The Self as Paradox

In an April 14, 2024 post, I wrote about how the Self is a contradiction. Meaning that the Self is both real and nothing. I want to address a related aspect of the Self in this post. 

The autonomy of the Self was significant to existentialists and absurdists such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus. As evidenced by my writings, the autonomy of the Self is an essential issue of Dark Paganism. Personal autonomy allows the individual to grow and achieve authenticity.

However, while the Self is autonomous, it’s dependent upon forces outside itself. The popular idiom, “No man is an island,” is very true. From the cradle to the grave, we depend on others for all aspects of who we are, including life itself.

Therefore, the Self is both autonomous yet dependent. It’s through autonomy that we reveal our true Selves. However, the very existence of the Self is dependent on others.  

The Self is a paradox.

The Self as Contradiction

I’m a big fan of Tim Blake Nelson. I first saw him in one of my favorite movies, ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’ where he played Delmar, the not-very-bright prison escapee. Nelson has also appeared in other great productions, such as ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ and ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.’ So, I was really pleased when I came across the following quote by him,

“Really, life is full of contradictions. Life is messy.”

This quote reminded me of something. It's true that life is full of contradictions. The Self is also.

In my book, The Philosophy of Dark Paganism, I compare the Self to a hurricane. The characteristics of a hurricane are well known. It’s a massive rotating storm of rain and wind that wreaks havoc in its path. Anyone who’s lived through a hurricane will tell you it’s real. If you’re in the path of a hurricane, denial of its reality may kill you.

However, suppose one focuses on the contents of the hurricane. In that case, one will see that it consists of the same ‘stuff’ as the atmosphere surrounding it. This becomes apparent if you fly into its center, called the ‘eye.’ In the eye, not only is the stuff of a hurricane the same as the outside, but the hurricane’s characteristics also disappear. Instead of gale force winds and rain, you’ll find blue skies and calm winds. At its center, a hurricane is nothing compared to the rest of the atmosphere.

One could say that a hurricane is both real and nothing. It’s all a matter of perspective.

With this analogy in mind, let’s look at the Self. The effect of the Self on the world is very real. The news is full of the impact of individual and collective Selves on the world. However, the Self is not a thing. You can’t capture the Self in a bottle and study it under a microscope. The Self is an ever-changing, dynamic phenomenon that’s an emergent property of our physical and spiritual bodies.

The Self, like the hurricane, is both real yet nothing.

The Long Goodbye

John Locke was a British philosopher who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The American Founding Fathers based many of their ideas on the work of Locke. According to Locke, we must differentiate between the human animal and the person. The creature we call human is the physical being. Whereas a person is one’s own identity.

Locke wrote that what makes a human a person is their memory. Only because of memory can a person be held accountable for their actions. For example, if someone commits a crime yet has no memory of the act, they cannot be held responsible. Although still biologically a human being, their personal identity was absent, for they had no memory of their actions.

Locke was not the only philosopher to advocate for the importance of memory for the sense of Self. The mid-18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume also believed memory was critical to identity. The 19th-century psychologist William James focused on the importance of stream of consciousness in the sense of Self. James adds to Locke and Hume by saying that simply having a memory isn’t sufficient. Ownership of one’s thoughts, feelings, and memory must exist to create an unbroken continuity between your present and your past. 

Recent events in my life have made the aforementioned ideas about memory and identity very personal to me. 

For several years, one of my elderly dogs has suffered from health issues with her liver and pancreas. She almost died a couple of years ago and was saved by extraordinary vets at a local animal hospital. As a result of her health issues, she’s on a special diet along with various prescriptions. Her primary veterinarian describes her as “fragile.”

 

We’ve been noticing some odd behaviors from our dog in the last few months. Sometimes, she will stand in the middle of our living room and stare into space for several minutes. There have been times when she would lose bladder control and wet the spot she was sleeping. She’s also developed an OCD where she will drag one of her beds around the house until she finally lays down. After a few minutes, she’ll drag it to another location.

One night recently, these bizarre behaviors took a disturbing turn.

