A: As I see it, the soul is the seed of individuality. "Above" the soul, there are only the Qualities; "below" the soul there is the heart, mind and body. In the language of cooking, the Qualities are the ingredients, the soul is the recipe, the body is the cake. In the language of botany, the Qualities are the minerals and elements, the soul is the seed, the body is the plant. The soul is revealed in the body, but the body is also affected by the environment, by the mind and by the heart. An acorn has the blueprint of an oak tree, but if conditions are not ideal, it develops into a bush instead.

Each soul is a unique individuality, an unduplicated combination of the resources and qualities of the universe. The soul defines an individual, so it holds that essential formula that describes how one person is fundamentally different from all others. Every step that the soul takes toward life and through life differentiates it further as it builds a unique memory of events, incorporates a unique stream of nutrients into its body, has a unique set of relationships, etc.

Yet, throughout all this accumulation of experience, a person's soul remains relatively unchanged. In the body, enormous growth occurs as cells divide throughout one's life, but the DNA inside each cell is virtually constant. The DNA is the "soul" of the cell. The DNA can change when the body becomes adapted to some new condition. Likewise, the soul can change slightly over time. Nothing about the universe is static.

So the faculty that is the closest to the soul is the heart, and the heart knows the purpose of the soul best. The heart is imprinted with an impression of the soul's purpose and it becomes the deep wish of the heart. The heart, when open, has the power of attraction, to attract to itself all that it needs to fulfill this wish. And the heart guides one's path through life, revealing to the mind the steps that lead to wish-fulfillment.

The soul has a purpose, that purpose for which it was individuated from the whole. The purpose of the soul's creation is what causes the soul to be created. The heart has a wish, to fulfil the soul's purpose. With concentration on the heart, we become aware of its wish. This reveals the purpose of the soul, which can be felt as an inevitability, a destiny, which is different from a wish.

But the purpose is not always fulfilled in life, like not every acorn becomes a tall oak tree. To be fulfilled, our conscious involvement is necessary. Even though it is our destiny, it requires our participation. And that requires our awareness of our purpose. The first experience of it we have is our wish. Even that much awareness is rare, because relatively few people have felt the wish of their heart.

This is the promise and the importance of Heart Rhythm Practice -- it makes us aware of the wish of our heart, the clue to the purpose of our life.