The great malady of the twentieth century, implicated in all our troubles and affecting us individually and socially, is “loss of soul.” When the soul is neglected, it doesn’t just go away; it appears symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, violence, and loss of meaning. – T. Moore
What is at the root of all our suffering?
This is a question that has haunted the minds of humanity since the dawn of time.
What we’ve learned from religion and spiritual traditions alike is that the core of our torment is rooted deep within human beings.
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It is a canker of the Soul. A fragmentation of the psyche. A disturbance of the mind. A severance from nature. A desecration of the very world around us.
All of this pain is rooted in the loss of Soul.
This is why Ensoulment – being in the soul or living in alignment with the Soul – is so critical.
Table of contents
What Happens When We Are Severed From the Soul?
When we are cut off from the Soul, we are cut off from each other and the world.
It is then that we collapse into a state of fundamentalism, cold rationalism, and mechanistic reductionism that sees the world/others as an object to be used and discarded.
When we are severed from the Soul, human beings become deranged.
Illnesses of every kind begin to emerge, starting within the body as chronic illnesses and eating disorders – ending with mental illnesses, existential crises, paranoia, hatred, suicide, murder, and the psychotic abuse of our most innocent members of society.
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For humanity to heal, we must reconnect with the Soul. We must become Ensouled. For us to reverse, in whatever way possible, the direct path of self-destruction we’re forging right now, we must be initiated onto our Soul’s path.
Ensoulment is the answer to Soul Loss, which is the most severe pandemic of all time, afflicting all people of all races and countries.
Humanity has lost its Soul, and without a move toward Ensoulment, what hope is there for our children’s children to survive in a world that is being laid to waste as we speak?
What Actually is the Soul?
We all possess a Soul. On a fundamental level, Soul is our animating essence – it derives from the Old English word sāwol, which means “spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence” (1).
Through the ages, thanks to both religious and wider spiritual influence alike, the Soul has been understood as the indwelling spark of Divinity we all carry.
In a nutshell, Soul is your innermost essence or Spirit embodied in earthly form. To use a simple analogy, Spirit is like pure light, whereas Soul is the kaleidoscopic, multi-colored lens through which Spirit shines.
Your Soul can also grow and expand throughout life.
In the words of poet Kahlil Gibran,
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.
The Soul is paradoxical in nature and is both wholly human and wholly Divine.
Ever heard the expression, “He’s a lost soul,” or “She sold her soul”? The Soul can become sick, lethargic, and lost. But there is another part of the Soul, the Divine part (the “Immortal Soul”), that can guide and support us.
What is Ensoulment?
There’s a part of every living thing that wants to become itself: the tadpole into the frog, the chrysalis into the butterfly, a damaged human being into a whole one. – Ellen Bass
The word Ensoulment is composed of ‘Ensoul,’ which means to endow or imbue with a Soul, and the suffix ‘ment,‘ which means action or process. So, Ensoulment quite literally refers to the process of being infused with Soul.
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Ensoulment is about learning how to live more in alignment with your Soul by listening to its authentic wants, needs, and values. It’s a path of embodying your most authentic Self.
Another synonym for Ensoulment is Soul recovery or the shamanic notion of Soul retrieval; however, Ensoulment is more of an ongoing philosophy and lived experience than a single shamanic ritual.
Note on the traditional meaning: Originally, Ensoulment was a term with religious connotations, referring to the moment in which a fetus gains a Soul. But that’s not what we’re talking about in this article. Instead, we have intentionally redefined and reimagined Ensoulment to mean the ongoing experience of Soul Initiation.
12 Deep Transformations That Happen When You Become More Ensouled
The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. – Carl Jung, Psychiatrist & Ensouled human being
Soul Loss looks like anxiety, depression, addictions, narcissism, violence, and abuse of all kinds.
Ensoulment, on the other hand, looks like openness, warmth, creativity, compassion, connectivity, joy, and a purpose-driven life.
To summarize, here are twelve transformations that often happen when you start to become more Ensouled:
- Living more in the present moment.
- Receptivity, humility, and openness.
- Creativity and living a life of rich self-expression.
- Having a strong sense of meaning and purpose.
- Knowing and honing your unique spiritual gifts.
- Feeling more connected to and led by your intuition.
- Greater ability to let go and surrender to a Higher Power.
- Moving toward internal integration and Wholeness.
- Experiencing more signs, synchronicities, and doors opening.
- Feeling connected with other people, the world, and Life itself.
