The Human Spirit - 1

I believe christian persons have a three part nature - body, soul and spirit. IF that is true, then what is this individual, "human spirit"? It can't be just a concept. It can't be just a metaphor. If it is something, then what kind of thing is it?

First, let's back up. What kind of a thing is my body? My body is a physical thing. What does it do? My physical body has five senses by which I detect the physical world. Also, my body has a functional ability to move around and interact with things in the physical world. My body can interact directly with other bodies and affect them directly. My body is made for operating within the physical world.

Now, what is my soul? Is my soul like my body? My soul is a psychic thing. My soul has three psychically sensual faculties (intellect, volition, emotion) by which I detect my own inner self. By these same three faculties, my soul has a psychic ability to explore itself and interact with itself. My soul does not touch the physical world. My soul can indirectly affect another human soul, but only through the faculties of our two physical bodies. In my personal experience, two souls do not touch one another psychically. (For the sake of argument, I will further assume that is always the case.)

These are fascinating comparisons. The soul is obviously unlike the body and yet similar in certain aspects of what they are and what they do. Body and soul can each move around, detect things and interact within their own proper realm. (My intellect, volition and emotions directly affect one another and my self, often powerfully and dramatically.) But whereas the physical world is much larger than my body, the psychic world of my soul is no larger than my self. On the other hand, my soul can ingest, absorb and retain a vast amount of psychic content generated by other souls, when transferred via physical communication.

So much for introductions. To the point - what is my spirit? If I really do have one, and if it is some thing other than my body and soul, then what is it? What does it do? What does it affect? And how limited is its reach, within its proper realm?

To be continued...