What is a spirit?

This could be rephrased to ask: what is a soul? Souls are by nature spirits. What does that mean? To answer that question one has to understand what a spirit is. A spirit is a supernatural being. It exists outside of the spacetime continuum, so it's similar to God, but since it has a beginning and is not all-powerful, it's not God. Does that mean that spirits and God exist in the same realm? The answer is they don't have to. God could exist on a much higher realm than souls.

The following are the logical characteristics of souls or spirits:

They are incorruptible. The reason for this is that they are not in a spacetime continuum and as such are not subjected to the ravages of entropy.

They exist forever. Since a spirit exists in a realm with no time, it will simply exist with no possible ending.

They perceive things in a pure manner. This means that understanding and perception are not influenced by time and space restraints. In other words, spirits are free to roam whatever realm, or realms, they exist in, and their perception of things will be unlimited. consciousness will be opened and unlimited.

They are not subject to evil. I'm assuming that the spirit is not in Hell. Since a spirit has no body it is not subject to the lusts of the flesh, so to speak. This means that it is free of the reasons that we humans sin. If at the time of resurrection it obtains a body, this new body will be free of corruption and thus the soul will exist in a perfect state. A resurrected body cannot be the same body that we have now. It must be in an incorruptible form. It could in fact be a form of energy in human form or it could simply be a body constructed from matter that's not subject to entropy. This would suggest that the afterlife is in a new universe, a universe that might appear to be similar to what we see now.

They are not restrained by space or time. This means that a spirit can be anywhere or everywhere. There are no possible restraints to where it could go, assuming that there are places to go. It's difficult to conceive of this state of existence, but a spirit would be a pure state of existence unfettered by the laws of physics, at least physics that we are aware of.

They are not made of matter like we are. What this means is that spirits are made from a form of matter that we have no knowledge of. It may not even be matter. It could be a form of energy, but it would be a pure form and not subject to the laws of physics. Religion calls this supernatural, which simply means that it's not natural. Thus, a spirit could pass through anything made of matter like walls, which means that they could go anywhere without restraint.

They do not necessarily have a human form. A soul or spirit could assume any form it wishes, including a human form. This could be why ghosts appear that way. A ghost is a spirit that interacts or appears in the natural realm that we exist in. This ability could be the result of the fact that a sprit is some form of energy and this energy is capable of influencing quantum fields. In other words, a spirit could possibly affect the material world. This could be why ghosts can haunt; although, the afterlife may not involve a material world.

Oh, and by the way, the reason that ghosts have been portrayed as wearing sheets is because before movies and special effects, that was the only way for an actor to portray a ghost.

Spirits can interact with bodies. Again, this could be a function of the fact that a spirit could be a transcendental form of energy. It also could explain how our souls interact or are associated with our bodies while we are alive and how spirit possession works.

All of this suggests that souls or spirits are a form of energy that bridges the natural and the supernatural realms. It's possible that souls were created at the time of creation and that they are by nature incapable of ceasing to exist. When God created everything, He created angels first and then us. Angels are in a higher realm of supernatural existence than we are, but they may be subject to the same supernatural laws that we are or will be.

God is a supernatural spirit that encompasses and transcends all creation. He is possibly a pure form of energy that is both intelligent and unassailable. His reaction with our spirits could be the purist form of love, which could be a transcendent form of energy. Maybe this is a spiritual notion of heaven, a pure interaction of our spirits with God's.

I must admit that this explanation of how spirits work is the mental exercise of a scientist that believes in such things. As I see it, supernatural things are simply working according to laws that we don't understand. However, since souls are something we truly are, they have to function according to a logical set of laws.

Thanks for reading.