- Heartfulness (awe, reference, wonder, enchantment, devotion, compassion).
- Orienting to the mysterious, the numinous, and the magic within and without you.
Ensouled people live with a great sense of creative meaning and purpose, are connected to their hearts, and feel a stronger connection with the Divine.
This journey isn’t something we can quickly “achieve” in the traditional sense. It’s not a linear path. It’s a spiralic, ebbing and flowing journey. It’s a movement of nature: organic but powerful. There is no single “finish line” – Ensoulment is an ever-deepening process of illumination, growth, and interconnectedness.
Four Sacred Paths of Ensoulment
The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door. ― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Writer, Analyst & Ensouled human being
How do we become more Ensouled? That’s the next reasonable question. The answer is that there are different types of doorways, all with their unique potentials, gifts, and capacities.
I’ve spent over a decade exploring paths of Ensoulment. Here’s a sample of some of the most powerful paths:
Physical/Earth-centered Paths:
The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.
― Daniel Defoe
Emotional Paths:
Love is the nature of the soul.
– John O’Donohue
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray. ― Rumi
- Devotion
- Self-love
- Contemplating beauty
- Heart-centered meditation
- Inner child work
- Caring for a family/other beings
Imaginative Paths:
Music and art and poetry attune the soul to God.
– Thomas Merton
- Writing/Journaling
- Drawing/Painting
- Crafting
- Music-making
- Ritual
- Mythology/symbology
- Vision quests
- Shamanic journeying
Mental Paths:
Knowledge is the food of the soul.
– Plato
Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.
― Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
- Prayer
- Chanting
- Silence
- Lectio Divina
- Meditation
- Reading books
- Dream work
- Mindfulness
- Shadow work
Of course, not all of these paths lead exclusively to Ensoulment.
Gardening, for instance, can easily become a mindless chore if it lacks a sense of heart and soul. Another example from the above list is chanting, which can become a dead droning of empty words if it isn’t first imbued with deep feeling and intention.
In summary, whatever we do with depth and focus can be a path of Ensoulment (i.e., Soul Work) – it’s all about your heart’s inner attitude and the meaning you infuse into what you do.
Essentially, Ensoulment is inner archaeology – it helps us to go back to the root of our being. Choose what resonates with you and leave the rest.
Conclusion
Ensoulment is essential because you and I – and Mother Earth at large – crucially and desperately need it.
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We’re suffering from pandemic proportions of Soul Loss that’s only getting worse, putting us on the fast track to the sixth mass extinction.
We’re not only destroying Mother Nature and the ecosystem, but we’re also experiencing large-scale cultural collapse that is undermining the fabric of our civilization.
We need to think bigger as a race. Whatever we do can’t merely be for the individual – we don’t have that luxury. Our efforts must be directed toward the Whole. And that starts at a root level: becoming reconnected to our Souls again.
Being true to who we are means carrying our spirit like a candle in the center of our darkness.
– Mark Nepo
What does living an Ensouled life mean to you? What are the biggest struggles or blocks you face? I welcome you to share below. You never know who you may reassure or comfort by doing so.
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Thank you for this just-in-time message. There is no question that soul loss is reaching a disturbing pinnacle and for those of us who’ve “felt it all” since entering this world, the observation that things only are becoming even more polarized and robotized is disturbing and depressing to say the least. Rudolf Steiner was spot on about so much of this and it’s beautiful to see that you’re spreading the word and stepping up to help everyone awaken and get sparked in their heart to do the same for others. Much appreciated ❣️
Absolutely yes. I embarked on this path half-heartedly and not really understanding what I was undertaking and was swiftly side-swiped by a monumental chasm of self-hatred, fear and fury which it has taken me years to even slightly move through the paralysis of. I whole-heartedly commit to this path now. We are lost. I want to be a light. I commit to this work for myself and for my children. Thank you so much for the work you do.
I love this article about Ensoulment. Thank you for putting into words, so clearly and beautifully, experiences I have and awareness that comes from it. It was truly wonderful to read. I became a Soul Coach to help people connect to their soul self, integrate the wisdoms and live from that place of personal enlightenment. So many are disconnected from that place! I will be sharing your article with my clients, yet again. I am a Psychopomp, I had just never heard the word before. Thank you (both) for guiding humanity to a better place.
A powerful YES!!! to all 11 signs. Thank you for this!
At age 52, I bought my first motorcycle. midlife crisis? Maybe, but I have no need for speed. It’s a slow cruiser. Do I write it to escape? Of course. I don’t have much use for those who condemn escapism. When I ride, I call it “soul soaring.”
