the soul dogster

dear friends,

this was a very cataclysmic emotional week for me and for my family. It's crazy how quickly my Soul went from being on top of the Summit down to the Depths.

I must warn you — if you cannot [bear] strong raw emotions, please be weary of reading this week's live life letter. Although this whole journey has been a rollercoaster of emotions :P

A piece of my Soul left me on January 25th, 2025. My Soul Companion, Tucker, moved on into the next state, the Spiritual State. 10 years of Love and Compassion on this Earth. A Dog's Love is one of the purest things one can feel in their Soul.

They possess the purest Eyes of Compassion of any Creature. He saved my Soul.

It was painful turmoil to see Death loom over such a Pure Soul through his last breathes. A Soul Tie was cut in our Physical World.

I dedicate this letter to you, my Dearest Friend.

love your friend(ly),

jakester

Immersive Music Choice

the story towards the summit [001, 009]

You kept me on track.

You helped me find my mission.

You guided me when I was lost.

~

Through my anxiety.

Through my depression.

Through my darkest moments.

~

You were there.

You were not just a Dog.

You were my Companion.

A Guide to my Own Heart and Soul.

That brought me back to Reality.

~

You helped me stay on track.

To not get derailed from my destiny.

~

I was 5 days short of accomplishing what I envisioned for us.

To journey the country together in our van.

To see nature together one last time.

To see the beautiful landscapes.

~

Fate always seems to have different plans from Our Own.

Death waits for no one.

~

It was all so sudden.

Why?

~

The clock expired sooner than I thought. I thought I had more time with you, my friend. Life and Death are such troubled jesters — the timing is never good.

As I climbed towards the Summit, I hoped you would follow. I dreamt of being together on this Summit. If I had known it would have costed you, I would have never chosen this path.

But again, you wouldn’t have let that slide. You wouldn’t want me to believe this; that this was necessary to get to where I am at and to where I plan to go. You would’ve pushed me to keep moving forward, regardless of your own well-being.

It’s hard for me to find solace because you feel so far away from me now. The timing of it all seems to be way to synchronous — of some corny tragedy.

I hate it.

How could I have been so greedy to think that I could have it all this year?

It was a Year Full of Prosperity and Growth that almost felt too perfect — The Year of the Dragon.

Everything felt like it was all coming together — then Tucker departs. It's as if he knew this was part of the Act.

It doesn’t feel real.

But it is.

Death is real; don’t take Life for granted, my friends.

The Preface to the Soul Frontier

Throughout these live life letters, I have offered you glimpses into my Own Soul. I hope it's been a fulfilling journey for you as it has been for me.

I really appreciate to all those who have engaged with the writing, who consistently are curious to what I have to say each week. To those that read while taking a dump — y'all real for that :P

For the 10th edition, I have asked some fateful friends of the live life letters to help describe what a Soul is.

I asked them two simply complex questions.

1. How do you depict a soul?

2. How do you depict your soul?

Given the circumstances this week, the topic seems to be oddly relevant. What are we besides our physical bodies?

If you are reading this, I’d love to have more answers to this mystery.

Jeremy Martin

How do you depict a soul?

There’s a seemingly simple answer and a much more complicated answer. The former is that you can’t. The second is that you still can’t, but you can try. Most people have heard of some way to split up a human in three ways: physical, mental, spiritual.

Most people would agree that the soul is a part of the spiritual component. To me, if I were to try and depict and define the soul, it can simply be reduced down to a feeling. Shapeless and formless, yet can be given shape and form.

A persons soul is depicted when all of their titles, assumptions, thoughts, and appearance is stripped away, leaving them bare and pure. It’s what you see when you look at your reflection in a lake, then close your eyes and look even harder. The more in touch a person is with their soul, the clearer that reflection becomes I think. Or it’s a cute little blob person like how Pixar depicted it.

How do you depict your soul?

If I were to go with my own way, I would try to depict my soul with a range of feelings. Just slightly different than emotions, it feels a bit difficult to put exact words into it. I’m also not sure if it’s ever-changing from one thing to the other, or if it’s an amalgamation of everything I’ve ever felt.

But it’s boring to just say it’s too complicated, so after some hard brainstorming I think I’m satisfied with giving it the visual metaphor of an atom. The core of who I am, in any situation or life state, is the nucleus. The things that push and pull at that core, the fringes of my soul, are the electrons.

Even with that metaphor though, I think it’s pretty difficult to describe what the nucleus and electrons are made of. I find it much easier to convey those feelings with music, so I’d say my nucleus is like the song I. Flight of the Navigator by Childish Gambino and the electrons are like the song 90’s Green Screen by Jean Dawson.

In reality it’s much more than that, but I don’t want to ramble on too long XD

…

Will "Guntha" Butler

I believe the soul is the non-material essence of a person. While it encompasses much of the mind, it goes beyond active thoughts and recent memories. To me, the soul leans more toward unconscious thoughts, instincts, values, tendencies, dispositions, and (non-biological) desires. These deep, character-defining aspects often surpass free will and shape an identity beyond how one perceives themselves in their lifetime.

Describing the soul is inherently limited by language, which is part of what makes it so profound—it resists complete understanding. I don’t believe the soul is created at birth, but I also don’t fully embrace reincarnation. The truth feels more intricate. 

Since the soul exists primarily as an abstract concept, it operates beyond the three dimensions of space, but going a step further, I’d say it exists independent of time as well.

The soul is connected to ancestry. People like to say we are products of our parents, and whether through similarity or opposition, I believe this is more or less true. Even absent parents influence us through the roots they planted. 

