Let's look at the word SOUL. What does soul mean? According to the New Oxford American
dictionary, SOUL is a noun. The definition for the soul has three different meanings:
1 - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
• a person's moral or emotional nature or sense of identity: in the depths of her soul, she
knew he would betray her.
2 - emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, especially as revealed in art or an artistic
performance: their interpretation lacked soul.
• African American culture or ethnic pride.
• short for soul music.
3 - the essence or embodiment of a specified quality: he was the soul of discretion | brevity is
the soul of wit.
• an individual person: I'll never tell a soul.
• a person regarded with affection or pity: she's a lovely old soul.
Did you know that it is essential to understand the word “soul” in order to fully understand
ourselves? My personal definition of the word “soul” is symbolic to a figurative glass jar where
it’s contents reveal a reflection of exactly who you are. Now, you may not understand this
analogy right now and I’m sure you’re seeking clarity, so friend, come and sit with me. Let's
have coffee.
Suppose you pour a little bit of negativity, a dash of toxicity and a spoonful of worry into your
figurative glass container, closing it tightly with a lid. What do you think will happen if we leave
the container for a little while, and then decide to return to it and pop open the lid? All of the
negativity would create a pungent smell that would fill the room allowing poisonous fumes to
escape, making you unbearably nauseous.
Let’s meditate on that scenario for a bit.
Now, if we’ve spent this time together, enjoying our coffee but all we’ve done is gossip and
discuss drama and negativity, how would you feel, my friend? We would leave this beautiful
coffeeshop feeling drained, sick, and lethargic. Our conscience would probably be weighed
you think feeding your soul with negativity is worth it? When we entertain toxicity, it’s like we
are filling our jar with poison. Do you want to fill your soul with toxicity? What is toxicity?
Toxicity is the quality of being very harmful and unpleasant. If interacting with a person makes
you feel unwell within yourself and around them - you may be in a toxic friendship/relationship.
Toxicity can be found in conversations, situations, and even in people! We also don’t want to fill
our souls with gossip. Check out my post about gossip here https://www.anaprice.net/post/a-sincere-apology . Trust me, gossip is a timewaster that also steals your peace.
Now, friend, let's try a different approach! Let's pour love into the glass jar and let’s speak
positive affirmations about ourselves into this container. Let's blow fresh air into the container -
let’s also throw some smiles and hugs into it. Lastly, close the lid and let it sit for a while. Can
you imagine us reopening the jar and a flowery, pleasant aroma escapes, allowing you inhale
peace and you’re suddenly filled with the feeling of goodness and self-love? So, suppose you and I are having meaningful conversations that are filled with love and laughter. We’ve talked about goals, aspirations and dreams and we’ve talked about people - but only good, life-affirming conversations. How do you think we would feel leaving the coffee shop now? We’d leave the shop feeling energized and looking forward to seeing each other again - we would also be filled with the joy and inspiration to achieve your dreams and goals.
Now what is next? What should we do with our souls? Listen up while I share a personal story
about my soul.
Recently, I was filling my own glass jar with pain, resentment, anger, and bitterness. I’d been
speaking negatively about myself and I was abusing myself with words and food. Unfortunately,
I’d made a decision to overlook the root of my problem and I continued to neglect my soul. So,
in the last four weeks, I have decided enough is enough! I’ve decided to start speaking positive
affirmations to MYSELF every single day. I am visualizing the person that I want to look like and
become. When I looked at the old pictures of myself, I cried and wept for days. I felt like I was
going to my funeral! But then, I decided to pull myself together. After lots of time with God and
spending time with people who inspire me like Real Talk Kim and Terri Savelle Foy, I found the
answer. I needed to thoroughly clean my glass jar! My soul was dirty and I had to completely
remove the toxicity, people, and situations from my life. I even eliminated all of the abusive
words that I spoke to myself! I ensure that my glass container is thoroughly cleaned daily, so
that there's no residue of negativity and toxicity in my glass jar.
A new soul is born!
I am taking great care of it like it is an expensive and fragile container. I am filling my glass jar
with lily of the valley flowers and fresh and clean water. These flowers represent the people,
situations, and conversations that are healthy and provide nourishment to my soul. They lift me
up during my hard times, and I do the same for them. They cheer me on at every step of my
journey, encouraging me to be a better writer, blogger, and all-around best version of myself.
My point is – you must listen to yourself and be a friend to your own soul. Feed into your soul
so that YOU --- ONLY YOU --- will feel good. Practice this every day.
Let me illustrate a very famous experiment on the power of words performed by Dr. Mararu
Emoto using water over cooked rice. I want you to try this experiment! It is an educational and
thought-provoking experiment about the power of words and how they affect or nourish our
souls. I learned about this experiment from PEP TALK by Terri Savelle Foy - a book highly
recommended to read for personal growth.
The Experiment
Dr. Emoto filled three different containers with cooked rice. Each container was individually
labeled, Thank You", "You're An Idiot," and only one was left unlabeled. Every day for a month,
Dr. Emoto would speak to the container based on the labels. He said pleasant, affirming words
to the rice labeled, "Thank You". He yelled harsh, demeaning words to the "You're an Idiot" jar
and the third unlabeled jar, he simply ignored altogether. After thirty days of consistent
treatment, the "Thank You" rice began to ferment and emit a strong, pleasant aroma. The
"You're an Idiot" rice turned primarily black and mushy, giving off a sour milk aroma, and the
neglected rice simply began to rot and mold, turning a disgusting greenish-blue color.
This is the perfect example of how your attitude and affirming yourself affects your soul. Do you
want a rotten soul that gives a disturbing odor or do you want a soul that carries a pleasant and
sweet aroma? The choice is yours! ☺
Please share your experiment with us in the comments! Remember this blog is for you. We are
a community that wants to embrace and love ourselves as the beautiful gems we are.
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