by Swami Beyondananda Dear Swami:
Can a soul split into two or more entities that live simultaneously? What if one dies? Does the other one or two live on independently? Would there be half a soul or a portion of a soul? Or could it be that a soul has no need of limitation or parts? Is this related to traditional questions like: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Back to the original soul-searching question, perhaps I am asking about soul size and limits. Do you think souls have them?
Gideon High
Dear Gideon,
That’s quite a metaphysical question, and since I never metaphysical question I didn’t like, I will try to answer it. Since souls are infinite and know no bounds, you can imagine how confining it can be to squeeze an entire soul into one of those small seats on the physical plane. And what with all the baggage restrictions, it’s a lot easier to spread the weight of heavy karma around. So yes, souls can indeed be split into two. This is called fillet of soul. As to your reference to the other great metaphysical question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, I have an answer for that too: Not many. Angels are notoriously poor dancers.
Dear Swami,
I think this news about former Presidential candidate John Edwards being unfaithful to his wife – particularly given her delicate health situation – is absolutely tragic. Do you have any higher perspective on this?
Daryl B. Heltapay
Dear Daryl,
Yes, it is sad. But even sadder is the reality that the entire political system has been unfaithful to the Constitution, and far too many of our elected officials have been cheating on all of us. Even when we catch them in bed with the oil companies and other special interests, they lie to our faces and tell us nothing happened, really, and swear that they love us. And so we let ourselves be screwed once again. They make noises like they’re coming with us, but they are faking it. They know only special interests can give them an election.
So, what do we do? I thought I’d never ask. Maybe it’s time for we the people to stop enabling this abusive relationship, get ourselves a good lawyer and regain custody of our own country. After everything we’ve put up with so long, we should definitely get to keep the House… and the Senate… and the Presidency… and the Supreme Court.
Dear Swami:
People tell me all the time that I’m too negative, and I tell them in no uncertain terms, "I am not!" But lately, I’ve been getting the feeling that maybe I do have a bit of a negative edge, and this might be keeping away some good stuff. On the other hand, I don’t want to seem like some naïve Pollyanna. Is there some way I can still be negative from time to time, yet get positive results? Maybe I can be twice as negative. After all, two negatives make a positive, right?
Mae Krong
Dear Mae:
It’s true a lot of spiritual teachers are telling us not to be negative, and then there’s that "Just say no to negativity!" campaign those Positively Positive folks have launched. But I say, if you positively must be negative, you might as well enjoy it. Go ahead and be miserable. Whatever makes you happy. Say yes to your negativity, because if you can at least feel positive about your negativity, that’s a start in the right direction. But don’t overdo it. Sure, two negatives make a positive – but do you know what two positives make? Something twice as positive as that one positive you got by doubling your negativity. Hey, do the math. Being positive is a plus that adds to your life, while the negative just takes away. The secret to happiness is simple. All you have to do is subtract the negative and multiply the positive and you’ll be basking in the aftermath. u
(c) Copyright 2008 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights reserved. Swami Beyondananda-and his hilarious books and CDs-can be found online at http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/