“Soul soaring” nice :)
I have had serious problems with dark spirit entities for several years. I sense them around me, and they hijack my dreams at night and drain my energy. It has been horrifying. At times I used to get positive “synchronicities”, winks from the universe that I was heading in the right direction. Now, and for a couple years, most of what I see are dark synchronicities… from either these entities or their source, taunting me about how I have lost my power and third chakra with many signs and symbols that I see everywhere.
There is no textbook for something like this. I experienced what I can only call “a fall” a few years ago, in my attempt to communicate with someone who used to be my best friend and who turned into a narcissist and egomaniac later in life. It feels as if my misguided attempt to reconcile things with him for “healing and forgiveness” did more damage to my soul than if someone had murdered me. I feel without any doubt that I would not be in a version of reality where COVID exists if it were not for my mistake trying to heal things with this guy. The dark synchronicities have made that perfect clear, I am in an utterly miserable and ridiculous world ruled by fear and paranoia, because of this weird interaction and entanglement. Its been like a spiritual black hole.
What I am really looking for is someone who is world class, best-in-the-world category at dealing with entities, and soul retrieval. I live in the United States and prefer not to go outside of the country if possible. Perhaps if i find the right person with real spiritual power who can help, it will create a karmic debt for me toward that person. But that would be better than continuing to live in a world that more or less seems like a large part of it is coming almost literally from the devil, and projections of vicious hatred, malice, and ill will against me. I would not wish my experience upon someone who has abused children.
At the heart of my mistakes was a misguided allegiance to the teaching “A Course in Miracles”. Forgiveness has its place, and I do not discount everything in that massive book as containing some truth. But I feel it comes from a false teacher, if you look at the details. Among them are the idea that anything someone else does to you is really about you in the end, making you responsible for the choices and actions of other beings toward you. This flies in the face of logic, and is a textbook in terms of how a narcissist or manipulator would want you to think. They exploit and take advantage of you, prey upon your weaknesses and mistreat you, drain your energy and want you to blame yourself for it and feel like you deserved it or brought it on yourself. Certainly there are patterns where we need to not let ourselves be taken advantage of, and in that sense we may put ourselves in bad situations that could have been avoided. I have cer But ACIM goes to the level of stating that “you do not realize that you are making them act out for you”, and that the Holy Spirit’s real lesson to teach is that “the real lesson of salvation is to teach you that you are doing this to yourself”. Jesus certainly did not bring upon himself his torture and death at the hands of other people, so this flies in the face of logic. And if you had a daughter who was with the wrong guy who was abusive, the Course would teach her not only to forgive him, but that she in some way caused this for herself in the first place, abdicating her abuser from responsibility. Does it make any sense that to help someone in her situation, you would not include her abuser as part of the issue? Hitler had to be defeated by force, not forgiveness, as another extreme example. ACIM seems like a handbook on extreme self centeredness, and how to give your power away by blaming yourself for things you have no control over and being easy prey for manipulators.
Anyway I felt at one time like I had a purpose and path, but now feel like quite literally I may be in need of spiritual help to as large an extent as anybody possibly could. So I welcome any suggestions or referrals, thanks and blessings!
I wish I could edit my comment. I only wanted to add that as it pertains to a Course in Miracles, I don’t want to offend anyone and want to be precise about what I am contending. It emphasizes forgiveness, which is of course a great practice found throughout many spiritual teachings. My contention is not with that, only with the idea that YOU are on some level the cause of everything that you need to forgive, or are “doing this to yourself”. That’s a bit like telling a child who asks why it’s raining that it is because God is unhappy with them. By all means, forgive. But don’t make the misguided mistake of blaming yourself for what you have to forgive in other people, even if it would seem noble in doing so. It isn’t noble, or true, and it can make your life, mind, and soul prey for manipulative and bullying people and spiritual forces.
Sending you Reiki for Guidance, Clarity, Love, and Light.
Hi John,
There is a spiritual war going on in the world, it is darkness vs the light, so if you are seeing shadows flying around you like flies, entities attacking you in your dreams and draining your energy, welcome to spiritual warfare.
What side are you on?
Pray to God, go to church, place your trust in Jesus and the angels and let the lord be your only guide. Put your trust in him and his angels, only they can protect you from the darkness and filth.
I know what you are going through and this is my humble advice to you. Endure and Fight!