A few evenings ago, rather than just pausing and staring off into space for a few minutes, we found her standing in the corner with her nose against the wall like a toddler in a time-out. She stood there for the longest time. She then turned and began to aimlessly walk around the house. It quickly became apparent that she was confused. She would wander to another corner and stand with her nose against the wall at the new location. Again, after a long period of time, she would start wandering around the house. She was obviously upset and confused. Nothing we could do would comfort her or stop this behavior.

All that night, my wife and I took turns watching over her. Our immediate goal was to keep her safe. The plan was to call her veterinarian in the morning when they opened.

We suspected what the diagnosis might be. Dementia. And, if so, then any prognosis would likely be grim. There is no cure for dementia in dogs. We braced ourselves for having to make the hard choice.

Thankfully, by morning, the event had ended. Our elderly dog was back to her old self. We’re currently working with her veterinarian to determine the cause and to develop a treatment plan.

We’re realists. We know the day will come when she will cross the rainbow bridge, as the euphemism goes. Worse yet, we know that the recent event may be a horrifying glimpse of her final hours, making the situation all the worse.

Dementia is one of the great scourges. It’s an insulting and degrading disease. It robs us from our loved ones and from ourselves by stealing our personal identities.

Not only the eventual passing of our beloved pet but the possibility that she may go through the Long Goodbye is something we dread. My wife and I try to be Stoic, talk about the circle of life, and the need to avoid attachment. Stiff upper lip, as the British say. 

The reality is that everything about this hurts like hell.

Self-Compassion

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” - Christopher Germer

The seeds of self-hatred are planted early in life. In our drive to be accepted by the one's we love, we often develop negative feelings about ourselves. This self-hatred is reinforced by social institutions, especially religious, who insist that we are fallen and are in need of salvation.

It can be hard to overcome those negative feelings about the self. Sometimes one can find help in sources that one least expects.

Next to social media, YouTube is one of the favorite subjects for people to beat up on. You would think that YouTube is nothing but cat videos. While there certainly are those, there’s a lot of good stuff as well. One of the excellent YouTube channels is The School of Life.

The School of Life channel defines its mission as “devoted to bringing you calm, self-understanding, better relationships, deeper friendships, greater effectiveness at work and more fulfillment in your leisure time.”

They have several excellent videos about self-compassion. I’ve linked to two that I’m very impressed with.

The Philosophy of Dark Paganism

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” - Edger Allen Poe, The Raven

As I walked through a Halloween store the other day, I came across a placard with the above quote from Poe’s The Raven. When I saw the placard, I knew I had to buy it for it truly spoke to me. 

Several years ago, I decided to write a book. I can’t say that my dreams were like “no mortal ever dared to dream,” but they were the product of peering into the darkness of the Self. My dream of being published became a reality today with the release of my book The Philosophy of Dark Paganism by Llewellyn Worldwide.

In my book, I explore Dark Paganism as a philosophical worldview. In it, I explore self-knowledge and autonomy as part of creating a meaningful life. To aid the reader, I provide nine principles to aid in individuation and achieving a state of well-being, which the ancients call eudaimonia. 

Of my book, Raven Digitalis, author of A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium and Esoteric Empathy, wrote:

“Differing from ‘black’ magick or baneful sorcery, this deeply intelligent and honest book explores darker magickal elements through a lens of Neopaganism. Focused on self-development by way of shadow, the reader is given an opportunity to cohesively improve themselves and search for life’s greater purpose. I have never experienced a book like this. It is packed to the brim with educational references and citations, all of which boil down to a metaphysical perspective. The author’s refreshing approach encompasses solid academic history and philosophy alongside practical theory aimed toward self-empowerment. The shroud of darkness is enchanting...why not take a peek?”

You can purchase my book from Amazon and from Llewellyn.com.

Autonomy: Reproductive Rights

 This is the third in a series concerning autonomy.

“The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Justice

On June 24th, 2022, in a shocking decision, the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v Wade, which had protected a woman’s right to an abortion for nearly half a century. This threw the power back to the States to decide the legality of abortion.

In Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court focused on the Due Process Clause found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The Due Process Clause prohibits arbitrary deprivation of “life, liberty, or property” by the government except as authorized by law. The Supreme Court determined that the Due Process Clause provides a fundamental “right to privacy,” which protects a pregnant woman’s right to an abortion.

For the purposes of this blog post, I’m looking not at privacy but at another consideration in this debate, autonomy.

 

I’ve mentioned several times that the only time the State has the right to restrict autonomy is when there’s harm or its potential. The argument by anti-abortion groups is that the fetus is a human and entitled to the human right to protection from harm.

Let me mention what’s not for consideration in this post, the view that “life begins at conception.” This view is based on the idea that a soul enters the body at conception. This is a purely religious belief and therefore is irrelevant when discussing government laws and regulations.

One claim by anti-abortion activists is that a fetus is living and human. Yes, a fetus is made of living material, and yes, it’s genetically human. However, that doesn’t make it a person with rights. Just because a zygote, the one-celled product of the union of sperm and egg, has 46 chromosomes and is made of human tissue doesn’t make it a person. Nor does the zygote’s potential to become an autonomous person make it one. You have 46 chromosomes in each skin cell, which is living human material. Theoretically, this skin cell could be used to clone a human, but that doesn’t make a skin cell a person. 

In the last few years, anti-abortion activists have used what appears to be a heartbeat at six weeks to claim that a fetus is a person with rights at that time. There are two problems with the heartbeat law.

First, a heartbeat isn’t possible at six weeks gestation because there are no heart valves to create one. What’s being detected is the electric activity within the embryo. The ultrasound generates the illusion of a heartbeat from that electrical activity. 

Second, heart cells will automatically respond in each other’s presence. Scientists found that heart cells will beat in unison in a lab dish. But that doesn’t make that clump of cells in the lab a person.

I will grant that an argument could be made that at 24 weeks, a fetus may be considered a person because, at that point, it may be able to survive outside the mother. One might say that it has become autonomous. This is why in Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court determined that abortions during the third trimester could be limited. 

It should be noted that third-trimester abortions are rare and only occur when the mother’s health is in danger. 

Bottom-line conclusion: because there is no harm to another, the government does not have the right to restrict a woman’s choice of abortion, except for the third trimester.

Autonomy: LGBTQA+ Issues

 This post is the second part on the topic of autonomy.

“Gender is between your ears and not between your legs.” - Chaz Bono

Before diving in, I must clarify how autonomy relates to Dark Paganism. Dark Paganism’s focus is on honoring and cultivating the Self. Since autonomy is a characteristic of the Self, it’s vital that we understand autonomy and what supports or restricts it.

 Gender Identity and Transgender Rights

We all know the nursery rhyme. Little boys are made of snips, snails, and puppy-dog tails, while little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. The root of this nursery rhyme is the mistaken belief that gender is binary, with male and female being the only options. This binary view is based on the assumption that gender is determined by anatomy. It holds that male genitalia equates to the male gender while female genitalia equates to the female gender.      

Reality is much more complex. It’s now understood that each person has a gender identity based on how they feel and who they know themself to be. Sometimes the gender identity matches their anatomy, but not always. Gender identities include the classic male and female (‘cis-gender’) along with transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none, or a combination of these.

Sexual Orientation

We shouldn’t confuse sexual orientation with gender identity. While gender identity is about how someone knows themselves or how they feel, sexual orientation is about who you’re attracted to and to whom you want to have a relationship. Sexual orientations include gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, demisexual, pansexual, and asexual.

Similar to the mistake that gender is binary, a mistaken belief is that sexual orientation is binary. In this error, it’s thought that men are naturally attracted to women, and women are naturally attracted to men. Anything else is thought to be aberrant and unnatural. A more progressive belief holds that a person is either gay or straight. However, this is still erroneous, for it’s still binary thinking. It’s now understood that sexual orientation is a spectrum, not a binary state.

The Question: Is There Harm? 

