The Secret Stead is the pen name of a UK-based writer and
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ith society today so concerned with our outward appearance, we give little or no time to our inward appearance - the most important part of us. We often forget in the rush of daily life that the soul needs sustenance. We feed the body, so why not the soul? For soul, read your emotional state, which is inextricably linked to your physical and psychological wellness. A healthy spirit is equal in importance to a healthy mind and body, and in my opinion, without the former you cannot achieve the latter two. We know when the body requires food. We are trained to recognise when the body signals its starvation. We appreciate the need so much that we fix our living around eating; our societies have labelled certain times of the day for the act of sustaining our physical being. We have even made it into an art form, and sometimes even use it as a method of flirting and foreplay.
The attention our emotional being requires doesn't have to be everyday, but we must at least realise that the soul, like the body, knows hunger. If we starve the soul, we starve the mind and body of something greater than energy alone. We starve it of feelings, which some believe are the meaning to life itself. We need to allocate times of the day that are for feeding the soul, too, because it is an unfortunate fact of life that probably ninety-nine percent of everyone that reads this will need to feed their soul.
So, how do we know when the soul is hungry? Do you become unhappy over the smallest thing? Even though everyone tells you how good you look, you just can't see what everyone else sees in the mirror? Do you think that there is something missing in your life, even though you have everything, or people tell you have everything? Or do you wonder why nothing ever seems to go right for you?
If I've just described you, then there's a high chance your soul is hungry. You should feed it; feed it now and regularly. I'm going to share here how you can sustain your soul's hunger, and believe me, living life on your soul's full stomach will be so quality enhancing that you won't believe it.
Feed the Soul: Pleasure the Senses
We have been blessed with the physical means to feed the physical body, from the pores in our skin to food through the mouth, but how do we feed the body of the spirit - the soul?
We feed the soul through the senses. Each sense is a pathway to the heart, which is the very gateway to the soul. If we starve our senses, we starve the heart, and if we clog up our senses, we clog up the heart. To clear up the communication pathways to the soul, we must first open them up or flush them out, and then fill them with things that will make our soul develop and grow, through our newly awakened senses. For example, if we see, hear, smell, touch and taste things we love, then that is what will fill our heart, and feed our soul.
But we must add another sense to the physical five lines of connection - we need to learn how to listen out to what our soul wants through our sixth sense. Humans are creatures of communication, but this should not just necessarily mean connecting with other people. We must also learn to communicate with ourselves, for then we will know when the soul craves food, and we won't have to guess.
Now at this point some of us will think this sounds a bit far fetched, but I'm not suggesting the soul is a separate identity living inside our bodies or in our heads. Along with the mind and body, the soul is the heart of the trinity, which like that important part, if taken away from the sum of us removes from the equation one of the essential elements that make us human, and gives our life meaning. We don't consider it strange when people tell us to listen to our hearts, so why should it sound crazy to listen to our souls?
We also "listen" when we use our intuition - from the Latin meaning to look inside - all the time, and how else does the mind link up to the unconscious, if not through a form of sixth sense? Some scientists, like Albert Einstein, have contended that intuition is associated with innovation in scientific discovery. The biographers of one of the 20th century's most profound thinkers have said that he described the workings of intuition as transcending those of the intellect and called innovation often a triumph of intuition over logic. Is there any doubt that Einstein was a man who regularly fed his soul?
Moreover, the good news is that this particular sixth sense develops gradually as you use the other five senses regularly to feed your soul. The more attention you give to yourself, and the more you attempt to listen to yourself, will slowly result in your soul, so long ignored, in talking back.
And what voice does our soul use to talk to us? It is the voice of our feelings. Aren't there days we feel good for no apparent reason? Or days when we wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and nothing seems to go our way? When we feel good, our soul is full, and when we feel bad, our soul needs feeding. The things we love, and are passionate about, are an indicator of what the soul wants to eat. If we get a sudden urge to listen to a particular piece of music, it could be our spirit is telling us what it wants on the menu for that day. Songs are an obvious choice as food for the soul, because they are timeless like stories; they come to life at a moment in your life when they become important to you.
If music be the food of love, play on - so wrote poet and playwright, and another regular feeder of the soul, Shakespeare. However, although music is the food of love for many of us, like most pursuits of passion, the Bard also knew there is a proviso. The quote from Shakespeare is the opening line from his play Twelfth Night, where a duke believes the cure for suffering from unrequited love is to stuff himself sick with his own passions.
Take note that we don't do the same when we feed our soul. We don't want an obese soul, fat and heavy with constant pampering. The food we feed it should be healthy, fed in moderation, to maintain a fit, trim and young spirit. As with everything, it is more so true here that we need to balance the equilibrium between the mind, body and soul triumvirate, and know our own limits in regard to soul sustenance.
But once the soul is fed regularly and well, your inner well-being will start to glow on your face, giving you a youthful shine that no anti-wrinkle cream ever could. Your smile will be more than skin deep, because when a person with a satisfied soul smiles, it goes all the way down to the core. People will also become attracted to you, without knowing why.
Shop for Love Together
When we feed the soul, the main aim is the joy we can give to ourselves, but this experience can be shared in a group, and indeed can be more beneficial. Sharing is good for the soul, too, and once a person has become accustomed to feeding their soul correctly, they will become less inhibitive about what others might think.
When I was a university student in my second year, I lived in shared accommodation. This meant the house was shared by five or six students, each having their own private bedroom, but sharing the living quarters, such as living room, kitchen and bathroom. One of our social events was something I introduced to the house, which I called the Soul Supermarket.
Each week, we would set aside one night to share things that made us feel good - we went shopping for the soul. This ranged from music to food to reading out stories and inspirational quotes, or even just listening to each other's problems and trying to offer constructive criticism rather than our usual digs at one another. My friends were a bit sceptical at first, but I told them if they didn't feel better after a whole school year of these nights, I'd hire a stripper of their choice for our house warming party the following year. It quickly became a firm fixture in our weekly timetables!
Although I can't promise the same thing for the readers of The Inner Sanctum, I do invite everyone to shop for their soul at least once a week, and I promise your whole life will feel better in no time. You'll find a new bounce in your step, because you won't be dragging your starved soul along, instead it will be walking with you in each step you take. You may even feel like running for no apparent reason, just to catch up with your soul.
What is the best fodder for the soul, will vary for each individual. When we shop at the soul supermarket - which is every shop, store and corner of the entire world - we are looking for those things that will enrapture us and make us feel warm all over. But it's more than just pleasuring yourself with gifts or food. It's about finding your core in the very essence of pleasure; it's about discovering your passions.
If you're not a spiritual person at first, just see it as experiencing something new once a week. It can even be something as simple as changing the oil essence you put in your Friday night bath. What is important is that you make sure you are pleasuring all your senses, for example if your smell of the week is lavender, put lavender petals in the water, play some music from the countryside, hang some corresponding pictures on the bathroom wall. Immerse yourself and let go. Reconnect with your soul. Many of my friends keep in touch, and tell me they still have their Soul Supermarket nights, and that those times we shared had been some of the best they remember.
Keep it in mind, the next time you shop for a new book to read, or a new album to buy, and do it with the intention of satisfying the soul. Then share the experience with others; have a girl/boy night in or a mixed night with your closest friends, and share your favourite film or album of the week.
The world truly is your oyster when you shop at the soul supermarket. So, feed your inner self with love, and you'll discover your soul will thank you in return.
Published 4 April, 2011
