Why What Feels Good to Your Body Can Be Bad for Your Soul (And Vice Versa)
- Apr 21, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 6
In spirituality, a core principle holds that a soul inhabits a body to experience human life, gather experiences, learn lessons, and raise its consciousness. The soul and body are separate entities that come together for the purpose of living. Once the purpose is fulfilled, they part ways: the soul moves on to its next life, and the body is left behind through death, returning its elements to the Earth. You can read more about this framework on our spiritual concepts page.
This article explores the connection between the soul and the body, and specifically how each of them defines what is Good and what is Bad.
What Good and Bad Mean for the Body
Over many years of spiritual practice, I have developed the ability to assess levels of consciousness (vibration, awareness) using the chakra scale. This method can be applied to souls, human bodies, books, animals, trees, and many other subjects. Everything in Creation is alive and holds some degree of consciousness, however small or large.
For most people who identify primarily with their physical selves, the distinction between good and bad is straightforward. Beneath all the affirmations and principles people claim to live by, the body's definition of good and bad is simple:
Good is what feels good to the body. Bad is what feels bad to the body.
All animals, including humans, operate this way at the biological level. As a result, we spend most of our lives swinging between chasing pleasure and avoiding displeasure.
Some people do exercise better self-control and don't act purely on instinct. But even then, our subconscious beliefs and bodily impulses have a strong influence on our choices. The main sources of these impulses are our body's biochemistry, the environment around us, and our subconscious beliefs. We assess most things based on how these internal and external factors translate into bodily sensations, and then we decide in ways that increase pleasure and reduce discomfort.
How the Body's Chakras Reflect This Dynamic
Based on my research into energy structures, the body mainly resonates with the vibrations of the lower three chakras (root, emotions and sexual, and will/ego). When I assess someone's chakra openness, the root chakra is typically about 4-5% open, while the others range from 1% to 10%.
The feelings of pleasure or discomfort we experience through these chakras are shaped by the beliefs that influence their openness:
The root chakra is linked to survival instincts and fear.
The 2nd chakra is connected to intense emotional experiences, including intimate relationships, substance use, and extreme physical activities.
The will/ego chakra relates to how we approach life goals, fame, recognition, self-esteem, and the balance between ambition and selfishness. The superior chakras (4 to 7) are less directly impacted by daily life.
A person's subconscious beliefs play a major role in determining chakra openness and how easily the kundalini energy at the base of the spine can move upward through the Sushumna channel. This movement is known as kundalini rising. When the process happens with proper preparation, it can be very beneficial. Without preparation, it can be overwhelming and may lead to health issues.
What Good and Bad Mean for the Soul
For the soul, good and bad look completely different than for the body! The soul enters life with a plan for specific lessons it wants to experience. Its perspective is far broader than the mind's, because the mind only plans for the current life and is usually unaware of anything beyond the body's existence. The soul, on the other hand, is aware of the long cycle of incarnations and carries goals that extend well beyond any single lifetime.
For the soul, good means following the optimal life path with full alignment to the original plan. Bad means anything that pulls the person away from that plan.
It is important to understand that the soul uses the body as an instrument for gathering experiences. As long as the person follows the optimal path, the soul is deeply invested in keeping the body healthy and functional. When the mind and body make choices that cause the person to deviate from this path, the soul becomes less invested in maintaining the body. You can explore how body vibration bridges the gap between mind and destiny in a related article.
However, staying on the optimal path does not mean living a life without challenges. Many spiritual people mistakenly believe that full alignment with the soul's guidance will shield them from all difficulty. In reality, the soul needs challenges in order to learn and grow. This is a common form of spiritual bypassing. The difference is that when you stay on the optimal path, the challenges you face are milder and more manageable, and they leave little to no lasting damage.
When deviations occur, the soul sends signals to the body, hoping the person will course-correct. These signals appear as events, illnesses, dreams, visions, and messages from others. Most people are unaware of these signals and ignore them. Some who are aware can choose to respond and return to the path, but many do not.
If the gap between the soul's path and the body's direction grows too wide for too long, a separation between soul and body is triggered. There are several possible outcomes:
The soul may leave the body when the body is too worn out to function (old age), or when the deviation is too large and the chance of returning to the optimal path is lost (early death).
If the optimal path is followed well and life lessons are completed ahead of schedule, two things can happen: the soul may exit early (to move on to the next life without wasting time), or new, higher-level lessons may be added to the person's path (extending the current life).
The Clash Between Body Impulses and the Soul's Plan
It is common for the body's pleasure-seeking behavior to conflict with the person's deeper beliefs. These conflicts typically play out through the first three chakras, the material chakras as I call them. The subconscious beliefs involved can carry either higher or lower vibrations:
Higher-vibration beliefs lead a person to delay or sacrifice instant gratification in favor of higher principles.
Lower-vibration or limiting beliefs lead a person to give in to the pull of instant pleasure, identifying primarily with the body. This pattern is visible in young children who haven't yet developed self-control, in people with generally weak character, and in those who consistently choose short-term comfort over long-term growth.
Someone who can detach from bodily urges in favor of higher values is generally considered to have a strong character.
Conclusion
To live a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life, we should: navigate the lessons on our life path and stay close to our optimal path; pay attention to the signals our soul sends about possible deviations and take corrective action when needed; raise both our soul and body vibration (awareness), which in turn elevates our destiny to a higher level; and help others, both in physical and energetic ways.
There are many more aspects related to this subject, but the framework above gives a clear overview of how the mind/body and the soul each define good and bad differently. The tension between these two viewpoints shapes an individual's entire life!
You might also consider a spiritual reading to get a full spiritual diagnostic, or join the Body and Soul Ascension Academy to raise your body and soul awareness, reach higher dimensions of vibration, improve your health and life path, understand your role in this world, and see the real causes behind what happens around you.
