Kerry Jehanne-Guadalupe
In the journey of understanding our existence, many of us seek to comprehend the deeper aspects of life beyond the material world. This exploration often leads us to questions about the nature of our soul, the purpose of our lives, and the connection between our spiritual and physical realities. The following writing journeys into the concept of incarnations and the profound role our souls play in shaping our human experiences. It discusses the eternal essence of the soul, its relationship with the physical body, and how it navigates through multiple lifetimes to learn, evolve, and expand consciousness. This article delves into themes such as the challenges we face, the divinity in our mistakes, the connection between joy and our true selves, and the transformative power of navigating the dark night of the soul. Through these explorations, I offer my understanding* of the above as well as how connecting with our higher minds can guide us toward a more integrated and fulfilling life.
Incarnating into a 3rd-Dimensional Reality
As our eternal, divine essence, our souls are the core of our human existence and experience. Though our persona can often think of itself as the true self with a soul, our soul is genuinely our true self. Our souls exist independently of the physical body, transcend physical existence, and are connected to all that is. Our souls can choose to have a body and experience multiple lifetimes, evolving and learning through each incarnation. When incarnated, the soul serves as the seat of our personality, the center of consciousness and self-awareness, as well as the source of the theme of our life experiences.
Only a portion of our soul incarnates into the physical world. The entire soul does not incarnate, only the part that embodies the theme of the soul's path in the physical experience. This portion of the soul condenses to be born into physical reality. The part that incarnates remains connected to the part of the soul that stays in the spirit realm. There is no separation between the incarnated and non-incarnated parts of the soul. Part of us always remains in spirit form, meaning we never entirely leave the spirit realm. Thus, our physical form is always within the spirit realm, even when it feels separated.
As young children, we may still feel strongly connected and aware of our souls if the environment we are raised in is conducive to this experience. If the connection to our soul has not been dampened, as children, it can be easier to fluctuate from being oriented in awareness of our physical nature to an awareness of our spiritual nature. In these early years, we may be able to access information from other incarnations and feel connected to all that is with ease.
When our souls choose to have a physical experience, they select specific themes for an incarnation intended to support the soul's growth and expansion. We play out the theme through incarnating into a 3rd-dimensional reality. Themes may include certain limitations to overcome or specific lessons to learn. The themes are held as specific patterns of energy that are embedded into the soul prior to incarnation. These energy patterns hold specific frequencies that allow the soul to condense with the necessary imprint of the themes the soul has chosen to explore.
From birth and throughout the first seven years, we begin to be influenced by relatives, friends, teachers, and society, aligning with the pre-birth imprint our soul selected. The influence of people and experiences mirrors the imprint, presenting the challenges the soul intended to face. During this period of our lives, these influences crystallize into our personality structure based on the belief systems of the family and culture in which we were raised. These beliefs, especially limiting beliefs, are essential for creating the chosen challenges. Beliefs can serve as material for our souls to learn from. Through belief systems, we can work through the theme our souls have chosen for this life. The belief systems provide the grit needed to challenge ourselves. As we work through the beliefs, we can then discover something new about ourselves.
As we grow older, through our personality, our soul becomes fully entrenched within the idea of the physical reality we have chosen to experience. Since every incarnation is unique with a distinctly new personality, life experiences enable the soul to explore new facets and perspectives of itself. How the personality responds to life experiences based on belief systems will foster growth within the soul by transforming and overcoming challenges. As we age, the soul continues to evolve by transforming challenges in various ways, leading to an expansion of consciousness.
Physical reality is a device our soul uses to create the ability to discover something new. I used to ponder how a soul could learn anything new; don’t our souls already know about courage, faith, forgiveness, or any other theme they can experience through incarnations? Even if it is a similar theme or the exact same theme – it is a new incarnation, a unique personality for the soul to experience the theme through – it is never the exact same, but a new perspective. We learn to break through a specific type of limitation through a particular personality structure, experiencing reality from a unique vantage point.
Once we've overcome a belief, it no longer serves us. While it was useful in the past to experience a specific lesson for our growth, the belief is now outdated and misaligned with who we are and what we wish to explore next. Recognizing that a belief no longer serves us allows us to reevaluate and replace it with a more supportive and constructive belief that better aligns with our current reality and aspirations. As we discover and let go of limiting beliefs, we may feel lighter in our beingness, more empowered, and in alignment with what excites us. There can be a corresponding increase in energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and motivation.
