Soul: A Journey of Self-Discovery and Spiritual Choice

 

Soul (2020)

Pixar Animation Studios, renowned for its consistently meaningful and heartwarming films, has once again delivered a masterpiece with Soul (2020).

This captivating animated film, infused with metaphysical elements, delves into the profound concept of "Spiritual Choice" in a way that resonates deeply with viewers of all ages.

Dilemma

Joe Gardner, a passionate jazz pianist, yearns to grace the jazz club stage and inspire others with his music. However, life has steered him towards an ordinary job as a middle school band teacher. His aspirations seem out of reach until one day, he faces a pivotal dilemma: accept a secure, all-encompassing existence or pursue his dreams, no matter the uncertainties.

Spiritual Choice

In essence, Joe confronts a significant milestone – the Spiritual Choice. This transformative decision, often encountered in life's journey, demands deep introspection and self-discovery. It's a moment to weigh the pursuit of true passions and fulfilling one's higher purpose against the allure of a comfortable, secure existence.

Meaningful Life

Pixar subtly suggests that the Spiritual Choice isn't about a specific decision, such as a career or relationship. It's about aligning oneself with their authentic self and embracing their true calling, even amidst challenges and uncertainties. It's about living a meaningful, fulfilling life, not merely existing.

Self-discovery

The Spiritual Choice marks a pivotal moment in every individual's journey, and Joe is no exception. His hardworking mother, understandably, urges him towards a secure path. Recognizing the inherent duration of every Spiritual Choice, Joe receives a unique opportunity to extend his final decision by entering a limbo-like state – a magical realm bridging the physical world (Earth) and heaven. The inherent duration of every Spiritual Choice underscores that these decisions are not fleeting impulses but rather ongoing journeys of self-discovery and spiritual evolution.

Light

This journey helps Joe embrace the challenge, guiding him towards a Spiritual Choice that aligns with the Light, ultimately leading him to fulfill his dream of joining a jazz band.

Light is an ocean

However, the film's ending feels slightly underwhelming when Joe expresses his concerns to the jazz band founder, who imparts a life philosophy using the analogy of two fish. The ending would have been more impactful if Joe had independently arrived at this enlightened perspective, realizing that life is an ocean, and the path to the goal is as significant as the goal itself.

Metaphysics

Complementing the "Spiritual Choice" are other metaphysical principles woven into the film, such as souls, life after death, and a higher power, adding layers of intrigue and uniqueness to the narrative.

Deepest values

In conclusion, the animated film Soul, directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, is a compelling story masterfully blending profound spiritual elements with entertaining storytelling.
It invites viewers of all ages, both children and adults, to contemplate their own Spiritual Choice, prompting them to align their life's direction with their deepest values and dreams, bringing the concept of the "Spiritual Choice" to the forefront of our collective consciousness.

 

Notes:

• To find more about Spiritual Choice
• For further exploration of the concept of Spiritual Choice toward the Light and its consequences, consider reading the novel "Redemption.
• Image credit: ©IMDb 
• Edited using GPT4 from OpenAI and Bard from Google AI

 

More Metaphysical Movie Reviews – Jacklyn A. Lo

Check Our Featured Screenplay Melissa

Explore TV-Series Redemption 

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Is the spirit world just as corrupted as the earthly realm?

Is the spirit world (afterlife) just as corrupted as the earthly realm? Why would some spiritual beings want to control other spirits and trap them in a cycle of endless unconscious incarnations? How do we break free?

This is another chain of thought-provoking questions on Quora.

The short answer to these questions is "No, the Subtle World is not corrupted." 

© Reincarnated Soul

But let's take a closer look at all these questions.

Is the spirit world (afterlife) just as corrupted as the earthly realm?

The most probably the author of the questions by spirit world means a Subtle World where a soul comes after life ending.

As far as I know, the most difficult platform for the soul is physical, i.e. the material world, where the soul comes to gain the missing energies and determine its Spiritual Direction*. 

You may ask why such challenges are created and why we do not have heaven on Earth. Well, these conditions are made for souls with relatively low consciousness. As consciousness grows and the soul achieves certain results that allow it to join the hierarchy of God or Satan, it passes into a higher reality in accordance with its achievements.

And the Higher World has its own principles, different from ours.

Why would some spiritual beings want to control other spirits and trap them in a cycle of endless unconscious incarnations? 

To add even more thrill, science fiction writers, myself included, use strong words and phrases such as trap to describe reincarnation.

However, we must recognize that the concept of reincarnation is an excellent tool for human development.

If you have worked as a project manager or at least participated in some projects, then most likely you have noticed that the shorter the project, the more effective it is and the easier it is to meet deadlines.

