We must understand that human beings are composed of body, soul and spirit. It is important we understand this and how they operate….We must understand that human beings are composed of body, soul and spirit and how they operate.The body is obvious, it is the part of us that is physical. It is where our five senses operate. It is how we interact with the physical world. It also has another function that is often played down. That function is the desire to gratify those five senses in increasingly physically satisfying ways and if not disciplined can lead us down a path that is potentially damaging. It is the eye gate to the soul and spirit. Perhaps the height of physical gratification is sexual intimacy. Sexual intimacy engages all five senses in a way that nothing else in this world does. There is another dimension to sexual intimacy that is mostly ignored or even admitted to exist and that is the dimension of becoming one with whom you have sex with. In that moment of sexual intimacy both partners’ five senses and even their thoughts are focused on that moment of intense engaging pleasure for the most part without distraction. It so totally engages one another on so many levels that we feel closer to that person in that moment in time than we ever dreamed possible. This is as it should be which is why it is an act that should only be limited to one whom we wish to be in a long term relationship with, ideally a lifetime relationship. Studies and history bear out time and time again that the maximum level of intimacy and oneness that can be achieved is between a man and a woman who have committed themselves on all levels to one another and committed to be faithful only to one another. This was the original design and purpose of marriage. Vows made on the wedding day should only be reflections of the vows that have already been made with one another in soul and spirit and in that first act of physical love only serve to complete the circle of two beings who have become one. In this modern day society though that has been bred out of us through the years to the point that sex has become something in and of itself. Sex has been put upon its own pedestal and exalted in this society to the point that anything goes and that is why we have so many distortions of what sex truly is meant to be expressed in sex out of a marital commitment, pornography and even more heinous acts in pedophilia, sadism, masochism, bondage and bestiality. Society is settling for less than could be. They have accepted a purely physical, pleasurable experience for something that is meant to be so much deeper, even to the level of being a spirit and soul touching experience. That act which was meant to engage body, soul and spirit has settled for a purely physical pleasure. I say ‘purely physical pleasure’ but on even its most degraded imitation of what it is meant to be it still touches the soul and spirit on some level but has the effect of ripping us apart and it is as if our soul and spirit becomes scattered around in pieces and we wander around in this fog of disunity and don’t know why. Ann Voskamp put it well when she said “Our bodies are our souls with skin on them.” Very profound. Can we turn back the clock and reclaim that which was lost? Honestly, I’m just not sure if it is possible. Perhaps this is why infidelity continues and committed couples engage in flirtation and pornography. I think as close as we can come is to repent of our past, turn our back on it, call upon the Creator to empower us and make a commitment to a higher power and to one other opposite sex partner in marriage and most importantly to ourselves to pledge ourselves to purity and oneness in a love triangle of husband, wife and Creator. It is the way we were designed.

The longer I live as a rational being and observer of life it becomes irrefutably clear that there is a design in place for all living things and if there is a design there is a designer. We are not just products of a ‘Big Bang’ or some primordial soup. Harmony and balance are no more than living within that design. No one would argue that a gas combustion engine runs on gas and that is how it was designed. Defy its design and put water in the gas tank and it will break down and will not run. Treat it as designed by keeping it well lubricated and using the right fuel and it will run well for its life expectancy. Yet we as humans constantly defy our design or even deny we are designed and as a result treat our body, soul, spirit and other living things as we desire and the results are what we have today; a disjointed, self-serving society with no respect or regard for what is left of this creation or respect for future generations and the planet they will inherit.

The soul and spirit are not the same thing. The soul is the seat of our emotions. It is our mind and our will. It is where we make choices good or bad. It also serves as a bridge between the body and the spirit. The more choices we make that give in to what the body wants the more selfish and physically bound we become.

The spirit is where our conscience and intuition dwell. It is the part of us that connects us to that spiritual dimension. It is the part of us that looks at things deeper and considers things like the meaning of life and the importance of making the right choices. The more choices we make that give in to what the spirit wants the more balanced a being we become even to the affecting of the body and soul to be all they can be.

Here’s the thing though. Our soul calls the shots. It is where we choose what ‘voices’ we are listening to. There is a natural conflict going on from the day we are born to make choices that benefit us spiritually or benefit us bodily. There are a lot of voices out there screaming for your attention. Advertisers screaming at you from TV, radio, computer, billboards and more. Every cause in the world wants your attention, support and especially your money. Even when you try to escape and get some solitude, still, there are those voices rolling around inside your head: things you need to do, things that happened at work today, bills that need to be paid. It is an epidemic to the point that some cannot even sleep at night because their mind won’t be quiet.

But then there are those voices in our heads that are leading our moral choices in life. Our own voice in our head trying to sort things out and make decisions and choices that, in some cases, could change our lives forever. If you are like most people, it can be very confusing sometime. There used to be an old comic strip called Pogo. There was a line in one of the comic strips that stuck with me. Pogo said “We have met the enemy and they is us!” That would be funny if it weren’t so true. We are our own worst enemy. Years of programming in our brain from television—from abusive, cruel parents, teachers and friends—books, magazines—and so much more, scream for our attention. They scream for control and lordship over our lives. They dictate to us everyday who they say we are. Most of the voices are pretty cruel and negative. Some of those voices are telling us how pretty we are, how much better we are than so and so. These voices can build us up to be something we aren’t and cause us to look down on others and be conceited. Or just the opposite and most common, they tell us how we are no good, ugly and will never amount to anything.

This should not be! I am 100% convinced that body, soul and spirit can live in harmony and balance with one another. To do so though will require we turn most of our thinking upside down and realize we are not just fleshly beings that happen to have a soul and a body. Thinking like this leads to a lifetime of trying to extinguish all those voices that primarily are saying ‘our instant gratification is most important’ and its sister voice ‘it’s all about me’. If we truly want to know satisfaction mentally, physically, spiritually and socially we have to be spirit beings that live in a body and have a soul. Our spirit is our higher true self. We MUST listen more to our spirit voice and not fear it will make us unbalanced toward spiritual things. It is just the opposite. Following our spirit voice will make sure our body and soul needs are met on a scale we could never accomplish walking around as fleshly led beings.

You will love Raven’s new book entitled TRUE SPIRITUALITY. It breaks down what is truth and what is not in a non-religious, preachy way. It explores human history and the history of religion in general and how it has hurt our spiritual relationship to our creator. To order just click on the book image.