Over time, as we continue to overcome parts of ourselves, the crystalized patterns embedded into our physical forms for the soul to experience a theme start to soften and become more expansive. In a sense, they get repurposed so we can become like children again. Similar to our younger years, we can become more attuned to our soul and the broader reality. Third-dimensional reality can become less dense as our consciousness becomes less crystallized and more expansive. This shift allows us to repurpose our initial imprint—the crystallization that formed our personality—as an antenna to receive messages from our soul, soul family, spirit guides, and other realms. We may use the frequencies that once condensed our soul into this reality for a new purpose: facilitating communication with the non-physical.
Initially, these crystalized patterns helped ground part of the soul here; now, having overcome certain challenges and expanded our awareness, we can use them as conduits for communication. If we choose to practice expanding our consciousness, we can connect more with our souls and learn about lessons we encountered from our physical experiences before expanding back out fully into spirit at our bodily death.
Soul’s Purpose and Highest Potential
While we each have unique purposes in this life, I believe we have a purpose in common—to be our unique expressions of ourselves. Our soul's purpose, fundamentally, is to be its unique self while in form, to be as fully ourselves as possible.
The soul's purpose is often understood as the unique mission or calling our soul is meant to fulfill during our lifetime. It encompasses the more profound meaning and direction of our lives, contributing to personal and spiritual growth. Aligning with our soul's purpose can bring a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, often experienced as feelings of joy, aliveness, or wholeness. Living aligned with our purpose can create harmony between our actions, beliefs, and desires, leading to a balanced and integrated life. Engaging with our soul's purpose can make even challenging tasks feel worthwhile as we understand how the challenge is necessary for our soul’s growth.
Living our soul’s purpose and reaching our highest potential are deeply interconnected. While our highest potential generally refers to the fullest expression of our capabilities, I don’t think of it as perfection or something one arrives at, like enlightenment. To me, our highest potential is ever-evolving as we grow and reach our next level of consciousness; at each level of consciousness, there is a highest potential.
The relationship between our soul's purpose and our highest potential is one of alignment and fulfillment. When we align with our soul’s purpose, we naturally move toward our highest potential at any given level. Discovering and living one's soul's purpose often involves overcoming challenges, learning lessons, and growing spiritually and personally, which in turn translates into our highest potential at the moment. The soul’s purpose provides the guiding vision and motivation for realizing one’s highest potential, while the journey toward our highest potential is a path of aligning with and fulfilling the soul’s unique mission. Together, they form a dynamic process of growth and self-discovery.
Dark Night of the Soul
Not being in alignment with our soul and soul’s purpose can be experienced in many ways, some of which can be very challenging. We may feel aimless, lacking a sense of direction or purpose in our lives. Activities that once brought joy and fulfillment may no longer. We may experience difficulty finding passion or enthusiasm for our work or daily activities, leading to a sense of drudgery or dissatisfaction. Our energy levels may drop, with accompanying fatigue, particularly when engaging in activities that do not resonate with our true selves. A sense of being stuck in life, unable to move forward or make meaningful progress, often accompanies a misalignment with the soul.
Emotional turmoil can indicate that we are disconnected from our true selves and purpose. We may have persistent feelings of sadness or depression accompanied by a pessimistic outlook on life and negative self-talk regarding our worth or capabilities. We may feel emptiness or a void that cannot be filled, as well as envy of others who seem to be living their purpose. We can also have a constant sense of restlessness or anxiety, as if we're always searching for something more meaningful.
A misalignment with our souls may be experienced as a diminished sense of creativity, inspiration, and motivation. We may struggle to express ourselves authentically or experience difficulty trusting or accessing our intuition, leading to poor decision-making, only adding to a sense of being lost. While feeling lost, some of us may have a tendency to isolate ourselves from others, feeling misunderstood or disconnected from those around us. Some of us may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse or excessive escapism, to avoid facing the discomfort of not living our purpose.
While these experiences are not definitive, they can indicate a misalignment with our soul and our purpose. From this perspective, I can understand why St. John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic and poet of the 16th century, used the term "Dark Night of the Soul" to describe an all-encompassing spiritual crisis. These moments in our life journeys can be trying. I imagine that the term has lasted centuries and is still in use today because it can be a common human experience: a period of intense spiritual bleakness, doubt, and subsequent cleansing that can lead to a deeper union with the divine, including one’s soul.