The same idea with the project of our life - dividing a long stretch of the path into several lives gives better results.

In addition, more lives provide variety that cannot be achieved in one. For example, the same soul experiences in different genders, countries, conditions of existence, and even on different planets.

For example, in my novel Redemption, the soul of my main character, a high-tech executive living on Earth 2045, previously lived in the Nameless Country, France, Italy, and Russia, incarnating mostly as a woman, but also as a man. 

How do we break free?

In fact, we are not trapped by spiritual beings or the concept of reincarnation, but by our own imperfection.

As soon as we collect all the necessary energies into the matrix of our souls and make the final Spiritual Choice of our Spiritual Direction - towards Light or Darkness, the need to return to the physical world, i.e. reincarnation, will disappear.

Does rebirth really happen?

The question "Does rebirth really happen?" again dedicated to reincarnation. And I would like to share with you my favorite answer by Bhavana Vashisht. with a few comments of my own.

Short answer: Yes, rebirth does happen and as humans, it is very important for us to know about it and learn to get out of it.

Long answer: Most of the major details (about the soul, proofs of soul, the science behind rebirth, way to get out of the rebirth cycle, etc.) have been provided below. Read till the end to get the most out of this answer.

The most reliable and authentic source to gain knowledge about reincarnation or rebirth is Bhagavad Gita. It gives a clear, logical explanation of the science of reincarnation. Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on a battlefield – which is a suitable place to discuss reincarnation as people confront death face to face in combats and common questions about life and the afterlife may arise. Before jumping into the fascinating details of reincarnation, it is important to understand the eternal part of every living being, i.e., the soul.

Soul – the Eternal Living Part

Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (chapter 2) says, “That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul… The soul is unbreakable and incombustible; it can neither be dampened nor dried. It is everlasting, in all places, unalterable, immutable, and primordial… Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.”

Proofs of the Presence of the Soul

Bhagavad Gita says that the soul is immortal and is never destroyed. As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the soul within the body illuminate the entire body by consciousness. Without this consciousness, the body is nothing but a lump of dead matter. It is said that the soul is the driver of the body. When it leaves the body, all its functions stop, and it becomes useless within a fraction of a second. This can be observed when someone dies.

Also, as we can see with time, from childhood to adulthood, the body keeps changing, but something remains the same. The distinction between the conscious self (soul) and the body becomes more visible when we grow older. If we think more deeply about this, this can act as another proof of the presence of a living soul within us. 

Many scientists, researchers, and famous people have complete faith in the presence of the soul. As there are a lot of proofs and references but less space to write so this portion will be covered in another answer.

Core Principles behind Reincarnation

Bhagavad Gita says that souls cannot be slain even if the body is slain. But if this is the case, then what exactly happens to the soul? Lord Krishna beautifully explains, "The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die, nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed… Just as the embodied soul continuously passes from childhood to youth to old age, similarly, at the time of death, the soul passes into another body. The wise are not deluded by this… As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one." These are very important lines that form the basic principles behind reincarnation. So, we can say that reincarnation is the transmigration of the soul from one body to another.

Continue Reading on Quora

                                                                                                        ******

This is a great answer, however, a couple of important notes.

Note 1

Not only the physical body of a human is constantly changing, but also the sense of consciousness or the quality of a soul.

The quality of the soul fully depends on the energetic spectrum of the soul as well as the quantity of these energies.

This follows from the Universal Laws of Change and Evolution.

The quality of soul energies can even change to the opposite when a person makes such a Spiritual Choice, which changes the former Spiritual Direction* to the opposite.

For example, a person who follows the Values of Light makes a Spiritual Choice towards Darkness.

Therefore, we can call the Spiritual Choice also a Spiritual Trial.

VALUES OF DARKNESS

SLAVERY

HATRED

WAR

COWARDICE

FALSE

INJUSTICE

DESPAIR

CRUELTY

CHAOS

GREED

RIVALRY

VALUES OF LIGHT

FREEDOM

LOVE

PEACE

COURAGE

TRUTH

JUSTICE

HOPE

HUMANITY

HARMONY

GENEROSITY 

FRATERNITY

A good example of how a highly Spiritual person had transformed into a vampire could be found in the movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" by Francis Ford Coppola.  Please find details in my review of the movie.

Note 2

According to the newest information, a soul can be destroyed. 

However, this can be done only by the decision of the Supreme Creation, i.e. Creator of this soul.

This severe punishment is applied to parasitic people who do not want to give anything to others, but simply consume the resources of society or family and do this for four human lives in a row.

Other souls who do not deserve further existence are unnecessarily cruel souls . They also get a number of chances to improve themselves. If these chances are ignored for several lifetimes, the souls receive the death penalty.

