Enrichment of the Self and Soul

Enrichment of the Self and Soul

Richard J. Choura

Copyright © 2021 Richard J. Choura.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

ISBN: 978-1-63795-704-2 (Paperback Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-63795-710-3 (Hardcover Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-63795-703-5 (E-book Edition)

Book Ordering Information

Phone Number: 315 288-7939 ext. 1000 or 347-901-4920

Email: info@globalsummithouse.com

Global Summit House

www.globalsummithouse.com

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

About the Book

Introduction

The Importance of the Self

What is the Self

Raising Self and Thinking to an Apocalyptic Pitch

Uniting Self And Spirit Through Philisophy

Advancement Of: Self And Soul

How Symbols Enhance Meaning For Self And Society

Self, Symbols, and the Future

How Art Inspires the Self and Soul

Enrichment of the Self and Soul by the Sacred

The Self, The Soul, and The Inner Essence of the Eternal

Self, Soul, And The Effects Of Entropy

References

Bio of Richard J. Choura

Inspiring Quotes by Richard J. Choura

Inspiring Quotes

About the Book

The world is turning metaphysical today, and it is the purpose of this book to show you how to part the metaphysical curtain and see the sense of the mysterious, the poetical, and the mystical in the first principles and structures of Nature, the Universe, and the self. Today, knowledge has been accumulated in countless written, graphic, and digital forms but there are still a number of metaphysical questions such as:

If the Universe has a heartbeat, why does its heart rate depend on the hearer?

What deeper revelations in the sciences, art, philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, physiology, biology, or music allow me to enrich the meaning of my self, my soul, and my existence. What is the self? How is it important? What makes it special? What causes it to change? How can I add metaphysical dimensions to my everyday life?

For many of us, the purpose of life is to overcome randomness, nothingness, or sameness, to establish a personal identity of self, and to find meaning in a meaningless world. We struggle to keep life from being merely a passage from some kind of physical order to some kind of novelty. We strive to keep life from becoming a coordinated inheritance of mental novelties. We seek to know the world lest we become its prey.

The purpose of this book is to answer the above metaphysical questions, achieve the above purposes, and help the reader relate constructively to the contrasting qualities of:

A.  Body vs. self

B.  Matter vs. spirit

C.  Self-consciousness vs. Cosmic consciousness

Today, images of chaos and social disintegration are often in our thoughts and in the news. Life is like a monumental space ruled by chaos. We are confronted often with financial crisis, unemployment, changing technology, war, and loss of family and friends. We live in a world that is condemned to perpetual change. It is as if misfortune and change were the work of the devil and lack of harmony and order were caused by sin. As a result, we struggle with the inward drama of the soul to establish a world which is meaningful and peaceful. In the midst of our topsy-turvy world we find that the human condition requires an occasional act of heroism to overcome our sorrow, loneliness, or despair.

Genetic engineering, cloning, and genomic science are redefining our evolution and existence and the relation of our self, soul, and spirit to the world around us, the universe, and God. Some of these events may cause us to feel isolated from God or from our soul and so we may need to ask "Does one’s spirit lie deeper within the self- and if so- what does that mean if were to be cloned or genetically engineered? Would cloning or genetic engineering hide God from us? It has recently been discovered that for an implanted cell to develop, the genes that were turned off for cloning purposes must be turned on again in order to guide the egg to form a new, genetically identical individual. Scientist have found that genes can easily be incompletely reprogrammed and lead to problems. In view of these things, it seems urgent that we come to understand the self with immediacy and with clarity.

This book immediately reveals what the elements of self are, how the self relates to the mysteriousness of the universe, and ideas which enrich one’s self and soul. It is said that in order to create a great work of art such as in music or in painting, one must understand the principles, and to touch the emotions one must know the elements. And so, this book provides the reader with the principles and elements of self so that the reader can create an enriched and satisfying self.

Henry Miller wrote:

The new work of art does not consist of making a living or producing an object d’art or in self therapy, but in finding a new soul. The new era is the era of spiritual creativity …and soul making.

READER BENEFITS

Once you choose Enrichment of the Self and Soul:

1.  The reader will experience spiritual growth by learning how they themselves can be part of higher achievements connecting examples and patterns of the physical and spiritual world related to art, religion, psychology, science, philosophy, music, and literature.

2.  The reader will feel more filled with spirituality and in touch with their intuitive powers so that they can change their life for the better as they key in on activities and aims that are closer to their essence.

3.  The reader will experience more moments that change their life for the better.

4.  The reader will be able to mold their life into a meaningful if not amazing journey.

5.  The reader will learn new sources of spirituality and be able to connect their spirituality to their everyday lives.

6.  The reader will acquire a wide variety of enthusiastic visions that extend their spirit and fill up the gaps of human life with light. The reader will thus able to see the secrets of the far.