Though I think we can go through a dark night of the mind or heart, I find it significant that St. John of the Cross chose the phrase “dark night of the soul.” The soul is often considered our deepest, most essential part, encompassing our core identity and spiritual essence. In Christian mysticism, the soul is seen as the part of a person who seeks and experiences God. St. John of the Cross wrote from this perspective, focusing on the soul's journey and trials in the pursuit of divine union, including connection to one’s soul.
In my own life experience, as well as listening to friends and clients, it seems that certain experiences can trigger such a journey. One is when our soul’s path and purpose have changed, and we feel left in the dark, so to speak, about our next steps. Another is when our connection to our essence and the divine needs an upgrade; the level of connection that was suitable for a period of our lives is no longer sufficient. It can be a deep, transformative journey of moving through profound turmoil to reach our next level of fulfillment.
When it comes to aligning with our next steps on our journey, sometimes a dark night of the soul can reveal the very blocks we are stumbling over; we literally find something in the dark, such as a limiting belief system. Such journeys can bring forth an expansion for which our souls yearn, as when the belief systems are crumbling, the next versions of ourselves are emerging. A dark night of the soul can be an empowering and transformative experience – including uncovering blocks to one’s soul’s purpose. It can be a time of self-discovery, gaining a deeper understanding of human selves, including strengths, passions, and desires, as well as our higher self and how these two dance together.
I believe these experiences are part of our soul’s journey, not separate from it. They are not something to overcome to return to our real lives, but they are essential and required parts of our paths. We are not necessarily off our path if we find ourselves lost or off course, as the blocks and limiting beliefs we encounter might be the very ones our soul chose to triumph over, making them an integral part of our journey. I find it super helpful to embrace such moments as an investigation of what imprints my soul wanted to overcome and what challenges I created for myself—seeing them as chosen imprints that are perfect for my growth and expansion rather than random obstacles has been more beneficial for me.
The Divinity of Mistakes
I believe making mistakes is not only human; I would say that making mistakes is divine. Not only are fumbling, floundering, and making errors part of life's adventures, but they are necessary for our soul’s growth and only made possible by our soul’s choice to be imprinted, condensed down, and incarnated. They are necessary moments in our life journey that benefit us greatly.
It can sometimes be challenging to look at our tiny mistakes or biggest blunders in a way that allows us to learn the most from them—without becoming hard on ourselves, allowing our self-esteem to plummet or our inner dialogue to turn south. When we manifest something in our lives that we don't prefer, it can be an opportunity to see more clearly a part of ourselves as well as a preference of how we want to show up. To do so, it can be a process of learning how to be with all aspects of the mistake, to have the courage to see the part of us and the beliefs that created it, to lean into it rather than away from it, to be super curious about it and even be fascinated by the experience.
Part of the beauty of living in duality is that a mistake can feel like the worst thing while being a great experience at the same time; it can be super painful and yet perfect for our growth, a pathway right into a core belief, a window to see part of our personality structure that is calling for an upgrade. Hurdles, dead ends, and ‘wrong’ paths all have wisdom for the refinement process—to cultivate the next versions of ourselves. When we ask our higher self why something happened or why we have been living with a particular belief system for years, we may receive the most intriguing answers along with a view of a part of our consciousness we were not aware of—discoveries that could only be seen and revealed by a so-called mistake.
Sometimes, the lessons from our mistakes become apparent only with time, offering a deeper understanding of ourselves in the future. Regardless, the experience is necessary, required, and valid. Much like a dark night of the soul, such moments or time periods are not unnecessary obstacle courses, interruptions, or deviations from our true paths but essential parts of our paths that are required for expansion. In fumbling and floundering, we open ourselves to a journey of recollection. These moments can loosen aspects of our personality and help us connect more tangibly with our souls. With each step forward—embracing every lesson and every experience—we gradually reclaim, reintegrate, recollect, and refine ourselves. As we do so, it can become increasingly apparent that it was our souls who set out on this path to begin with.
Lighting up our Souls through Joy
Sometimes, our souls can feel like an elusive, abstract aspect of ourselves. If we feel disconnected from our souls, it can be helpful to act on anything that has the slightest feeling of joy or excitement for us. Joy is a powerful and highly effective tool in helping us re-establish a connection to our souls.
Following our joy can help us connect with our souls and purpose because our natural state is joy. Following our joy connects us to our true essence, as they are one and the same. When we feel joy, passion, or excitement, that is our body's way of translating the frequencies of our souls. When we feel and contain the feeling of joy in our lives, we are connecting to our true selves.