Manny
John
I’ve been there. I think you’re overthinking everything. I hope you will find a hypnotherapist who does past life work, life between life work, and soul retrieval work, it was all an amazing mind boggling life changing experience for me.
I thought the same. Too much mind. I’d recommend to do a healing ritual with a reputable shaman and “leave the mind behind”.
My own experience in searching for literature about forgiveness is that virtually every source is incomplete. I sense that you’re looking for forgiveness as a fix to your tournament. I often think this conditioned thinking is a consequence of Judeo Christian “atonement theories.” CS Lewis in mere Christianity has some interesting things to say about that (redemption and atonement through Christ is a mystery, not a mechanical or rational or logical act). What I think mainstream Christianity gets very very wrong about forgiveness is that forgiveness does not lead TO love. Forgiveness flows FROM love. Canonical gospels record the answer about the greatest commandments as water are traditionally known as the “twin Commandments.” In sum, they are to love God, self, and neighbor. Forgiveness does not appear among the Commandments. When I asked about that, the Teacher sort of answers sarcastically that you must forgive someone precisely 490 times.
Hi John,
I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to you.
There is a lot of mistruth, shaming, blaming, bypassing feelings and humanity, and all manner of other horrors in spirituality. My experience with fundamental Christianity (being raised and indoctrinated into it) has made me hyper-vigilant to all types of bullshit – spiritual and religious alike. And some ideas from ACIM can and do fit into this.
I believe what you’ve experienced is a trap or pitfall of the spiritual path. If you see our Traps & Pitfalls section: https://lonerwolf.com/traps-and-pitfalls/ there are many free guides that can help you. Please take a look and have a good in-depth read.
If I were in a situation similar to your, I would focus on (1) removing the ACIM from my life, get it out of your space (2) strengthening personal boundaries: https://lonerwolf.com/personal-boundaries/ and sense of self: https://lonerwolf.com/sense-of-self/ (3) researching ‘psychic protection’ (4) working on your solar plexus and third eye chakras https://lonerwolf.com/solar-plexus-chakra-healing/ + https://lonerwolf.com/third-eye-chakra-healing/ (5) if the ACIM ideas are deeply ingrained, I would look into getting a cult deprogrammer therapist or a skilled hypnotherapist to undo the subconscious harm. If calling on benevolent spirit guides or your Soul appeals to you, I would do this too.
I hope this helps ❤️
Greetings, John, Remember that what you are experiencing is in the astral and is not physical but in the mind. There are simple ways of dealing with this. What you need to do is to protect yourself with a simple prayer. 1) block your self off by closing the solar plexus chakra by crossing your arms across that area and closing the base chakra by crossing your legs, and say to yourself “I am of myself and wish to remain myself”) ,as many times as you like whenever you feel under threat. Also pray to whatever God you wish asking for guidance and protection. Personally, I use “the great spirit of all life” or “Infinite source of all” . In addition know that if you tell these beings to depart and leave you in peace, they have no option but to comply.
Hello To You Both, Sol and Luna, Hope All Is Well.
Great Blog, Ensoulment…I Am Differently A Mystic,
A Mystical Empath, Intuitive, Clairvoyant, INFJ-A. I Need Two Hearts To Help With All That I Feel. I Took A Tiny Quiz Today on !y Soul Type, Ray 2.
I Just Have To Say, I Love You Both A Whole Lot, You Have Been part of My Life, My Journey for Almost Four Years, Great Inspiration, Enlightenment…(I Do Have A Habit Of Changing My Email Often) I Send People Your Way All the Time. I Am Yearning to Be A Life Coach, Self-Love Coach, Domestic Violence Advocate…Funds Hinder So Much, I’ll Be A 57′ Classic,(My B-Day) Soon…lol
Much Love and Light
Thanks for connecting Laurie, lots of love and gratitude ❤️
This article has arrived at exactly the right time, again :)
Thank you for all your words of wisdom, just reading these articles is a spiritual experience.
I know it is best to start with ourselves, and the changes we make do ripple to those around us as well; however, I personally find it extremely difficult to stay Ensouled when with others who are entwined with their pain and, because of it, spreading misery. It is most difficult when I don’t know these people well. I seem to just “jump in,” and get lost in that pain and misery myself.
So, I’m wondering, could you write about how to withstand these “tsunamis” of others’ pain and actually do something to alleviate it? In short, after we’ve helped ourselves to a substantial level, how can we help others as well?
