Rethinking Spiritual Reality: Soul, Cosmos, and Consciousness
Updated: Sep 1
This article explores two foundational themes of human spirituality and how they intersect: first, the essence of a human being, typically understood as the soul or spirit, and second, the spiritual nature of the reality we inhabit, which stands in stark contrast to the materialistic and rationalistic worldview that dominates modern thought.
1. The Cosmos: A World of Beauty and Order
The New Testament writers use the Greek word kosmos—commonly translated "world"—to describe the universe. John 3:16 famously proclaims, "For God so loved the kosmos that He gave His only Son." But long before John’s Gospel, kosmos had a rich history in Greek thought.
The Greek word kosmos means “beauty, order, adornment” and refers to an ordered system of arrangement. The philosopher Pythagoras was the first to use the term to refer to the universe, emphasizing beauty, order, and harmony. From kosmos, we derive our English words cosmetics and cosmetology, both related to the adornment and beautification of appearance, particularly in reference to enhancing human beauty.
The ancients saw the universe not as cold or indifferent, but alive, connected, and teeming with visible and invisible life. Creation itself was considered an embodiment of divine beauty—God called it "good." Sadly, after the Enlightenment and the rise of modern science, the kosmos was reduced in the popular imagination to a mechanistic, empty machine. Materialism and rationalism took a death grip on the Western mind, asserting that only what could be measured and reasoned was real.
Yet the ancients remind us: the kosmos is alive with meaning, and we are deeply connected to it.
2. The Essence of a Human Being: Breath, Soul, and Spirit
Understanding the human being requires us to explore key biblical words.
In Hebrew, three terms express the facets of the immaterial human essence:
• Neshamah (נְשָׁמָה): "breath" or "breath of life."
• Nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ): "soul," "life," or "mind."
• a Ruach (רוּחַ): "spirit" or "wind."
Genesis 2:7 captures this:
"The LORD God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath (neshamah) of life, and the man became a living being (nephesh)."
To see the underlying Hebrew, CLICK HERE
Job 32:8 further teaches that the ruach—the spirit in a person—and the neshamah from God grant true understanding.
“But a spirit (ruach) in people, the breath (neshamah) of the Almighty, makes them understand.” (NET)
Proverbs 20:27 says the neshamah of man (adam) is "the lamp of the LORD," illuminating the inner person, the conscience.
“The spirit (?) (neshamah) of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts.” (ESV)
Although numerous bible translations read “spirit” in Proverbs 20:27, the underlying Hebrew is neshamah, not ruach. Other translations capture the nuances of the underlying meaning:
“The spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.” (Amplified Bible)
“The LORD gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves.” (Good News Translation)
“The breath of man [is] a lamp of YHWH, searching all the inner parts of the heart.” (Literal Standard Version)
3. The Essence of Man is a Flame
Based on Proverbs 20:27, the Rabbis compared the inner essence of a human being to a flame on a candle:
• Soul (nephesh – ‘vital soul’ ) – The point where the flame connects to the wick is the vital soul, where our greater spiritual nature connects through the spiritual forces within the physical body. Where spirit and body meet, a soul is created. The soul is affected by the physical body, mind, and spirit and contains our emotions and memories.
• Spirit (ruach)—The bright white flame above the wick represents the spirit, which extends beyond the body into the surrounding world. The soul is the “throne” for the spirit. The spirit is affected by the spiritual forces surrounding us and, through the soul, can affect the mind and body.
• Super-Soul (higher consciousness or higher self) (neshama – ‘super-soul’) – the invisible light that illuminates the space beyond the flame. Although the light emanating from the white flame is not directly visible, we know it is present because we perceive its reflection on the surrounding objects. Our neshama – higher consciousness – communes (abides!) and interacts with God, illuminating the inner recesses of our soul and spirit.
In New Testament Greek, the soul is called psyche (ψυχή)—the root of our English "psychology." Psychology was originally the study of the soul, not merely mental processes. The term “psychology” was originally coined by a protégé of Martin Luther, the theologian Philip Melanchthon.
Unfortunately, we have separated the word psychology from its original meaning of the “study of the soul.” As the Scientific Revolution drove a wedge between science and the Church, the psyche became the subject of science, while the soul was the concern of pastors and theologians.
Sadly, neither the majority of Christians nor psychologists recognizes these two words as one and the same. Both a Pastor and a Psychologist deal with the immaterial essence of the individual and those unseen forces that create such chaos in one's life.
Soul and psyche are long overdue for a reunion.
Pneuma (πνεῦμα) refers to the spirit, the immaterial life-force, while dianoia (διάνοια) – derived from the Greek word Nous or “mind” – means the fullness of your intellect, mind, or thinking consciousness (including moral reflection).
