Body, Mind, Soul

There are those three agents to human life, most people would agree, the body, the mind, and the soul. It is quite obvious to us that we have a body and we know to a great detail how that body comes into being and how it ceases to exist. Then it is most of the time obvious that we have a mind -- have a mind is perhaps a misnomer, as some would argue that we are the mind. It is not that clear how our mind comes into being or how and when it ceases to exist, but we mostly associate our mind with our physical body one way or another.

Then there is this thing some call soul, some call spirit. When and how it becomes a part of who we are and when and how it stops being a part of who we are is subject to great dispute, most specifically the dispute between the so called "pro-lifers" and the so called "pro-choicers." All contend that our soul "enters" our mind-body at some point between conception and shortly after birth. Just when exactly that is is hotly disputed. I happened to have a completely different idea but that is not what I want to discuss.

I wish that those who claim that the soul somehow enters us at some point would be more specific about it, more detailed. For example, if the soul enters at the point of conception, exactly when does it do that? Conception is considered to be, according the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "the process of union of two gametes whereby the somatic chromosome number is restored and the development of a new individual is initiated."So, it is a process, and that takes some time. So then when does the soul enter? at the beginning of that process, at the end, or at some point in between? Probably at the end, no?

Another curious detail is that for the soul to enter it must already exist. Does it then exist without the body being ready yet for it to enter? Is it in some sort of preparation stage? Does it already "know" where and when it will enter? even before the soul-recipient is on the horizon? You see, there are all sorts of interesting details to think about in this context, unless, of course, you have a totally different idea about this body-mind-soul thing.