The Story of Two Souls

This week's Biblical episode contains multitudes. Seriously. It's almost unfair. These chapters could use at least another week. But let's not get overwhelmed with what we can't cover and try and zoom in on one episode: the birth of the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca—Jacob and Esau. A story featuring a long period of difficulty conceiving, followed by a difficult pregnancy, and birth: at times sad, poignant, and ultimately joyful—seems common enough.

For the mystics, however, this story is everything. They recognize it as the textual bedrock for the doctrinal basis for understanding the Neshama (soul).

The radical aspect here lies not so much in the argument FOR the soul, but rather in its underlying dynamic. In short...dangerously short: Most conventional theologies see the soul as one complex package of human consciousness encompassing the full spectrum of cognitive and emotional impulses. The nature of which (i.e., is this a "good or bad" soul?) is defined behaviorally. (The Kabbalists use that narrow definition to their advantage, decrying it as a defining factor when the actions are negative and championing it when the behavior is positive; even and especially when the inner-outer dissonance is most pronounced.) Thus, how we act determines who we are, fundamentally. Good news for the good guys, bad news for the bad...

The Kabbalah, however, teaches that we operate with two distinct and mutually exclusive sets of consciousness. Simply put, we each have two souls! Both fully equipped with distinct operational systems: each fielding their OWN full set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral options.

So going back to our story, the birth of these twins was anything but common. To the contrary, for the mystics, particularly the Arizal, and later fully articulated and systematized by the Alter Rebbe (the first Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty), the birth of these twins is also the story of the birth of the conceptual framework of the two-soul doctrine.

I see the above as introductory and hope to share much more on these ideas in the upcoming weeks.

Till then, feel free to supplement your spiritual practice with these paradigms:

One example of how these ideas can be optimized and fully actionable:

When things are clicking for you, and your behavior feels aligned with your primary values, you are in "Nefesh Elokis"—G-d-centric awareness. Why does this information matter? Simple—it bears remembering if only to be cognizant of the presence of an alternative independent mode of "Nefesh Habehamit"—ego-centric awareness: fully operational but paused and lurking, always ready to step in and exploit any lapse in mindfulness.

On the flip side are those of us who desperately aspire to strike that "Nefesh Elokis"—G-d-centric awareness—balance, but find ourselves perpetually struggling and failing, more often than not, to maintain a more nourishing and consistent spiritual practice. However, despite the frequent disappointments, we don't have to give up on those critical personal betterment goals. Instead, we can choose the path of meditatively recognizing that our disappointing self doesn't define us. To the contrary, if we are stuck in patterns where we indulge in arrogant and destructive fear-based cognitive storylines, that then metastasize into narratives of victimhood and entitlement, we shouldn't be so shocked at the oftentimes cruel and hurtful behavior we exhibit towards people we claim to love. The "Nefesh Habehamit" is the stadium where "hurt people hurt people" play.

The good news is that we are still "good!" —We are just in the wrong MODE. We are FULLY capable (hard work for sure, like CrossFit for the soul) of shifting modes. By setting our intentions with the proper mindfulness, we can strategically choose the mode of awareness that supports and powers the ideal behavioral self we aspire to.