Understanding Spirit and spirituality

Understanding spirit and becoming spiritual from the Hebrew words and African perspective of spirit

This page is born out of the fact that today, more and more people are seeking to become spiritual. Thus, I attempt to provide some insight into spirit, spiritual and spirituality.

When we become Spiritual we gain the ability to recognize that there is something greater than self, something more to being human than our physical sensory experience, and that the greater whole of our existence is also part the cosmic or divine essence of nature - reality.

The basic of being spiritual is in understanding that human feelings are healthy and necessary. Acknowledge your feelings, do not attempt to ignore them. Try to figure out your purpose and your values relative to your feelings. Thus, we learn to embrace our feelings, even the uncomfortable ones. Begin each day with meditation in order to Raise Your Vibration and Connect with your Higher Self.

As we Awaken to the Deeper Awareness, we find and connect to our purpose, and manifest our Dreams in the present.

To learn about spirit, we can look to the ancient cultures all around the world. Two important concepts by which we can understand spirit is through the main African concept of Vodun (spirit) and the Hebrew term Ruahk (spirit).

Vodun

The word means spirit in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) -- the descendants of the Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups. Vodun is a spirit discipline of the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. It is the original source of the Haitian discipline of Vodou.

The fundamental principle of Vodun is that everything is spirit. Thus, humans are spirit beings who inhabit the visible world. This is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and spirituality.

The primary goal of the Vodun activities are to serve lwa (serve the spirits) through prayers and the performance of various devotional rites directed at particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favour. The essence of the ritual activity are prayer, song, dance, and gesture which are aimed at refining and restoring balance of energy in relationships of people and harmony of people with the spirits of the unseen world. It is an oral tradition. The practice connect families with their inherit familial spirits and with the necessary devotional practices of their elders.

Vodun is a comprehensive system of beliefs. Vodun is a set of principles that are concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art. It provides coherence within both the visible world and the realm of the invisible realm.

 

Spirit / Ruahk

Hebrew - ruach (רוּחַ rûaħ); neshama (נְשָׁמָה nəšâmâh - Hebrew from the root nšm or "breath").

"In the beginning" (in Hebrew, Bereshit , "New Thought" ; in Greek, Genesis , or "Origin, Beginning")

Adam became a Nephesh Chayah - a (Living Soul)

Neshamah can be called 'Soul', but it is not the same as Nephesh (Soul).

The Nephesh (Soul), consists of five gradations: Nephesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Y'chidah and Chayah. These are held within the pasuk. "...and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Nish'math Chayim); and man became a living soul (Nephesh Chayah). (B'reshith 2:7)

Nephesh (Soul) pertains to the the totality of the being and involves the emotion and thought processes. Ruach (Spirit), pertains to the conscience (intuition) which is a constant flow of energy like the 'wind'. These two parts make up the Lev (Hebrew, meaning "heart"). But not just the 'heart' in one's chest, it is the wholeness of the person.

Neshamah (Breath) is that vital spark, which is manifest as breathing in a person. Y'chidah (Uniqueness) pertains to the individualistic part of one's being, the you, or, the "I" that makes us uniquely different. Chayah pertains to the life force within all, it is also called Nshamah l'Neshamah - Breath of Breath.

Chayah is Universal - the Universal Life Force that governs the entire universe.

Chayah/Chayim, in all applications, means life. Adam (the human family, not just the male), became a soul, 'he' did not 'receive' a soul. "G-d...breathed into his nostrils the breath (neshamah) of life; and man became a living soul (nephesh)". Nephesh is the soul, which is what we are, not what we own; whether humans, angels and animals - all are souls.

Nefesh is a construct being, it is the 'Body' plus the 'Ruach Chayah'. Remove either the body or the Ruach, and it ceases to be a Nefesh.

B'reshyt / Genesis 1:20 "And G-d said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls (Nefesh), and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens."
(Darby Bible Translation)

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature (Nefesh) after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so."
(King James Bible)

The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin "spiritus" ("breath").

