Soul and spirit are different from one another can you tell me how?

Answer 1

I know the differnce between the two.
However I am not sure which one should I call soul and which one spirit. This is due to the fact that different scholars have referred to "soul" and "spirit" with differnt interpretations.
I have explained this towards the end of my answer.

Every living human body has a soul dwelling within it.
This is due to which living beings get life and are alive.

In addition to human being's physical body there are two subtler bodies to which a mortal is bound to.

1. Subtle body - some dreams (not all since few may be simply imaginations) are happenings in the subtle world with subtle body.
For developed souls and persons sometimes called "Yogi" in India, these subtle bodies can move about freely while they are awake and meditating.
Thus Yogis have power of calirvoyance, power to know secrets at will etc. However Yogis are refined souls and they do not misuse this power. Exceptionally if a Yogi misuses his powers and achievements then his super natural powers diminish and vanish without a trace !
This is for those who have developed spiritually and refined their physical, subtle and causal bodies, intellect and the "soul".

For everyone though, at the time of death the "soul" goest to the other world in this subtle body. Good people get to go to heavens. Even better people go to better or higher heavens !
Now, a good soul will go to a heaven inside his subtle body. And in that heaven everything happens at the subtle level so no need of physical body. Usually this subtle body is called "spirit".

Apart from this at even subtler level the human being is bounded to causal body. Phylosophically the Causal body is also a body like a physical or a subtle body and hence a cause for bonding. Causal body and causal world are the happenings at the most subtle levels and in the highest heavens. Still in those heavens the souls are bound to Causal bodies and are not "liberated" souls.
Only souls who have progressed very much spiritually and thus refined themselves get to go to the heavens corresponding to causal bodies. The being there are very subtle and are very "powerful". They even have authorities to influence our destinies. Souls dwelling only in causal bodies in the causal world heavens do not have a need of subtle or physical bodies to take care of their usual affairs !

Soul is still subtler.
It is the life, the cause of life, the cause of consciousness, counsciousness itself.

So Soul dwells within causal body.

For mortals, soul dwells within the physical body and is also bound to it.
Soul of a mortal is also bound to subtle body ("spirit") and causal body.

Some people refer to the same things with the meaning of "soul" and "spirit" interchanged.

They call "soul" what I have described as "spirit" and "spirit" what I have expalined as "soul".

Answer 2

This is a deep question and I do believe they are indeed different. Again I could use a Celtic analogy, but first I`ll give my answer. The spirit is that which connects the etheric soul to the human vessel, if that makes any sense. Those that experience out of body experiences describe being tethered to the body by a silvery stream of light or chord. In those that claim astral traveling don`t seem to have this experience.
So the Celtic story as it goes, as well as faery, the spirit world there is also tir na nog (the land of eternal youth/forever young) and once we learn perfection our soul will transcend to tir na nog and take our place among all that shall always be. I think we can see examples of this within the new testament when Christ appeared to several people but they could not recognise him because he was not connected to the earthly vessel.

Answer 3

The Spirit is the eternal Identity
it exists before and after life
The soul is the consciousness of self created by living a life with a body containing a brain to bring forth mind - it does not survive past death for very long

Answer 4

Answers to this question vary, sometimes widely. Among the the best answers is the one from Hindu (yogic) mysticism. It is a complex topic.

Roughly, and to be overly brief, soul consists of spirit, will, and the upper levels of mind. Your soul and my soul are not the same. Spirit is pure, universal energy. My share of it and your share of it are identical. Spirit is analogous to the electrical grid you are connected with in your home. Soul is analogous with your connection to it, plus the power in your house, plus a few of the most important home functions that use it.

When we start talking about qualities that are not ethical, we're not talking about soul qualities. Our purest desires are rooted in soul.

Spirit does not change. It is the only part of soul that is totally changeless, or inactive. Everything that is not spirit, is an active expression of it, however accurately.

Answer 5

Soul is our personal ethereal part, what we are as aspiring being, our intentions.
Spirit is given, in best case as holy (catholic express it as part of the Holy Trinity), the more we are able to catch it the more it comes close and comes into our souls.

So difference is soul though being a not-material energy can turn to (say it simple) God or to devil. And turning to devil means that Spirit will not come to the soul, we understand that as "the lost sheep".

It is the soul that has to search for Spirit.

Answer 6

The soul is the being the spirit is the personality.

Answer 7

The soul is that particular intangible thing within a person where emotions and feelings reside. It's the 'home' and the very 'essence' of one's being.
The spirit is what lifts a person to higher grounds, or pull him underground. It's the mechanism that enables one to do or undo things.
The spirit is the energy and power within the powerhouse called soul.

Answer 8

I have had soul defined to me this way: it is mind, will and emotion...or if you play with the first letters, mew. Mind, emotion and will. Spirit is an eternal thing, something that is an essence of life in all living things...just spirit, always.

That's how the two are different.

Answer 9

In terms of the Platonic tradition, "spirit" is often used for a specific part of the soul. Each soul has three parts. In decreasing order of dignity they're known as: mind, spirit, and appetite. In classist/political terms, Plato thought that only a philosopher is ruled by his mind, whereas a warrior is ruled by his spirit, a tradesman by his appetites.

Answer 10

“spirit” refers in user-friendly terms to the immaterial part of humanity. human beings have a spirit, yet are we no longer spirits. believers are stated to be spiritually alive (a million Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 4:12; James 2:26), on a similar time as unbelievers are spiritually lifeless (Ephesians 2:a million-5; Colossians 2:13). In Paul's writing, the religious substitute into pivotal to the existence of the believer (a million Corinthians 2:14; 3:a million; Ephesians a million:3; 5:19; Colossians a million:9; 3:sixteen). the spirit provides us the means to have an intimate relationship with God. each time the notice “spirit” is used, it refers back to the immaterial portion of humanity that “connects” with God, who Himself is spirit (John 4:24). unlike human beings having a spirit, human beings ARE souls. In its maximum effortless experience, the notice “soul” skill “existence.” Humanity is obviously evil, and our souls are tainted as a effect. The existence concept of the soul is bumped off on the time of exact dying (Genesis 35:18; Jeremiah 15:2). The soul, as with the spirit, is the middle of many religious and emotional stories (activity 30:25; Psalm 40 3:5; Jeremiah 13:17). each time the notice “soul” is used, it may confer with the full man or woman, whether alive or interior the afterlife. The soul and the spirit are linked, yet separable (Hebrews 4:12). The soul is the essence of humanity’s being; that's who we are. The spirit is the component of humanity that connects with God. (Born returned,Bible believer)