Rhapsody in C – Enter the Realm of the Soul

The existence of the soul is a funny thing. We know that we have a soul, we may even feel its presence. But can we tap into its spiritual power? Do we even know what it means to access the raw energy of the soul?

What am I even talking about?

When I was in high school, I learned Rav Akiva Eiger’s account of what happens to the soul after death. As I remember it (based on my teenage brain’s memory), the soul accompanies the funeral procession. If the procession passes by places at which the soul sinned or did not put in a full effort, the soul experiences regret. And the pain of that regret, Rav Eiger writes, is so intense that a person would die from it if they were still alive.

Now, my teenage self was fixated on the guilt and fear that this account brought up. Largely unhelpful. But we certainly do see that the capacity of the soul to feel is great, so much greater than we can experience in our corporeal bodies.

Rav Yisrael Salanter writes that the body acts as a limiter on our souls. The soul has a great ability to feel pain and pleasure, and the body acts on the soul as a thick insulated glove on a hand. The glove protects us from dangerous heat, but also prevents us from feeling the warm touch of another person.

A lot of the work I do with my clients is to help them feel their feelings. So many clients ask why that is important. Some are so afraid of feeling their hard feelings that they prefer not to feel at all. That is something I’m sure we can all relate to in one way or another. I know I can.

Once we are convinced that feeling our feelings is important, and it becomes time to actually feel our feelings, we may find that it’s easier said than done. We can be numb or otherwise blocked from feeling. How do we access that powerful seam of emotions, the energy of life that lives beneath the surface?

I suggest that we turn to music. It’s been said (here’s where my teenage brain fails me) that music is a window to the soul. What that means to me is that music somehow breaks through to the soul, allowing us to harness the power of emotions that we may not have otherwise been able to access.

Music is a powerful tool. Listen responsibly. And enjoy the energy of life, the highs and lows that God has allowed us to experience.