7.  The reader will be boosted spiritually, metaphysically, aesthetically, and psychologically to reach a new union with mind, self, and soul.

Introduction

The concept of self helps us value the miracle of existence. It has the capacity to open existence to transcendence. This book deals with the concept of self versus the concepts of finite matter, time, space, entropy, spirituality, and infinity. These will be discussed so that the reader may become a metaphysical participant in the modern world. To become metaphysical is to become learned about the principles of one’s existence, time,being, the structure of nature, the cosmos, and self. By comparing the self to the other concepts mentioned above, we can appreciate the depth, dynamics, and mysteriousness of existence. Albert Einstein stated:

The most beautiful and deepest experience a man and woman can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of religion as well as of all serious endeavor in art and science … He or she who never had this experience seems to me if not dead, then at least blind. The sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as feeble reflection, this is religiousness. In this sense I am religious. To me it suffices to wonder at these secrets and to attempt humbly to grasp with my mind a mere image of the lofty structure of all there is.

To grasp the lofty structure of all there is, we search the vast mysteries which surround our little island of knowledge, and determine what is significant and what is not. We bring into harmony the forces of faith and reason with the help of science and philosophy. We use reason to discover in action what is good. Some have called reason an organ for discovering truth or a channel of discovery. We use faith to strengthen us as we venture into opposition, difficulty, or discouragement. Faith in order is the basis of science. Science has sometimes been said to be opposed to faith, and inconsistent with it. But, all science, in fact rests on a basis of faith, for it assumes the permanence and uniformity of natural laws-a thing, which cannot always be demonstrated.

In searching the vast mysteries, which surround us, we ask ourselves two questions: What is the world look like? What is the situation of my self in the world?

To answer these questions, we use philosophy and science. Science tells us what our world is like and philosophy helps us understand what our self is like in the world. The branch of philosophy, which discusses the science of being and the origin and the structure of the universe (cosmology), is metaphysics the branch we are most concerned with. French poet, Jean De Bouffler’s wrote: Metaphysics is the anatomy of the soul.

Metaphysics is about the way we think about the world. In metaphysics, we ask what criteria must a person have to be an individual or have a self - Are there some essential properties - What distinguishes one particular person from another. Man and woman cannot compare themselves with any other creature; they are not an ape, kangaroo, or a tree. If we are a splinter of some infinite deity, how can we best form a definite opinion of ourselves - Our abilities have such a range that we are almost like mythical beings. It is said that mythology is like religious sentiment gone wild. Mythology is not religion, of course, but we might ask ourselves if we are a poetical counterpart of dogmatic theology when we try to form a definite opinion of ourselves.

As a particular event, we know that life passes so fast it is surprising that anything develops at all. Life is filled with unending growth and decay. Yet, there is an enduring something that lives under the eternal flux of life. That enduring something is our inner experiences and self. Of course, there are outward circumstances, but they are seldom a substitute for inner experiences. Through inner experiences, man and woman are raised out of the animal world, and by their minds they demonstrate that nature has put a premium on the development of consciousness. Through consciousness, we take possession of nature by recognizing the existence of the world.

We would ask that metaphysics give us a picture of the self in the world in a way that satisfies our deep need to add meaning to our existence, our soul search, and our quest for spiritual growth. In recent times, science has undergone considerable revolutionary changes, which say that the world is different than we thought and that there are new intriguing answers to our philosophical questions. Some of these changes tell us that the universe is expanding, that matter and energy are not separate, and that Newton’s Laws are no longer the guideline in science or philosophy that they once were.

It has been determined that the Newtonian law of mechanics is not consistent with the second law of thermodynamics. To solve this problem, a physicist named Oswald recommended the fundamental term mass be replaced with the term energy. Thus, the laws of physics became the law of entrophy rather than the law of mechanics. This lead Ostwald to proclaim:

We have eliminated the last horrible gap between matter and spirit which remained from times of Descartes. This viewpoint also included the idea that whenever nature or humans act, that act is irreversible: and what is done is done forever. As a result, it was also concluded that the laws of physics should be based on energy rather than mechanics if the development of science was to progress."

Since the above occurrence, science has created novel methods for discovering facts, which have uncovered gaps in our previous knowledge and uncovered new knowledge. Philosophy has reconciled things with other things and minds with other minds. This book reconciles things with self and soul, minds with self and soul, and promotes enrichment of the dimensions, depth, direction, and dynamics of the self and soul.

We start with the questions: What should the stuff in my mind represent - What is there about Nature of the Cosmos that can enrich my Reason and Reality - What is closer to me than myself - Do I know more about others than myself - What kind of being do I want to make of myself. The purpose of this book is to furnish creative, poetical, and realizing