John, Unity’s traditional model of the individual is that we are Spirit, soul, and body. The intellect would not be considered the soul per se, but could be thought of as that faculty which gathers information through the 5 senses. The intuition, is the faculty that gathers information directly from Spirit. The self-image is how we see ourselves at a given moment, depending on whether our understanding is intellectually or intuitively based. What we call the spiritual journey is that process of transitioning from an intellectual to an intuitively based understanding of ourselves. This is why we, in Unity, stress the practice of meditation. Study is an intellectual activity that may change our ideas, but meditation is an intuitive exposure to Spirit that changes our self image. It is an inward/out approach as opposed to the intellectual outward/in approach.

Words are our means of communicating ideas and, unfortunately, there are no words that can convey the direct experience of Spirit. We say down the books, we close our eyes to shut out outer distractions, and we turn our attention within with the intention of sensitizing our awareness to the life energy that sustains our being. Sounds weird to the intellect, but the intuition knows exactly what this means. With practice we begin to experience our pure essence, our soul, or, as I like to call it, our native soul.

John, I’m not ignoring you. My morning has been full and I need some space to give you a good response. Thanks.