Jesus adds dianoia to Deuteronomy 6:4-5 when he is asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” in Mark 12:29-30.
Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind (dianoia), and with all your strength.’
Thus, soul (psyche), spirit (pneuma), and mind (dianoia) represent the essential connections between the physical body and the transcendent reality of God.
4. Awakening to Quantum Reality: A Spiritual Cosmos
Modern science, particularly quantum mechanics, has profoundly challenged the cold, materialistic view of the universe.
In the quantum view, reality is not built from "solid" matter upward; rather, consciousness is the fundamental ground of existence.
Classical materialism asserts:
• Matter → Physics → Chemistry → Biology → Life → Psychology → Consciousness.
The quantum worldview inverts this:
• Consciousness → Quantum Reality/Mechanics → Physical Universe → Physics, Chemistry, Biology → Life.
Thus, consciousness is the base (material?) of all things, and life springs forth through a mysterious process. Our conscious awareness is not generated within a particular location of the brain but exists as part of our immaterial essence and shares in the consciousness of God’s kosmos.
God—the Absolute Source of all things—is pure (Holy) consciousness, the foundation of all being. He cannot be pinned down, contained, or minimized. Though He remains beyond the full grasp of human understanding, we are endowed with an innate capacity to be in relationship with Him.
Our perception and experience of God depend largely on the depth of our conscious awareness of His being. The word God in English does not carry the full weight or nuance of the Hebrew YHVH.
When Moses encounters the divine at the burning bush and seeks clarity, he asks, "When they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?" (Exodus 3:13). In the ancient world, a deity’s name revealed something essential about their nature or function. But the response Moses receives is deliberately elusive – a “non-answer” answer: "I will be who I will be."
Many English translations render this as "I am who I am," yet Hebrew lacks a true present tense. The phrase could just as easily be read as "I was who I was" or "I will be who I will be."
The point is profound: YHVH is not a fixed entity or a static function to be summoned. He is dynamic, living, and fully aware, inviting a conscious relationship rather than a mere ritual acknowledgment.
We, made in God's image, are called to participate in this living, cosmic consciousness. When God’s neshamah—His divine breath—interacts with our neshamah—our mind and higher consciousness—we are illuminated. This illumination shines light into the hidden chambers of our being, revealing what is normally concealed.
Such awakening stirs within us the call to repentance—to turn from sin, to seek forgiveness, and to walk toward the holiness of God.
5. The Telepathy Tapes
A modern glimpse into the spiritual nature of reality comes through the recent podcast series The Telepathy Tapes , in which families of non-speaking autistic children report their child's ability for telepathic communication and incredible awareness of God and the spiritual nature of reality around them.
While physically limited, these children possess an expanded spiritual awareness—a sensitivity to the interconnectedness of all things.
In episode 6, the host Ky Dickens explores the Quantum Science behind these remarkable stories. The guests, including Dr. Dean Radin, explain that space, though appearing "empty," actually connects us all through quantum fields.
Modern quantum science is beginning to confirm what the ancients intuited through wisdom and revelation: reality is aware and relational, not mechanical.
Oddly, there is even a Rabbinic tradition affirming this surprising wisdom.
The rabbinic writing Bava Batra 12b (lit. The Last Gate) tells us:
Rabbi Yochanan taught: "From the day the Temple was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets and given to the mentally impaired and to children."
God reveals deep truths through unexpected vessels, inviting us to see that our consciousness is not confined to the material body.
Like a candle's flame, we radiate light into the world.
Conclusion: Rekindling the Light Within
The ancient worldview recognized the cosmos as beautiful, alive, and filled with meaning. We must rediscover this vision.
Modern faith often overemphasizes theology and doctrine, assuming that right belief alone fosters connectedness to God. While doctrine has its place, the spiritual practices of solitude, silence, fasting, meditation (hagah), and contemplation are essential to strengthening the "muscles" of our spiritual awareness. “Abiding with God” (John 17) comes through raising our awareness of God’s presence, moment by moment, in our lives and abiding in that presence.
A fruitful spiritual practice each day is to remind ourselves that “I am more than my physical body.”
“God, raise my awareness that I am more than my physical body. Give me eyes to see your presence in my life today.”
Your essence is a flame lit by God, capable of expanding your light into the world.
- Instead of merely knowing about God, become more aware of God.
- Instead of grasping tightly to material explanations, open yourself to the beauty and unity of the spiritual cosmos.
The new science of the Quantum nature of reality and faith are not enemies. They are two ways of pointing toward the same truth. Namely, that reality is far greater, far more connected, and far more alive than we have dared to imagine.
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