If we feel nothing would bring us joy, making a list of things we enjoyed in the past, like dancing or baking, and seeing if they still have some spark in them today can be a place to begin. If they do, engaging in these activities, even for 5 minutes a day, can help us connect with our souls. Acting on our excitement and joy doesn’t need to be monumental. Acting on our joy can be done in small, everyday ways, such as hobbies or interests we lose track of time while doing. Even the smallest act is a helpful place to start, including mundane things like what to wear, what to eat, or what to do with our time. We can start small and allow it to grow from there.
If what brings us even an ounce of joy still eludes us, we can ask our souls what would excite us and allow the answer to come. Asking our souls and waiting for an answer to appear, as it may, is taking a step closer to connecting with our souls. If we feel resistance while stepping into joy, it might be helpful to identify and challenge limiting beliefs that prevent us from doing so. For example, we might unconsciously believe that it is not okay to be a full expression of ourselves because some people might not like that version of us and leave us.
Consistent moments of joy, even if they are small, can build momentum and lead to significant changes that allow us to feel more alive and fulfilled. We are lighting up our souls by engaging in activities that bring us joy. Following our joy can give us a renewed sense of passion, which, in turn, can lead to a sense of purpose and a more fulfilling existence. By connecting with what brings us joy, we embark on a journey of self-awareness, recognizing our soul through these passions.
The Physical Mind and the Higher Mind
Along with joy, another way to connect with our souls and their wisdom is to differentiate between our physical and higher minds. When growing up, many people, including myself, were taught to believe the mind is the command center; it is in charge, the go-to place for questions, answers, and guidance. Our minds are supposed to figure everything out for us. There was no mention of a higher mind connected to our souls to guide us through our lives.
Distinguishing between our physical minds and our higher minds can be very useful. Our higher minds can conceive information, while our physical minds can receive and perceive information. Understanding the distinction between our physical minds (perceivers) and our higher minds (conceivers) can help us allow each mind to function as it was designed to, as well as foster a connection between the two.
Our physical minds are not designed to figure everything out or understand how everything happens. They can perceive how things have happened, but it’s not their job to figure out how things will occur; that is the job of the higher mind. The physical mind is designed to receive, perceive, and process information but not be the origin of the conception of information. Our physical minds help us focus on our third-dimensional reality.
As humans, we are designed to function as a whole being, including both the physical and higher minds. Our physical minds can be inspired by our higher minds. In turn, our physical minds can set an intention and surrender it to our higher minds to figure out how the intention can be manifested. Our physical minds can perceive how our intentions are unfolding.
If we rely on our physical minds to figure out our life paths and how they will unfold, we can inadvertently exert tremendous effort because our minds are not built to do so. By not allowing guidance from our higher minds, we can get stuck in repetitive thought cycles. By doing so, we can not only exhaust ourselves but also live separately from an essential part of ourselves, our higher mind. We can start to feel very stuck in life when trying to operate only from the limited physical mind, as flow originates from our higher mind.
When we do not allow our higher selves to participate, we can overburden our physical minds, requesting that they do things they are not designed to do—like come up with new ideas and insights and figure out how to manifest them. That can significantly burden our physical minds and lead to burnout and funk. If we let this burnout go too far, it can be even harder to listen to and then act upon the wisdom and guidance of our higher selves; we will have exhausted ourselves to the point that even if we could grasp the knowing of our souls, we are too tired to act upon it.
Additionally, if we don’t listen to our higher selves, there is no reason for our higher selves to continue to send us guidance. This can enhance feelings of being lost and confused, shut off, and dragged down. However, we can rebuild the connection by acting on our joy and passions. Doing so can create a snowball effect that fosters a dialogue between our physical and higher minds, encouraging the flow of communication and support.
As mentioned above, taking even the most minor steps toward following our joy can help us get back into alignment. Following the smallest act that feels nourishing to us, like taking a walk or writing new jokes, can rebuild our connection to our higher selves and, in turn, foster wholeness and wellness. Even in the smallest acts, we allow our higher selves to take their place in our lives, to do the job it is meant to do in supporting us. In turn, we may feel lighter, freer, and more energized. Small acts of joy can grow exponentially and create movement in our lives.