But why stop at our parents? They are products of their ancestors, as we are of ours. In this sense, a part of even the most ancient ancestors lives within us, shaping our souls.

However, I don’t see a soul as a mere collection of ancestral fragments. I believe it has always existed and always will. While one’s soul might feel most tangible in the present, as one lives, I think it will continue to grow and influence others even after death. 

A soul needs an observer, and when future generations reflect, they will indirectly shape the souls of those who shaped their own.

I like to think of my soul as a massive, ancient oak tree. 

The roots, though hidden, are vital—they represent my ancestors and the influences that ground me.

As I am living today, I am the trunk of this tree, the largest, sturdiest, most tangible section.

I am created and grounded by the roots, but am also connected to the branches representing the infinite directions my soul takes, through impacts I’ve had or will have. These branches grow forever, though smaller over time. And as they grow, so do the trunk and roots. As long as one part is growing, so will all parts of the tree (as long as its not in California).

… …

Interlude between Worlds

The days leading up to Tucker's Death, I kept seeing visions of him walking through the dead of night.

As he walked, snow slowly fell from the night sky. He walked away from me, his back facing me. Each step closer to the Void, towards the Darkness, towards Uncertainty.

Was Tucker's Soul alone?

This image continued to haunt me day in and day out. I hated seeing my shaggy friend alone in the darkness. Alone in the snow. Although, I know he always loved the snow. How could I leave him alone?

His Soul alone?

PhigJee

This is one of those questions that makes you wonder how you can even start to answer them. I was born into a religious tradition that claims that everything in the universe has a soul, including animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like stones.

When I was younger, I dismissed a lot of this as voodoo nonsense, priding myself on being a man of science while flippantly dismissing religion as an intergenerational coping mechanism for mortality.

Looking back, this was probably fueled by puberty hormones, emotional dysregulation, and a desire to be “different”, like these views weren’t held by every mouth-breathing Reddit nerd in existence. But like many others, the older I get, the less I’m able to shake this feeling that there must be something more out there.

Maybe it’s because I’ve done too many psychedelics, but my interpretation of soul ties deeply into the idea of elevated consciousness, where each soul on this earth starts out being tied to ego, and its ultimate purpose is to understand that we are all the same and that separation is an illusion. I hold these views close to my heart, and though I still have a lot of work to do, they help me practice more patience and understanding, reminding me that people are just products of their circumstances. Like with anyone else, every single thing that’s happened to me thus far has melded together in infinitesimally specific ways to make me who I am.

These thoughts make me feel like a passenger in the journey of life, looking out the airplane window to enjoy the beautiful views. Sometimes the weather is a bit stormy, and you can’t really see much. But even the clouds and the lightning and rain are a grand sight. I know I’m not going to be on this plane forever and that I’ll soon land at my destination, along with every other plane that ever flew. So if I can help it, I’d rather not spend my time wondering whether my flight route is the best one, or whether I’d rather be flying over the Sahara or Appalachian instead.

Inevitably, that happens sometimes, but it’s never long before I’m distracted again by the beautiful views.

… … …

Renzo Almelor

I think a soul can be depicted as a sphere with your body at its center. While I’m hesitant to define something as amorphous as a soul, a sphere feels like the most natural metaphor. The “size” of your soul, however, isn’t fixed. I think it can expand or contract depending on your life stage or circumstances.

I was taught that your soul inhabits every part of your body equally but doesn’t extend outward. I’m not so sure about that. I believe a soul extends beyond the body, which might explain why some people seem to have a larger presence or why you can sense someone watching you from behind.

Another way I think about the soul is that it’s not what or who you are—it’s your life energy. That energy is not static. People, I believe, can pour parts of their soul into their work, whether it’s writing, art, or anything they care deeply about. In the same way, I think parts of your soul can become enmeshed with the people closest to you, creating connections that feel almost like “soul ties.” (I’m not entirely familiar with that concept, but it seems fitting here.)

As for my own soul, I imagine it larger than my body, extending outward in uneven waves. It’s not a perfect sphere—I don’t think it could be because I have a turbulent personality. My soul feels warm, like something slightly hotter than room temperature—comfortable, but with enough heat to remind you it’s alive and dynamic.

That warmth might come from my tendency to care deeply or put energy into the things and people I love. It’s a sort of heat that lingers, leaving traces in what I create or in the connections I’ve built with others. My soul, as I see it, is imperfect, messy, and constantly shifting, but it’s full of life.

… … … …

The End of a Story

The Gates opened. Tucker was ready. He passed into the next world. The flood gates rushed through me, my sisters, my parents and those of witness.

I couldn't help but feel the imminent void rush through my Soul. How could I ever repay him for what he has done for me?

As Life began to fade out of his Eyes, a sudden image came to my Mind's Eye. The image of Tucker walking through the dark, snowy night returned. But this time, a Light shined in the Horizon. Was this Heaven?

The night sky began to fuze into daylight. A full blue sky appeared in front of me. I began to see familiar faces of those that have moved onto the next spiritual state. Take care of him, Grandpa Roger.

The nightmare shifted into a dream and the Soul beamed. There Tucker was on the Summit of all Summits. A Soulful Moment.

On the Frontier, there is Danger and Loss. Sadness and Frustration. But you must see the silver lining. For Dreams are on the Frontier, the Frontier of Our Souls; where Excitement and Joy reside. The tension between the Absurd and Mundane. Of Meaning and Meaninglessness — we climb.