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[JDPriestly]

3. I think we are individual parts of a whole.

So we exist both as individuals in that we have a sense of separation from the whole, but we are part of the whole.

But then I would call that whole God and I would call the part of me that knows that I am part of the whole (which most of the time I'm not really very conscious of) my soul.

A lot of this is semantics, the meanings that we attach to the words that describe our experience, our beliefs and, of course, the reality. As for reality, we know part of reality but not all of it.

Those are my beliefs.

I was raised in a very religious (in the good, liberal sense) family. I became convinced of the theory I describe above not just through my spiritual practice but also through gardening. The interdependence of living things in my garden has amazed me. Even the pesky squirrels and the nasty raccoons are a part of the whole. That is what I observe in my garden.