Nothing Limits the Soul

QUESTION:

"My name is Adam and I'm from the U.K. I've always been interested by the NDE idea and have read many books, etc., on the subject - your own among them. Maybe this is why I'm here. I have a problem that is making me question the existence of a soul and wondered what you'd say about this. Recently, we've been visiting a care home where my mother-in-law is, now after succumbing to a brain disorder called PSP (Dudley Moore died of this). I looked around me last week in the day room and saw all of these poor people whose minds have gone, slumped into chairs drooling. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, but when you try to talk to them, its hard! Many seem to make sense until you realise that they say the same stuff over and over. Some can't make sense at all, and it's not all to do with their voicebox. They can speak fine but what comes out is nonsensical. Now, what I wanted to know your view on was this: considering we base our whole idea or mortality on rational dialogue, understanding, and the ability to observe and make conclusions, what's the story as regards the souls of these old folk? Is the 'soul' our minds? And, if the mind goes, where's the soul?!! Hope you can comment. This is troubling me. Best wishes from across the pond." ...Adam.


ANSWER:

No one can say for certain what is going on here, but I can offer you something to think about. The soul of a person can leave long before that person's body dies. I've seen this happen again and again. You can usually tell if the soul is still "in residence" if you look deeply into the person's eyes. If there's no spark, no color, no personality, the soul is probably gone. Soul's can go in and out, as well. An individual can go on living for years and have the soul gone, or coming in once in a while tosee how things are, and then leave again.

Remember, nothing limits the soul. We are limited as personalities in human form, but our soul is not limited. Sometimes the soul enters at birth, sometimes at conception, sometimes not until months have passed after birth has occurred. I suggest that you read my book, WE LIVE FOREVER. I talk a lot about the soul in this book, and about soul cycles and soul families/groups.

It could be, though, that a person lingers in a vegetative or semi-vegetative state for a reason - either for their own growth, or to help another, or to be part of a given event that needs to occur. We cannot know for certain, nor can we judge. What we can do is pray for understanding and patience.

Blessings, PMH


REPLY TO A CRITIC:

In the last Friday Report from Victor Zammit (www.victorzammit.com/week100), an individual was highly critical of my "against the afterlife." I never said I was against "the afterlife." Yet, in a way, the individual was partially right. What I no longer support after 33 years of in-depth research of near-death states with nearly 4,000 adults and children.........is the term "afterlife."

Certainly in all my books and case studies are narratives about life after death. I do not "reinterpret" what experiencers say, or "mold" stories to fit an agenda. I offer the real thing as given. My job as a researcher, at least as I see it, is to look at the phenomenon from as many angles as possible, spread out through different areas, countries, ages, conditions, beliefs, racial groups, intelligence levels, and so forth. Most of my work is fieldwork - original - contrasted with views from significant others of the experiencer.

The one phrase most near-death experiencers say afterward is ALWAYS THERE IS LIFE. Four words, repeated around the world from thousands and thousands of people. Isn't anyone listening? "Always there is life" means...there is no afterlife, or before life, or now life. It means quite simply ALWAYS, IN SOME WAY, IN SOME PLACE, IN SOME DIMENSION OR STATE OF EXISTENCE, WE, ALL OF US, ARE ALIVE AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE. Those simple four words, in essence, confirm that life is eternal.

For an in-depth rendering of this finding, refer to my paper titled "Is the Afterlife What We Think It Is? A Challenge from Near-Death Studies." This can be found on my website in the Article Section (www.pmhatwater.com). Any claims that one researcher or another has verified Afterlife Cases more than others, are false. Existence after death emerges from all NDE cases across the board. There are no "special researchers" here. Just dedicated people, like myself, who seek a deeper view of what seems so obvious.

Thank you for your kindness in considering my viewpoint,

P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D.