During the procedure all soul's energies are cleared from their matrix and the personality leaves existence. This procedure is extremely painful.

Note 3

In my feature screenplay The Return of Melissa the protagonist is a scientist who didn't understand the spiritual matters regarding a soul, although he believed in God, and even competed with him. 

With his ignorance regarding soul he went to an experiment, that not only horrified his psyche but also proved him the existence of a soul and the power of its Creator.

Find more about the destiny of the scientist in the screenplay.

* Spiritual Direction. 

There are two Spiritual Directions: towards Light and towards Darkness.  Between them is sub-direction: Degradation.

 

Grigory Rasputin - Light or Dark? Part III (B)

Aron Simonovich wrote in his book RASPUTIN: The Memoirs of his Secretary that Rasputin had a very good chance of getting rich, but he never had a monetary goal.

G. Rasputin and the Tsar's Family

Money

Having received some money from representatives of high society, ministers and businessmen, Grigory immediately spent it on the poor who came to him for help*.

modest lifestyle

In Petersburg time, Grigory led a very modest lifestyle, and only the room of his daughters was furnished with more or less good furniture. There was no luxury or anything like that in his apartment. He ate the same as in his homeland in Siberia - potatoes, sauerkraut, homemade crackers. He always observed the fast and never broke it.

Nicholas II family 

Note that he never demanded a salary from the Nicholas II family, being the spiritual healer of the tsar himself and, most importantly, the heir to the throne from dangerous hemophilia. The only expense covered by the royal family was the monthly rent for the apartment. 

Grigory with the tsarina, her children and nanny. 1908

More about the relationship between Gregory and the royal family in the screenplay The Tsar's Choice.

incorruptibility

Many hated Grigory because they could not make a puppet out of him and offered big money for him to leave Petersburg. 

For example, one of the ministers, who was thwarted by Rasputin, offered him 200,000 rubles ($2 million today) to leave the capital for his village of Pokrovskoye, but Grigory refused.

Was Grigory Not Tempted?

A logical question arises - if even Jesus was subject to the temptations of Satan, were there serious trials for the soul of Grigory?

Certainly! 

Grigory was no exception because everyone who came to the dense physical world is tested.

Olga Lokhtina

He was tested through a high society lady, the pretty blonde Olga Lokhtina, the general's wife. 

Olga Lokhtina

Publicly and privately, she persecuted Grigory, demanding reciprocity in love. 

Once Rasputin committed adultery with her and, repenting of his sin subsequently rejected all her attempts to establish any further relationship with her.

pride 

Following Rasputin with declarations of love, she was obviously very tempted to challenge such inner qualities of Gregory as pride, i.e. high opinion of yourself. 

However, Grigory passed the temptation "cleanly".

Conclusion

Following the qualities and values of Rasputin, as well as viewing his reaction to Satan's temptations, we must recognize that Grigory is pure Light, without a single sign of Darkness!

The Holy Bible advises us to separate the wheat from the chaff, and this is one of the most important tasks we must do. This article, written in accordance with this advice, gives a direct answer that Grigory Rasputin was a spiritual being moving towards the Light.

G. Rasputin with Tsarevich Alexei. Icon of N.Guryanov

missionary

All his qualities, values, and lack of predilections indicate that he was a man of high energy and high spirit, most likely, who voluntarily took on a difficult mission and sacrificed himself for the sake of a better future for Russia.

After the brutal murder in 1916, Grigory's body was buried in Alexander Park, from where later on was taken out and burned on the orders of A.F. Kerensky.

The symbolic burial place of Grigory Rasputin.

Unfortunately, most Russians still have an internal problem of separating the wheat from the chaff. Many blindly believe in the propaganda and do not use their own thinking.

godless Lenin

Until now, statues of the godless Vladimir Ulyanov/Lenin, the leader of Bolsheviks who brutally murdered the royal family, are kept in the center of every Russian city and even carefully keep his corpse in heart of Moscow.  

But this man pitted brother against brother, unleashing a civil war in 1917, which killed between 7 and 12 million people, mostly civilians.

Lenin Mausoleum

In contrast, Grigory carried pure Love and Peace to all: " I am your brother sent by God…" 

prophet and pacifist

Rasputin was a Russian prophet and pacifist who tried to convey to the Tsar the danger of entering the First World War.  Unfortunately, Nicholas II wasn't able to make the Spiritual Choice towards Light.

predictions

All Grigory's predictions about the death of the royal family and the terrifying future of Russia came true. It became time for the Dark Ones...

In Russia, there is not even a memorial plaque to Grigory Rasputin, and the only museum opened in his native village of Pokrovsky is funded from private sources.

