Our Western civilisation essentially goes back to ancient Greece. But yes there is Egypt, Sumeria and Anatolia in Turkey. However, Bill starts with the 'Fates' that were embedded in Greek & Roman Mythology, the three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans.
Each person was thought of as a spindle, around which the three Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) would spin the thread of human destiny.
We need to remember the word 'psyche', the ancient Greek word for Soul.
This translates to a psychiatrist being, essentially a Soul Doctor - however in Western medicine Soul has been lobotomised out of the medical vernacular. Science does not educate us in the spiritual realm as - if it cannot be measured and quantified, it does not exist.
If we go to Wikipedia - (which sadly is not the resource it could be) there are on earth today 7.8 billion humans of which ‘supposedly’ these numbers below show, that:
2.4 billion are Christian
1.9 billion are Moslem
1.2 billion are Hindu
0.5 billion are Buddhist
.394 Million are China Traditional
and
1.2 billion Secular[a]/Nonreligious[b]/Agnostic/Atheist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations
So with Christianity and Islam betwen them - there are 3.3 billion adherents who would beleive that they are going to live beyond this mortal life. That in scripture in the first book of the Bible in ‘Genesis’ we learn about ‘soul’.
That Hindu and Buddhist also believe in an afterlife solely because they (like other minor religions and sects) believe in an essence / consciousness that leaves one body and after a time enters the baby of another human body.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife
So there is a very considerable number of humanity who believe in a soul essence that inhabits the human body. That is most definitely spiritual in nature and that science does not want to utilise the vast number of 25,000 universities planet round to further research this perennial doctrine that has been embedded in all world religions, beliefs and cultures.
Yet, there are now thousands of recordings over the last hundred years of 'Out of the body' and 'Near Death' experiences everywhere on planet earth. Even doctors and professors and hard core atheists have experienced them - however the ‘medical establishment’ only sees the human body as a physical machine made of flesh, bone and organs. So they still refuse to take this step. Science has made up its mind that ‘nothing’ exists.
This subject of ‘out of the body’ and ‘near death experiences’ is one of the more divisive questions on earth. For there are many who have been brought up to believe that we are only a body that has evolved by chance via Dawinian evolution. This idea consolidated when science later added on the fluke of the big bang bringing all into existence. Even God was taken out of the equation.
That when we reduce the human body down to its constituent components you will find no evidence whatsoever of a soul or a spirit. The non theist - better known as an atheist will argue and battle this subject out even though people who have OBE and OTB experiences can tell you what their parents were doing, wearing and saying - even though they lived in another country at that exact time - they will argue vehemently that it is all a hallucination and that these ‘other’ facts don't matter.
For some unknown reason the disbelievers will in most cases not give up until they expire on their last out-breath.
Though we did not cover this in any depth at all, Bill mentioned that C S Lewis said - we don't have a soul - we are a soul - to which I heartily agreed and when looking for this quote on the web, I find that C S Lewis never mentioned it - so we apologise for this. Here is the link:
Tim mentions that we are being dumbed down as a society and a civilisation and that we are seeing the censorship of information - even that of the distant past is increasing, and it is hidden in plain sight.
For example the Bible which was supposedly first written 3,400 years ago. See at the end of each quote that the word mutates from 'Soul' - to 'Being' - to living ‘Person’ - then to 'Creature.' With such a rapid change in description, will the next iteration become a - 'robot?
I jest - however I trust you get the gist.
Because of time constraints we did not cover anything from both Vedic and Egyptian writings. Though in the Vedas they mention Soul, because Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means inner self, spirit, or soul, being in the Hindu philosophy.
Shaman and medicine men in indegenous cultures also believe in soul as their whole cosmology is grounded in this notion.
A search for ‘sole’ on the web brings up:
The only Hebrew word traditionally translated "soul" (nephesh) in English language Bibles refers to a living, breathing conscious body, rather than to an immortal soul. This is interesting, because even Albert Einstein did not speak of the soul, unless it was in generic terms.
What Bill focussed on was, what are the virtues of a soul and Bill talks of James Hillman - who has much to say on the soul https://thesunmagazine.org/search?search=james+hillman&with=section%2Ccategories%2Ccontributors&useShould=true&type=article
Have a listen to what he says ...
However in relating to today reality Bill says that the human species have in so many ways has lost its moral compass. He explains this … listen
Also, Transhumanism comes up - that people who don’t believe in souls and eternal life are doing their best to build computers / robots so as to ‘house their consciousness’ - see Ray Kurzweil of Google to get an understanding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil
Bill also mentions that we are in a shift of consciousness that is happening and there is a huge cycle that we are all enmeshed in and that by 2027 we will see changes that we have not planned for. Listen
There was much in this interview, Bill speaks of the challenges the human race has found itself in and offers up a way for us to heal our being. This healing Bill says is very important if we as a society are going to resolve our differences, and become well.
The words karma and past lives come into this conversation - so I do suggest that you listen - it is only a 20meg download.
What comes across is Bill’s duty of care and concern - he says that Bach Flower remedies are very good ways to heal our emotional realm and bring us back into our true self.
Bach flower remedy tinctures - healingherbs.co.uk
We also need to constantly remember that “we are spiritual beings having an earth experience”.
There is an old First Nations saying that you can hear of in America - of an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
So it is imperative that we have the ‘correct’ thought, right words, and right actions - as we chart our course in life.
Captain Edgar Mitchell, 6th man on the moon had this to say ...
God sleeps in the minerals, awakens in plants and walks in the animal and thinks in man …
And the question is - what do you intuit is man’s next evolutionary-spiritual step?
13 Best Books on Near-Death Experiences
https://www.joincake.com/blog/near-death-experience-books/
These books will give you an inkling of a great reality - however the subject of this interview was based on what is SOUL and do we have one?
Extra:
There is a new movie coming out this November called ‘Soul’ - it's a blend of Soul music that the Black community of America put their heart into when singing and playing music but it also covers another unique side by having a ‘discarnate’ soul floating around telling ‘his’ story that is totally integrated with the soul music of the main black character living in America .
I have not seen it in its entirety - but the three trailers are very interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4zAAMpRe-Y
Next Week’s Interview:
Stephen Simon
Producer of the film ‘Somewhere in Time’ with Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer.
In 1998, he produced ‘What Dreams May Come’ with Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
On January 3, 2018, his wife and forever love Lauren suddenly passed away in her sleep. She was only 54.
Six weeks later, Lauren began to communicate with him … and in October 2018, they started writing a book together.
Wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents, and many others have experienced communication with loved ones who preceded them beyond the veil that separates life and what comes after life. Many of you are having that experience now, and many more will experience it in the future.
You... we... are most definitely not alone.
Love and Aroha coupled with courage are our greatest gift.