range of frequencies – creating a ‘composition’ that is unique to every person. Functional genes, though, are not probable candidates for the connection. However, the wave patterns produced by some of the DNA sequences that are sometimes referred to as ‘junk DNA’ (because they do not contribute to protein or RNA production) may be responsible – indeed, the majority of DNA variations are found there. It is likely that not only the body but the soul too has a specific wave pattern, a unique signature. So when a new organism is created, if these signatures are compatible (possibly within a certain range), the waves of the body and the soul get interlocked. Once this connection is established, it remains quite stable. The body is normally connected to the same soul during the entire lifetime. When the body ceases to function and produce waves, that connection is broken.

Although the connection between the body and soul may be attributed to the waves produced on the molecular level, the question may be raised whether there is a crucial part of the body in this respect. Historically, several ‘seats of the soul’ have been suggested (liver, heart, brain, pineal gland), but the only really credible candidate for this role is, in fact, the brain stem (the area between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain). The brain stem is essential for life. Most sensory input and all of the motor outputs from the cerebral hemispheres (e.g. those that mediate movement or speech) are routed through the brainstem. Efferent fibres of the Autonomic Nervous System responsible for the integrated functioning of the organism as a whole, travel through the brainstem. It also contains the ascending reticular activating system, which plays a pivotal role in enabling and maintaining alertness. Even small lesions in some of its parts cause permanent coma. So, if there is no functioning brainstem, there can be no coordinated activity of the cerebral hemispheres, no thoughts or sensations, no interaction with the environment. Moreover, the brainstem contains the centre responsible for the hearth beat and breathing (it is literally the breath of life). Significantly, the brainstem also never ‘sleeps’ – which is why our hearts beat and we breathe even when unconscious. The other parts of the body are dispensable or replaceable, and the other parts of the brain have variable connections that cannot be sufficient to maintain this connection (as it could be broken, for example, in deep sleep). If there is a vital part of the body in higher organisms that is responsible for a stable link between the material and non-material aspects of a living system, the brainstem seems the safest bet. It is possible that all body parts have weak connections, but they most likely cannot be sustained if there is no direct or indirect connection with the brainstem.

Although the body and the soul interact with each other, asking where the soul is in relation to the body does not make much sense, since they don’t share the same ‘space’. An urge to think of the soul as being in the body or somewhere else (usually above, as if it was a satellite) should be resisted. However, it could be said that the soul encompasses the body it interacts with. This is because it belongs to the reality within which the physical domain is situated, and because it has a wider scope than the body (as the one who dreams includes the one in the dream). On the other hand, the body is largely a boundary, at least for the part of the soul during the lifetime. So depending on the perspective, the soul ‘enfolds’ the body and the body ‘enfolds’ the soul (this is, of course, not a physical but a resonance field enfolding). One metaphor, however crude, may perhaps help to have a better conception of this relationship: the soul and the body can be compared to a wind and a sail. A sail captures some wind, and the wind blows into the sail, so they interact for a while. But, where does the wind dwell? Not in a particular place, it is a moving mass of air in which the sail, boat, and everything else is submerged.

Consistent with available evidence from various sources and the reasoning criteria, we can conclude that life has material and non-material aspects and that they are connected and interact via waves. One of the most important outcomes of that interaction is the mind – which we will examine more closely in the next section.