Thank you,
Lara
Hey Lara,
I think all empathic/sensitive people can relate to the feeling of getting lost in other’s negativity and pain. The key, to me, is to maintain a strong connection to Spirit/God/Goddess/Soul each day, practice grounding, learn to relax your nervous system, and get regular doses of solitude to recharge. Developing a strong sense of self helps as well (what some call ‘ego work’): https://lonerwolf.com/sense-of-self/
I hope this helps?
I am reaching out because I believe in what the two of you stand for and long for guidance. I believe I’m a lost soul trapped in misery, addiction, and extreme bad luck! I crave to be one again, to be whole. I am clairvoyant. I see images, especially when I paint. I also hear things that I can not see, I sense spirits when they are around. I often believe there is a dark entity after me and my fiancé. I am in the middle of a crossroad where intuition and the universe or my guides tell me to move in a new direction but without haste. To trust where I am and wait for the whole picture or all the information to arrive before making decisions. I feel the longer I am at a standstill and in my current situation something bad will happen, like it’s inevitable. I long for more guidance from the universe and my spiritual team, I desire to unlock my third eye but most importantly I want my soul back, it’s as if it’s been trapped in the dark night and refuses to come home. How do I reclaim it. Is it inner child work I should be doing or shadow work? How do I proceed from here?
Much obliged,
Hi Gabriela,
Thanks for sharing what you’re going through right now. I can imagine that it must be scary and difficult.
There are a few things you write that make me pause such as ” I want my soul back” – I think it will be helpful for you to know that the Soul never disappears, it’s always there. But it just becomes temporarily obscured, like the clouds that cover the moon at night. I feel that this article will help you tremendously: https://lonerwolf.com/what-is-a-soul/ You might also like to see the following guides:
https://lonerwolf.com/higher-self/
https://lonerwolf.com/soul-searching/
https://lonerwolf.com/internal-family-systems/
I hope these help ♡
~ L
So What is Ensoulment to the rest of us ?
” In religion ensoulment is the moment at which a human being gains a Soul. Some religions say that a Soul is newly created within a developing child and others especially in religion that believe in reincarnation, that Soul is pre- existing and added at a particular stage of development.” (From the internet)
But what is Soul ?
To me the Soul is the infinite essence of Spirit (Spirit refined) that may begin at the lower earthly frequencies, with entanglements and rougher set boundaries due to karma and previous hang ups, but grows towards breaking free of these set boundaries and entanglements to eventually re-deploy and refine the Soul. Or collectively to a higher degree of refinement and higher frequencies and merging with the Soul once more which is everlasting and permanent in nature.
This process is not so much what is lost (Some Soul loss) But what is regained/repaired as (Ensoulment). It’s a continuous flow, a give and take process, the same way single cells in the body are sometimes lost, while others are gaining in material growth. The Spirit is the pupil experiencing both gain and loss, in the cyclic process of learning and experiencing certain things in life. While the Soul is educator, the completeness of essence within the institution for the whole experience, ultimately gaining in wisdom and knowledge as each Spirit redefines Soul with life experiences .
Conclusion
Yes, I fully agree we need more Ensoulment and less Enslavement. If the mind is kept clear and well nourished, flushed with daily types of meditation, clearance and natural healing it purifies itself. It becomes a good Driver for body, and Spirit by decreasing the glut in the Shadows side, yet nourishing and guiding internal inner Spiritual experiences. As well as the normal ebb and flow of the every day experiences. Gain and loss happens as we use or miss use free will, to pick and choose life experience until we return to God/Source. Some say we pre decide the life path before coming here…but this is debatable!
I like that, “we need more Ensoulment and less Enslavement.” The yang (masculine) powers were needed to help us build and organize our civilization. But now that we have grown, expanded, and overrun the earth, we need to return to the yin (feminine). That is the power of Ensoulment in a world devoid of soul – it’s the natural antidote. It is a cultural renaissance! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, John
Thank you Aletheia, I so enjoy your content & writing style. It’s uncanny how your articles reach me just when I’m contemplating something relevant to your subject matter!?
Synchronicity?
Collective consciousness?
Sister magic?
It’s very cool from where i sit.. makes me feel less misunderstood & more connected. Over the last 4+ years you have helped me more than I could ever thank you for.
I value you & am grateful you are sharing your journey
I appreciate your thoughtful and kind words, Deci. I do believe that like attracts like, vibration attracts vibration – there is so much that we can’t comprehend with the mind. So whether you call it synchronicity, the collective unconscious, Spirit, or simply magic, it’s all the same (to me)! Lots of love sister ❤