The soul is said to be the eternal and imperishable part of humans which is separate from the mortal shell. There is some debate about
what kind of living creatures other than humans have souls. The soul itself has been described as the source from which humans draw all
emotion, creativity, and morality. It is the seat of knowledge, the animation within all mortals, the vehicle of individuality
and personal existance. It is also the seat of free will; having a soul is said to enable persons to make the correct choices in their
lives. Also, supposedly, looking within to one's soul will help one to travel correctly along life's path.
Certain cultures believe that each animal has a soul, which moves on after death to yet another animal in the cycle of life. This is
called reincarnation. In reincarnation, the soul returns to the mortal plane, to be embodied in a new form, particularly reappearing
as another person. The Hindu or Buddhist doctrine states that a human may be reborn continuously into one of five sets of living
beings, such as god, human, animal, hungry ghost, or denizen of hell; the quality or level of one's newly acquired form is
dependent on one's actions in one's previous life.
The soul is traditionally referred to as one's 'spirit', and generally, these terms are interchangable. However, in the Bible, the soul is entirely
different from the spirit, and some insist that they are completely seperate in their entirety. When a soul is freed from the mortal
body, some hold the belief that it travels to an alternate dimension, a spiritual world where all souls reside in paradise. Many
religions hold this kind of belief, that rightenousness and piety in life results in the soul being sent to a favorable place after
death.
The soul is coveted by many religions and belief as something a person should work hard to make pure and good. Some Satanists or those
who worship demonic forces have been said to 'sell' their souls to a powerful but dark force, in return for power, wealth, or other
wordly poessessions. Most Christians believe that the soul of a righteous person will travel to Heavan, whilst souls of sinful people
will be sent to the pit of fire and brimstone that is Hell. However, there will always be heated debate between different sects as
whether the soul is something material, or immaterial, and whether reward of punishment from their god is based soley upon being
involved in good deeds, or merely holding the belief that God exists.
Ancient cultures also believed in the existence of a soul. In fact, the term is near enough recognized the world over, though for
different reasons. The ancient Greeks thought that the souls of the departed travelled to the paradise that was the fields of Elysia,
or to Hades if the person had been sinful.
