The "Spirit Catcher" Barrie Ontario Canada
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THE ORIGIN OF THE SPIRIT (SOUL)Before written history, man, trying to explain the world around them, relied on story telling, song, dance and poems. Humans tried to make sense of their environment. In terms of evolution the "caveman" was as intelligent as we are, but did not have the knowledge, about nature, that we have now.
Walking past the "Spirit Catcher", a sculpture on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, I pondered over its name, it was a "wind" catcher. It looks like a stylized bird with "feathers" which move in the wind. It occurred to me that in native folklore, the wind was considered a spirit. This started a train of thought that intrigued me ever since. |
The wind was a force one could feel, but not see, one could see what the wind did. It was an invisible force that could not be controlled and was a very mighty force, or spirit ruling the earth. We find that concept widely spread throughout totally different cultures. The breath, air or wind is considered a life force in old Scandinavian religion, in China Chi or Qi, In India Prana. InTibet Tranta. In Abrahamic religions Spirit or Soul. In Yoga, nostril breathing is said to balance the prana. In Denmark some one will still open a window when someone dies in a room to let the spirit out. In Ojibwa funeral services the structure holding the body must be open so the spirit can escape. Even in south America’s mayan religion has various “souls” one of which is “breath”.
When a baby was born, a small part of that spirit "breath" would enter the body and gave the baby life. God breathes life into Adam’s nostrils (Genesis 2#7). When some one died this small spirit or soul would leave the body and rejoined the Big Spirit. Babies were therefore not considered to be separate human beings until it had taken its first breath. This is still considered to be the case in some cultures.
Aman Shaw, Shan Alam, Malaysia wrote; I am a doctor by profession, and so I will endorse one part of your post. A newborn baby is not considered alive until it draws in it's first breath, only then the soul enters the body and it's pronounced a living human being. There are occasions when the newborn baby desists in drawing in it's first breath, these are pronounced as still borns, dead upon delivery. If the product of conception is aborted before 18 weeks, it is called an abortion (no life at all in the baby to begin with). However, if the pregnancy is carried on after the 18th week of gestation and later terminated (in other words before term, ie 9 months and 10 days), it is called a childbirth. This childbirth is either alive or stillborn. And now we come to the pertinent question, is there life in the baby while still in the womb of the mother? Interesting question isn't it? You can see the baby moving about in the ultrasound and there is heartbeat, so you presume it is a live human being. Nope, it is not considered alive in medical terms until it is delivered and draws in it's first breath.
Some religions have now changed this concept and consider that a human embryo is the start of an independent life. Keep in mind that the opposition to birth control and abortion has little to do with a "moral" principle but rather with a method to create as many followers in the tribe as possible and thus making it stronger. To infer that air was the life force and "breath" was the soul was a very logical explanation. The word “spirit” is derived from latin “spiritus” meaning “breath” and “spirare” meaning “breathe”. Consider the fact that breath, spirit, soul and ghost are words essentially meaning the same thing throughout many cultures and history. It is still with us. Ghosts, spirits are still associated with chilly, drafty airflows. In conclusion, using occam’s razor, (the simplest explanation is likely the correct one ), we can state that Spirit and Soul are original concepts, preserved in most cultures from a time which pre-dates the spreading of humanity throughout the world. Air is the life force that sustains our lives through the breaths we take. Indeed without breath we have only minutes to live. Although “spirit” has been interpreted as a supernatural force, it isn’t. It is the air we breath, the life force we cannot do without. To the people who state they are not religious but spiritual we can say, yes, keep breathing because that’s what it means.
Not only native legends, or folks traditions connect Breath, Wind, Spirit and Soul but the Bible refer to this many times as well. The King James version shows this throughout the Old testament. The "Easy to Read Version" of the bible, by the World Bible Translation Centre is still much clearer. You can find that on the internet by consulting www.biblegateway.com.
King James version of the Bible:
When a baby was born, a small part of that spirit "breath" would enter the body and gave the baby life. God breathes life into Adam’s nostrils (Genesis 2#7). When some one died this small spirit or soul would leave the body and rejoined the Big Spirit. Babies were therefore not considered to be separate human beings until it had taken its first breath. This is still considered to be the case in some cultures.
Aman Shaw, Shan Alam, Malaysia wrote; I am a doctor by profession, and so I will endorse one part of your post. A newborn baby is not considered alive until it draws in it's first breath, only then the soul enters the body and it's pronounced a living human being. There are occasions when the newborn baby desists in drawing in it's first breath, these are pronounced as still borns, dead upon delivery. If the product of conception is aborted before 18 weeks, it is called an abortion (no life at all in the baby to begin with). However, if the pregnancy is carried on after the 18th week of gestation and later terminated (in other words before term, ie 9 months and 10 days), it is called a childbirth. This childbirth is either alive or stillborn. And now we come to the pertinent question, is there life in the baby while still in the womb of the mother? Interesting question isn't it? You can see the baby moving about in the ultrasound and there is heartbeat, so you presume it is a live human being. Nope, it is not considered alive in medical terms until it is delivered and draws in it's first breath.
Some religions have now changed this concept and consider that a human embryo is the start of an independent life. Keep in mind that the opposition to birth control and abortion has little to do with a "moral" principle but rather with a method to create as many followers in the tribe as possible and thus making it stronger. To infer that air was the life force and "breath" was the soul was a very logical explanation. The word “spirit” is derived from latin “spiritus” meaning “breath” and “spirare” meaning “breathe”. Consider the fact that breath, spirit, soul and ghost are words essentially meaning the same thing throughout many cultures and history. It is still with us. Ghosts, spirits are still associated with chilly, drafty airflows. In conclusion, using occam’s razor, (the simplest explanation is likely the correct one ), we can state that Spirit and Soul are original concepts, preserved in most cultures from a time which pre-dates the spreading of humanity throughout the world. Air is the life force that sustains our lives through the breaths we take. Indeed without breath we have only minutes to live. Although “spirit” has been interpreted as a supernatural force, it isn’t. It is the air we breath, the life force we cannot do without. To the people who state they are not religious but spiritual we can say, yes, keep breathing because that’s what it means.
Not only native legends, or folks traditions connect Breath, Wind, Spirit and Soul but the Bible refer to this many times as well. The King James version shows this throughout the Old testament. The "Easy to Read Version" of the bible, by the World Bible Translation Centre is still much clearer. You can find that on the internet by consulting www.biblegateway.com.
King James version of the Bible:
- Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul
- Genesis 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
- Genesis 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
- Genesis 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died
- Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
- Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
- Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
- Ezekiel 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
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