The Oversoul is a concept introduced by American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay "The Oversoul." In this essay, Emerson explores the idea of the Oversoul as a unifying force that transcends individual human consciousness and connects all living beings.
According to Emerson, the Oversoul is a divine, all-encompassing presence that permeates the universe and every individual within it. It is a source of universal truth and wisdom, and serves as a guiding force for all living beings.
Emerson believed that the Oversoul was the source of all creativity and inspiration, and that it was the ultimate goal of every individual to connect with and become one with the Oversoul. He argued that the Oversoul was the key to achieving a higher level of consciousness and understanding of the world around us.
In order to connect with the Oversoul, Emerson argued that one must cultivate their inner self and seek a deeper understanding of their own being. This can be achieved through introspection, meditation, and a deep appreciation for the natural world.
Emerson's concept of the Oversoul has had a lasting impact on Western thought and has influenced a wide range of philosophers and spiritual leaders. It continues to be a powerful and enduring idea, offering a vision of unity and interconnectedness that has the potential to inspire and guide individuals on their journey towards self-discovery and enlightenment.
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The simplest utterances are worthiest to be written, yet are they so cheap and so things of course, that in the infinite riches of the soul it is like gathering a few pebbles off the ground, or bottling a little air in a phial, when the whole earth and the whole atmosphere are ours. Every distinct apprehension of this central commandment agitates men with awe and delight. Photograph: Public Domain We are all discerners of spirits. More and more the surges of everlasting nature enter into me, and I become public and human in my regards and actions. The soul is in fact beyond the gross, subtle and mental worlds. Recalling Christ's disciples, Emerson notes that they maintained through their actions — not merely their words — the divine plan of God set forth by Christ.
The goal In the third stage the full consciousness of the soul is drawn still further inward toward itself, and it ceases to identify itself even with the mental body. Pause VICKI: So how do you merge and exchange at the same time? Most of the exchanges are either in response to specific questions asked, or are a complement to the concepts presented in the information offered by Elias. So come I to live in thoughts and act with energies which are immortal. The weakness of the will begins when the individual would be something of himself. We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. It is not bigger than you or outside of you.
In particular, one whose soul has ascended to God is plain and true; has no rose-color, no fine friends, no chivalry, no adventures; does not want admiration; dwells in the hour that now is, in the earnest experience of the common day, — by reason of the present moment and the mere trifle having become porous to thought, and bibulous of the sea of light. The saints and demigods whom history worships we are constrained to accept with a grain of allowance. From there, with all the knowledge that any one oversoul gathers to itself from the people who belong to any one oversoul, it forms a gestalt. O, believe, as thou livest, that every sound that is spoken over the round world, which thou oughtest to hear, will vibrate on thine ear! Not many writers can challenge his talent for a brevity of sentence that contains such daring power as this: "The simplest person, who in his integrity worships God, becomes God"; or "Behold, it saith, I am born into the great, the universal mind. Claiming that no person has the credentials to judge others' actions, Emerson contrasts his own beliefs — basically Unitarian — to those of Calvinism. The simplest person, who in his integrity worships God, becomes God; yet for ever and ever the influx of this better and universal self is new and unsearchable.
Although the soul eternally exists in and with the Oversoul in an inviolable unity, it cannot be conscious of this unity independently of creation, which is within the limitations of time. In all conversation between two persons tacit reference is made, as to a third party, to a common nature. Yet I desire, even by profane words, if I may not use sacred, to indicate the heaven of this deity and to report what hints I have collected of the transcendent simplicity and energy of the Highest Law. VICKI: Once an individual is fragmented, they are no longer a facet of your essence? PAUL: I had an impression driving home thinking about him that within the context of the Oversoul Seven material, this individual had a great similarity to the character of Ram-Ram 10. The spiritual path begins when the soul tries to find itself and turns its full consciousness toward Truth God. More believes that moral ideas are innate in us. In common speech we refer all things to time, as we habitually refer the immensely sundered stars to one concave sphere.
The tone of seeking is one, and the tone of having is another. We can ask why the world is as it is, and we can ask what will happen to our souls once we die, but the Over-Soul never responds to these inquiries using language. Although we think it is natural to ask about our spiritual future, such questions are futile because any answer requires a language that we cannot understand. Such recognition does not occur through established religion, but rather a personal effort and belief. Therefore, in some areas you shall be altering genetic encoding for your benefit, eliminating some elements and acquiring some new elements; but as to cultural differences or races, you shall continue within this direction for the experience. This is the main aim of this essay. Each person, alone, is responsible for the actions that will or will not ensure his or her salvation.
Photograph: Public Domain Before the revelations of the soul, Time, Space and Nature shrink away. Anyone can meet God. In it, he outlines his belief in a God who resides in each of us and whom we can communicate with, without membership in a church or the assistance of an intermediary church official. While the popular conception of revelation is of fortune telling, such a practice is low, sinful, and ultimately futile. We owe many valuable observations to people who are not very acute or profound, and who say the thing without effort which we want and have long been hunting in vain. You merely shall not be bound to the belief systems within these cultures, and therefore hold no division between yourselves. Pause VICKI: Got that, Cathy? Writer says that if you wish to see God then you must look at yourself or at other people.
Therefore, what shall come to your rescue but you? Richardson Jr, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995 pp. If you are selfish and only thinking about yourself every time, then going to temples or other holy places will not save you in any danger. When we see those whom it inhabits, we are apprised of new degrees of greatness. Defining the Over-Soul paragraphs 1-10 Why, asks Emerson, do we have such extraordinary hopes for human life? We belong to an oversoul. The third section paragraphs 11-15 addresses the relationship between the Over-Soul and society, and the fourth paragraphs 16-21 focuses on how the Over-Soul is revealed to us.
Thus their oversoul will be more powerful and can, itself, be a more spiritual oversoul. . Emerson argues the soul manifests itself through revelation. To download this lesson please click on the link. All are conscious of attaining to a higher self-possession.
It then becomes possible for it to free itself from the illusion of being finite, which came into existence owing to its identification with the gross, subtle and mental bodies. Such unification manifests itself in the idea of a common nature. Before the revelations of the soul, Time, Space and Nature shrink away. When the soul is conscious of the subtle world through the subtle body, it identifies itself with the subtle body; and when it is conscious of the mental world through the mental body, it identifies itself with the mental body; just as it identifies itself with the gross body when it is conscious of the gross world through the gross body. Summary of soul's journey to Oversoul In the beginning, because the soul has not yet evolved full consciousness, it is unconscious of its identity with the Oversoul. Eventually, it is hoped that all will increase their level of spirituality and go higher and higher. ELIAS: Connect yourself; yes.
