What is the Soul?

Other people's souls are not in them. They are in you.

Cut open anyone you like. You will not find the soul. But this doesn't mean it's not there.

That's because the soul of another person is not in them, but in you.

Souls are beliefs.

Saying someone has a soul is like saying, "yes, he's like me on the inside." This is why, when we imagine trees or animals (like cute piglets) having souls, we immediately feel sympathy for them, because we believe that they perceive as we perceive. They feel as we feel. 

This is also why it's comforting to think that people who commit terrible crimes are soulless. By believing they do not have souls, we can say, "no, he's not like me on the inside," and, conversely, "I'm not like him on the inside."

Giving a soul is an act of creation.

When we are willing to say, "yes, he's like me on the inside," we actually create a living, sentient human being out of what would otherwise be an automaton. 

We are all gods with the uncanny ability to create and destroy people at will.

Hatred is an act of spiritual destruction.

In hating someone, a person says, "no, you are not like me."

And, in hating, that person destroys his neighbor.

In hating, a person becomes alone.

Related: Trying to Explain What I Think