In the Hebraic Scriptures, the word "ruahk" (ruach: breath, wind, spirit - ר֫וּחַ) is most commonly translated as the spirit, whose essence is divine (Holy Spirit).

In Hebrew ruahk or neshama vs. nephesh; in Hebrew neshama from the root NSHM or breath.

Nephesh is the Hebrew word commonly translated as soul in English. It theologically means "breath" though it is usually used in the sense of "living being" (breathing creature). The term nephesh applies variously to humans, to lower animals, and to corpses. The concept of an immaterial soul separate from and surviving the body is common today but was not found in ancient Hebrew beliefs.

Also, the word nephesh is commonly used as one of the five parts of the soul (body or inner organs), where "nephesh" (animal) refers to the physical being and its animal instincts.

"'In the beginning...the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.' The Spirit classifies words by placing them in perspective of purpose or requirement. Spirit, whether Holy or unholy, stimulates all movement. acts and deeds. The Holy Spirit is that inherent, ingrained element that guides one on the proper and righteous course of life. It sees, hears and knows all things. It is that omnipresent, omnipotent, all-conquering force that rules supreme."
The Revival of the Holy Spirit pg 58
Ben Ammi

 

Practical Hebrew

nishmat-chayim (soul of life) ... nefesh-chayah ( a living being)

The English word soul always represents the Hebrew nephesh, except in Job 30:15 and Isa. 57:16, however, nephesh is not always translated soul. Thus, the word soul, in its theological sense, does not cover all the ground, or properly represent the Hebrew word nephesh. The term soul is from the Latin solus (alone or sole). However, the more correct Latin Latin word for the theological term "soul" (or nephesh) is "anima".

To many people, soul means the immaterial or spirit part of a human being that survives the death of the physical body.

Man was not given a soul but that he became a soul (a living person). The soul that is sinning - it itself will die

A body without the breath of life is a nephesh.

A living body having the breath of life is nephesh kai.

A fetus is referred to as nephesh until it takes its first breath; then it becomes nephesh kai.

A body that has drawn their last breath or has not yet drawn a breath is nephesh.

It matters not if it's at the beginning of life or the end.

He had the breath of life breathed into him and became a living soul (Nephesh Kai in Hebrew).

Genesis 2:7 tells us man became a soul, not that he was given a soul.

In Genesis 9:5 it is said the soul has blood. The soul cannot lived on after death, it could it have blood.

In Joshua 11:11 the soul is described as being struck down by the sword, so they could not have been spirit.

In Leviticus 24:17-18, the same Hebrew word for soul is applied to both man and animal.

The soul is not the same as the spirit.

Eccl. 12:7: "Then the dust returns to the earth just as it happened to be and the spirit (life-force or breath; Hebrew, ru'ach) itself returns to the true God who gave it." The Hebrew word for spirit is ru'ach; but the word translated as soul is ne'phesh.

The breath of life was breathed into Adam and he "became a living soul."

"... in the beginning (as evidenced in the Genesis), was the Spirit and the Spirit was with Yah and the Spirit was Yah. Therefore, all things were made by the Spirit and without it nothing became perceptable. All individuals under its influence would have eyes that could observe its Holy presence and ears that were capable of hearing it as well. "
The Revival of the Holy Spirit pg 64
Ben Ammi

Soul -- Temple - the inner organisms of the physical body of man that is nurished by Divine and Holy food while the spirit is nourished by Divine and Holy thoughts. They are inseperable. The soul (temple) would be the center or focal point of all activities, or the continuous actions done on behalf of Yah (Almighty).
Everlasting Life: from thought to reality pg 80,81 - 172,173
Ben Ammi

Every creature is a soul. It is not a matter of the type of body but the given objectives in life that separates man (the human family) from the animal family from the angel (mal'ak) family.

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