House-Museum of Grigory Rasputin

__________________________

Find an alternative choice of the tsar and future of the Russian empire in the screenplay "The Tsar's Choice".

Grigory Rasputin - Light or Dark? Part I of III

 Working on my screenplay "The Tsar's Choice" I went through lots of materials regarding such a controversial figure as Grigory Rasputin.

Colonel D. Loman, G. Rasputin, Major General, Prince M. S. Putyatin, 1904-1905

Although I had and have my personal opinion regarding who was that man, I would like to enlighten my readers about him by analyzing a set of his personal values and qualities.

So, who was Grigory Rasputin - a spiritual entity moving towards Darkness¹ or Lightness²?

Since any analysis is based on assumptions, let's assume that Grigory Rasputin was a representative of the Darks, and make a list of evidence for this.

For this purpose, we shall write down the values of Darks on the left side of the table and as a comparison the qualities and values of Grigory on the right.

¹ Darkness, is a spiritual realm carrying such values as slavery, hatred, cowardice, war, corruption, cruelty, etc. Dark characters including the CEO of Darkness Satan are represented in my screenplay Redemption and screenplay Heaven.

² Lightness is a spiritual realm carrying such values as freedom, love, courage, peace, justice, humanity, etc. These values are well described in my novel Redemption, available on Amazon ( printed) and Smashwords ( e-book).

Let's go through each quality and value of Darks.

1.  Craving for war

The thirst for war is the main "symptom" that a spiritual being is moving into Darkness. But Grigory was a pacifist even in the most unfavorable times for this.

He dissuaded Tsar Nikolai II from entering the Balkan war in 1912 and was strongly opposed to Russia's entry into the Serbia-Austro-Hungarian war in 1914: 

"By this war, you won't save but destroy the empire... Don't let the fools triumph, don't let them push themselves and all of us into the abyss! Don't let them do it! Do not join this war, not invented by you!"

Unfortunately, at the time Nikolai made the decision to mobilize the Russian troops, Grigory was in a serious condition after the assassination attempt on him by K. Guseva and could not personally discuss it with the tsar. sending him warning telegrams daily.

G. Rasputin in the Tyumen hospital, 1914

However, with the outbreak of WWI Grigory still continued to talk about peace, putting himself at great risk.

Since Grigory was a true pacifist, he does not fit into the pool of Darks.

2.  Hatred

The brutal energies of Dark Souls do not allow them either to love, nor talk about love, but Grigory loved and enjoyed talking about love.  

He was capable to experience Unconditional love, which is almost impossible to meet whether 100 years ago or nowadays in the dense reality of the Earth. 

Grigory spoke of love as the highest Christian virtue: “Love is light, and there is no end to it, but the light will not go out and the love of the Gospel will not get tired.” and"Prophecy will cease and knowledge will be silenced, but love never!" ³ Any person who is able to express himself in this way can not be DARK.

³The Grigory Rasputin's book "The Life of an Experienced Wanderer" (1907)

3. Indifference to people

Guided by dry calculation and resentment towards others, the Dark Ones develop in their souls such qualities as indifference and selfishness.

Unlike them, Grigory sympathized with people and expressed this sympathy, not for his own benefit, but because he felt that all people were brothers.

Grigory sought to help everyone who came to him, whether in St. Petersburg or in his native village of Pokrovskoye: "Everyone who comes to me is dear to me...  People should live hand in hand, helping each other."

And he helped people, especially those with low social status, both in words and deeds: “Dear generals, you are used to being received first. But there are also disenfranchised Jews - first I have to help them."⁴

He sympathized with all people, and especially those who are in despair, for example, prisoners: "Everyone, even the evilest, experiences moments when his soul is lifted up and cleansed by terrible torments - in moments we must stretch out a hand to save him before he dies for us in grief and despair..."

In other words, Grigory was able to feel compassion. Such a person cannot be Dark.

⁴ Aron Simanovich, the book Rasputin and the Jews.

4. IIndifference to nature 

From his childhood, Grigory adored animals, especially, especially horses, and healed them. ⁵

He felt the creativity of mother nature and preferred flowers from the forest to those from the greenhouse.

He describes his synergy with nature in his book  Life of an experienced wanderer: "Nature taught me to love God and talk with Him." 

His attitude to the fact that “everything around us is alive” and worship for nature is a direct sign of the Light, therefore, according to this quality, Grigory does not belong to the Dark.

5  Matryona Rasputina, the book  "Rasputin. Why?".

*****

The end of the first part "Grigory Rasputin - Light or Dark?"

Find more dialogues between G. Rasputin and Tsar Nicholas II as well an alternative future of the Russian Empire in "The Tsar's Choice" screenplay.

Part II is coming soon.