The critical issue here is whether there is harm to others if someone identifies and expresses themselves as other than cisgender or as something other than heterosexual. 

The answer is simple. No, there is no harm.

Critics try to generate controversy and claims of harm where none exists. Usually, these arguments are wrapped in religious language (“God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”) while others manufacture non-existent victims. Critics claim that allowing children to know about transgender issues and different sexual orientations somehow causes them harm. Or that women are somehow harmed by trans-inclusive language. And allowing people to use public restrooms based on identity rather than birth certificate somehow poses a danger of predators, they claim.

However, under close examination, all of these claims of harm fall apart. The religious argument is irrelevant, of course, in the modern secular society. Plus, this knowledge does not harm children. Nor or women’s rights harmed by trans-inclusive language. And transgender using public restrooms based on identity threatens no one.

Is there harm to the individual if the State restricts the expression of gender identity or sexual preference? There’s a lot of evidence that those individuals are harmed. Violence against the LGBTQA+ community is substantially higher than against the cisgender/straight. Workplace discrimination is much higher, as well. And suicide rates among transgender youth are at a shocking rate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no harm to society by allowing the LGBTQA+ members of society to live their lives as they deem fit. However, there is significant harm done to the individuals when the State tries to regulate and restrict in these cases.

Autonomy: The Issue of Our Times

 “The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life.” - Georg Simmel, German Sociologist (1858 – 1918)

This blog post is the first of several about autonomy from a Dark Pagan perspective.

Different issues are associated with different ages. World War II defined the 1940s, the Cold War dominated the 1950s through the 1980s, and the events of 9/11 along with the Iraq War dominated the first decade of the new millennium. In the second decade of the 21st century, autonomy appears to be one of the defining issues. Specifically, how much power should social institutions, such as the government, have over an individual’s autonomy?

Autonomy issues are all over the news, especially here in the US. Gender identity, transgender rights, sexual orientation, mask/ vaccine mandates, contraception, gun rights, and abortion rights are hot-button issues. These issues all involve attempts to decide where the individual’s freedom ends, and society’s regulatory power begins. 

It should be noted that autonomy means different things to different people. For this blog post, I refer to Gerald Dworkin, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of California. In his book The Theory and Practice of Autonomy, he described autonomy as the capacity for someone to define their nature, give their lives meaning and coherence, and allow them to take responsibility for themselves. 

From a Dark Pagan perspective, autonomy is the default nature of humans. It’s a natural characteristic of the Self. Autonomy, like the Self, is the product of complex interactions between biology, environment, and cognitive activity. 

One of the misconceptions we have about autonomy is the belief that it’s absolute. There’s a belief that we can always overcome social influence by simply using our willpower. While personal autonomy is powerful, such thinking is unrealistic. Yes, some amazing people have overcome extreme odds to achieve greatness. However, life is complex, and it’s not simple or easy.

The default aspect of autonomy provides guidance as to when society, especially the government, should regulate it. Because autonomy is a person’s default nature, society must defer to the individual’s autonomy except when it endangers the autonomy or life of another. 

I’m reminded of the words of Thomas Jefferson. Although he was writing about religious freedom, it applies here as well. “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” In other words, if personal autonomy does not harm another, the general rule is that the government should not interfere. 

Applying the above might sound easy, but it’s far from it. I’ll address some ideas about the practical application of personal autonomy in future blog posts.

Blessed Be,

Frater Tenebris

Self-Acceptance

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ― Mark Twain

In my previous post, I wrote about self-hate. This week I’m writing about the healthy, positive side of the coin. I’m writing about self-acceptance.  

The National Institute of Health defines self-acceptance as “an individual’s acceptance of all of his/her attributes, positive or negative.” Self-acceptance has been shown to decrease depression symptoms, seeking approval from others, a fear of failure, along with negative self-talk. On the positive side, self-acceptance increases positive emotions, a sense of freedom, self-worth, autonomy, and self-esteem.

