Why the Soul?
The question of the ‘Soul’ is controversial because of its far-reaching consequences. The implications that the way we live this life impacts what comes after death are incalculable.
Throughout history the existence of the Soul has been affirmed by some and denied by others - with the evidence equally rejected or validated by each side.
Affirmation that we are born with an ‘immortal’ Soul contradicts the imperative for a life based on moral discipline to develop it. For why make such efforts to obtain a Soul if you already have one?
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Denial of the Soul, or its immortality, undermines the value of any human activity that strives to go beyond fulfilling its basic survival instincts. For why undertake such activity if there is no need to do so?
If the Soul and its immortality does exist, its verification must be sought within the ‘inner world’ - that is, those perceptual dimensions accessible only by our own consciousness. This is because the ‘outer world’ - that is, those perceptual dimensions potentially accessible to every consciousness - is verifiably perishable.
If the world obeys natural laws, then the Soul must also. In this context, we are neither born with a Soul nor denied its possibility.
The unrealized destiny of every human life to grow beyond itself must only be matched by the hazard of finding its place in a reality immeasurably different to the one it can know by the senses alone. If this reasoning is accepted, then the true purpose of human life is revealed. For what human endeavour could be more important than the endeavour of being fully human?
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About the Author
I was raised within a Christian family in rural southern Australia, with part of my childhood spent on an outback cattle station among Indigenous communities in the north. These early encounters with land, story, and embodied tradition formed the groundwork of my spiritual sensibility.
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My academic training includes postgraduate research and publications in applied human physiology, biophysics, and physical education. Parallel study in philosophy, theology, and the arts eventually led me to Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way—a system integrating anthropology, psychology, cosmology, and disciplined inner work. Since 2000, I have practised the Work with traditional groups and individuals across Australia and abroad.
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This long engagement with the Fourth Way, together with exposure to wider spiritual traditions, renewed my Christian roots. It clarified a vision of Christ and the ancient ecclesia that aligns with the Fourth Way’s esoteric Christianity and its call to conscious transformation.
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I am an Ordained Minister through the National Association of Christian Ministers (USA). I am committed to developing, promoting and teaching integrative, Christian spirituality—one that unites the original teachings of Jesus Christ with practical inner work for the transformation of Being.
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I claim no special knowledge beyond what patient effort and sincere practice can yield. Whatever I have received through years of searching and grace is offered here for the benefit of others. This blog is one expression of that vocation.
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I welcome correspondence from seekers devoted not merely to discussion but to the real, embodied labour of spiritual transformation.
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Grace and peace,
Luke Behncke​