Is A Person More Than A Physical Body? What Is Mind? What Is Thought?

Is A Person More Than A Physical Body? What Is Mind? What Is Thought?
Written by: Kelly L. Hunter

The phrase “mind, body, and soul” has deeper meaning than just being three words in the English language. Some philosophers believe that our body is simply an “Earth suit” that houses our soul and that humans are much more than just a physical form or body. The human mind is probably the most complex thing to understand; how it functions, how it communicates with the body, and how it can ultimately help the body heal itself. Our soul has been said to be eternal; it has also been said to be comprised of energies beyond our understanding. Olivia Sabuco de Nantes believed that the connection between the body and soul are linked by way of one’s brain (Moore-Bruder, 2005).
Although Sabuco was unable to solve the mysteries behind mind-body connections, she was indeed well beyond her years with her theories. It is because of her and those who followed after her that we have holistic knowledge today and a better understanding of how our physical form is dependent upon the cooperation of the mind and the soul. Without our soul we would have no mind or thought and without our mind our bodies would not be able to survive. Our bodies are made of the Earth and have evolved over long periods of time into the human form that we have become today.
Moore and Bruder (2005) state in the text that “It is worth mentioning that Sabuco also believed that the intimate connection between soul and brain means there is a close relationship between psychological and physical health and between mortality and medicine” (p. 107). I would have to agree with this theory because it is evident that our minds can heal or destroy our physical form simply by the thoughts that we produce.
Some scientists and philosophers believe that the happier one’s thoughts are, the healthier they will be and the longer they will live. On the same note, experts also believe that negative thoughts can lead to many different types of illnesses including death. With this being said I would have to say that one’s thoughts are very powerful and are capable of doing things that we cannot even begin to imagine. A question to ask one’s self is, “without thought, can the mind still exist”? I believe that without thought, the mind becomes lifeless and begins to deteriorate just as our bodies do when our mind dies.
It is obvious to me that humans are much more than just a physical body or shell that protects our soul. We are more than just a mind controlling our body’s functions; we are a soul, a force greater than our body and mind alone. I believe that our souls have lived many lives and our Karma from each life has determined where our soul will travel after each death. In my opinion, our thoughts are signals from the universe that direct our mind and ultimately our bodies in the many directions that our soul journeys.
As I stated before, I believe that our mind and our bodies rely and depend on the other for survival; however, I do not believe that our soul depends on either of the two. In fact I believe that our soul can survive anything on its own because I believe our souls are incarnates of god (the universe and nature) and are made of natural energies that flow through the cosmos.





Reference(s)

Moore-Bruder. “Philosophy: The Power of Ideas” (6th ed.) McGraw-Hill (2005).