The lack of self-acceptance isn’t always apparent in someone. Some individuals attempt to compensate for lack of self-acceptance through success. This compensation can help for a while. However, these same individuals will often collapse when they fail at something, which is inevitable, for we all can’t win all the time at everything.

Srini Pillay, MD, wrote in the Harvard Health Blog that there are three ways that someone can boost their self-acceptance. The three recommended steps are self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-transcendence. Self-regulation involves cognitive behavior changes such as changing how you speak to yourself and reframing negative situations into opportunities. Self-awareness is, as it sounds, becoming more aware of yourself and what impacts you. Finally, self-transcendent is getting involved in relationships other than just yourself. You are not an island.

What I’ve addressed here are just a few steps that can aid in self-acceptance. If you struggle with self-acceptance, you may need to seek professional assistance. There are licensed professionals who can help immensely. 

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris

Self-Hatred

“Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Self-acceptance is integral to Dark Paganism. However, we must come to grips with a hard truth before addressing self-acceptance. Far too many of us suffer from self-hatred.
 

Two disclaimers are needed:

First, this blog is an exploration of philosophy and is not medical advice. Sometimes philosophy is not enough. If you or someone you know need assistance, the National Institute of Mental Health has a great website with contacts on how to receive help.

Second, the following is not meant to be all-encompassing. Why we sometimes experience self-hatred is a complex issue. This blog post only touches on the surface.
 

Some of us hate ourselves for the mistakes we make in life. The reality is that we’re not always nice to everyone, and we do sometimes hurt others, either intentionally or by accident. Such actions can drive us to self-hatred.
 

For some, self-hatred is forced upon us. Whole religions are built around it. Guilt and self-loathing are driven into us, especially those raised in such faiths from childhood. No matter how much we try to do right, we will invariably sin, they say, and therefore we’re wretched and deserve to die. “The wages of sin is death….”

In reality, self-hatred is rarely deserved. Admittedly, there are those whose actions are so severe that self-hatred is appropriate. The mass murderer in Buffalo is an example of someone. But extreme examples like that are the exception and not the rule.
 

Self-acceptance is about accepting oneself, flaws and all. It’s accepting the fact that we all make mistakes. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at times feel guilt when we hurt others. However, to take this guilt and turn it into self-hate is to take it to unrealistic and unhealthy extremes. What’s needed is to take steps to make things right if possible, accept responsibility for our actions, and then move on.
 

While guilt over our mistakes is sometimes proper, feeling guilty and experiencing self-hatred because of some religious doctrine is never okay. Whether it’s Original Sin, karma, Three-Fold Law, or some other doctrine, we must not allow ourselves be filled with false guilt.     
 

I want to end this post with a link to an excellent video. Einzelgänger is a great YouTube channel that I highly recommend. His video, Overcoming Self-Hatred, is very good.
 

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris

Evil and The Shadow

“Evil is a source of moral intelligence in the sense that we need to learn from our shadow, from our dark side, in order to be good.” - John Bradshaw, American philosopher.

The reality of evil has been very much in the news recently. The little town of Uvalde, Texas, USA, where a gunman slaughtered children and their teachers, will forever be associated with the reality of evil. However, this small, sleepy Texas town wasn’t the first to be impacted by evil, and it won’t be the last.

Dark Paganism honors the Self. And to truly honor oneself requires that we recognize all aspects of the self, both the good and the bad. Both the conscious and the unconscious. This means recognizing the Shadow Self.

The psychologist and philosopher Carl Jung postulated that there exist four universal components of the mind that he called archetypes. He called the four archetypes the persona, the shadow, the anima or animus, and the self.

Each person’s shadow is the product of socialization. From birth, we struggle to meet the expectations of others. In the course of trying, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that our parents and peers find unacceptable are shoved deeper and deeper into our unconscious. These unacceptable attributes settle in the unconscious like silt in a river, forming Jung’s shadow.

Just because the shadow is part of the unconscious doesn’t mean that it does not influence our behavior. On the contrary, the shadow constantly exerts a significant influence on us. We just don’t always know it.  