Our higher mind has a much bigger perspective of our lives, yet it can be a process of learning how to lean on it, rely on it, and trust it, especially after decades of believing our physical minds must do it all. It can also be a process of following our guts or intuitive hits from our higher self if we want to know the reason behind intuition immediately. For example, if we get a sense that we should take a different road home, some of us like to know why. Is there traffic on the regular route? If I go another way, what are the pros and cons? The physical mind would love to know why and get all the details, even if it doesn’t need to know why. Sometimes we find out why, and sometimes we don’t.
Learning to trust the nudges, trust that our higher selves have our best interest, trust that they are not leading us astray, and trust that they are telling us the truth can be enhanced when we realize that our higher self is an aspect of us—it is not some foreign entity trying to take over our lives. It has our best interest because it is us. It can be a process for our physical minds to surrender and let go, yet knowing that we are surrendering to a part of ourselves that has our best interest can be helpful.
By connecting with this innate and integral aspect of ourselves, by allowing this higher part of us to come on board and participate in our everyday lives, we amplify an experience of wholeness. The more we allow guidance to flow and act on that guidance, the more our lives will align with our natural state of multidimensionality because the very act of allowing and acting upon guidance is the very behavior of a whole person, balancing the physical and the non-physical. From this space, we are better able to be passionate about our passion and be nourished and uplifted by our essence. The more we function from a place of wholeness, the more energized and freer we can feel. Our love of life increases when we allow loving life forces (our souls) to flow.
Prism versus Prison: Soul-utions
Our true selves explore life and expansion through our personalities that embody the theme chosen for this incarnation. When we view our existence from this perspective, it can enhance our abilities to shift and change. We are not all that solid, rigid, inflexible, and static. In our essence, we are fluid, dynamic, and malleable, as we are spirit. We are beautiful, brilliant, powerful, and limitless at our core. When we can connect to this identity, we can better amplify our capacity for transformation.
Our personalities are made up of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. All three are transformable because our souls are not in our bodies; our bodies are within our souls. Our personality structure, existing within our souls, can be transmuted by our souls. When our souls come through our personality, our personality structure acts as a prism. Our souls pass through the prism and disperse into the spectrum based on the prism's defined parameters of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. If we do not like the spectrum, we can adjust our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, creating a different spectrum. We are malleable; we can create the spectrum in which we wish to live! Our souls are not imprisoned by our physical reality; they can create the prisms of our personality structure.
Regardless of which challenges we have chosen for our incarnation, our souls have solutions (soul-utions). Our souls don’t get imprinted with challenges just for our human selves to figure it all out. Our souls don’t abandon our human self, nor could they because they are interconnected. Our souls are both willing to experience the chosen theme and provide the path to overcoming challenges. The solution is often our essence itself. The key is moving our consciousness between our physical mind and our higher mind, achieving a unique balance and connection between them. This way, our personality structure is better able to find solutions with the help of our souls.
There are practical, everyday suggestions for overcoming challenges or cultivating the next versions of ourselves that our human selves can follow, such as a self-reflection to reassess goals, values, priorities, life choices, career paths, and relationships. Including our soul’s perspective in this reassessment, rather than relying solely on our minds, can provide a broader view. Our minds can be limited in their perspective. This approach honors our old path and helps us understand why we walked it, what lessons we learned, and how to move forward.
The realm of the soul is much bigger than the realm of the personality. Incorporating our soul’s wisdom into any activity, such as creating a new vision for our lives, may be very helpful. This allows our human selves to be inspired by our higher selves, as well as be guided in prioritizing activities and commitments that align with the new vision. If our human selves feel intimated by the new vision or feel it is impossible, our higher selves can also help us overcome this. Aligning with our soul is a continuous process of growth, reflection, and action. By staying true to ourselves, we can create a life rich in meaning, joy, and connection.
In the journey of life, we are constantly presented with opportunities for growth, healing, and self-discovery. By embracing the lessons that come through our challenges, recognizing the divinity in our imperfections, and staying connected to our higher minds, we open the door to a more authentic and fulfilling existence. The path to integration and wholeness is not always easy, but it is through navigating these complexities that we truly come to know ourselves and our place in the universe.
*Credit: Over the years, I've drawn insight from various channels and teachers, including Paul Selig, Lee Harris, Darryl Anka, Wendy Kennedy, and Joe Dispenza. I am profoundly thankful for the wisdom they’ve shared. Some of the concepts mentioned here are inspired by the teachings I've encountered through these extraordinary individuals.