The key is to recognize the shadow. However, accepting the reality of the shadow doesn’t mean we have to act on it. In fact, by accepting its reality, we can consciously choose what we do and don’t want to act on from its influence.

I’m not saying that the shadow was the cause of the gunman’s murderous rampage in Uvalde, Texas. I doubt we’ll ever know what drove him to such evil acts. I’m saying that we each must strive to understand and accept the reality of our shadows. If we don’t, we risk being controlled by them and hurting ourselves and others.

What’s in a Name? – Part 1

“All names mean something.” – Salman Rushdie

Of all of the possible words, one might be wondering why Dark Paganism is called ‘dark’? Commonly the word ‘dark’ or ‘darkness’ is synonymous with something negative. “The dark night of the soul,” for example. If Dark Paganism is indeed positive and life-affirming, as I wrote in my first blog entry, shouldn’t it be called something else?

In the same post, I wrote that John J Coughlin, the Father of Dark Paganism, proposes that spirituality has two approaches, the external and internal. In the external approach, personal meaning is found outside the individual. In the internal approach, personal meaning is found within.   

Dark Paganism is an internal approach to spirituality. It looks inward rather than looking to the Cosmos or society for personal meaning. This inward focus makes Dark Paganism very Western and reflective of our times.

The terms ‘light’ and ‘dark’ are metaphors for the external and internal approaches. Imagine a cave, a model used by Plato. The inside of the cave is dark, while the outside is light.

Although the cave is dark, it’s not evil. Caves play an essential role in the ecosystem and the web of life. The cave provides needed shelter for many creatures. In addition, a cave is often a reservoir of drinking water for both humans and wildlife.

Darkness isn't evil. Embrace the darkness.

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris

Grief – A Follow-up Post

Note: this post addresses the complex topic of grief. If you’re struggling with grief and would like assistance, please visit the Grief Resource Network.

Last week, in a post titled Memento Mori, I posted about the brutal reality of death. Looking back, I feel like I didn’t adequately address grief.

Grief is natural. Not only do humans grieve, but so do many non-human creatures. Denying or suppressing grief can result in problems emotionally, mentally, and physically.

There is no timetable for the progression of grief. For some, it’s short-lived, while for others, it takes years. Grief is very individual; while many people are thought to progress through multiple stages during the grieving process, the grieving process is not universal in its progression.

From a philosophical perspective, while I quoted Stoicism, the Stoic emphasis on rationality fails. In my previous post, I quoted Seneca saying that we shouldn’t allow grief to control us. While this is good advice, the problem is that we can’t just turn off our emotions. Although we think of ourselves as rational creatures, rational thought is the tiniest tip of the iceberg of the mind. The majority of the mind, conscious and unconscious, is emotion. 

Dark Paganism is a philosophy of reason. That doesn’t mean it’s exclusively about rational thought. Reason includes not only our rational side but accepts the emotional and irrational side. This view on reason makes Dark Paganism a form of humanism, for it accepts and celebrates our humanity with all of its messiness and complexity. To quote the Roman playwright Terence, “I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me.”

Blessed Be,
Frater Tenebris

Defining the Self

In my introductory post, I defined Dark Paganism as a positive, life-affirming Pagan spirituality focused on honoring and cultivating the Self. However, this definition begs what is meant within Dark Paganism by the “Self.” For this, we begin with the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

Carl Jung believed that four universal, inborn models within us influence human behaviors. He called these four models “archetypes.” The four archetypes are anima/animus, persona, shadow, and the Self.  

Jung defines the Self archetype as being not only the center of a person but also the totality of that person. The Self is a phenomenon that encompasses both the unconscious and conscious mind. It’s the center of the individual while also the person’s totality. 

The Self is “nothing” or “not a thing.” It’s an ever-changing, dynamic phenomenon that’s an emergent property of the physical and spiritual bodies. While we exist in this material realm, it’s the product of complex interactions between biology, environmental conditioning, and cognitive functions. During our existence in the Otherworld, the Self is the emergent property of the Soul’s or subtle body’s unique conditions.   

Blessed Be.