Whether books, baseball cards or baby dolls, they reflect the soul’s agenda…

We come here for a reason. Once here, the soul guides us, in part, by the way’s we’re compelled to feed it. Specifically, we activate the endowments (gifts) we were born with, those that drive our interest and motivation to grow and contribute, by ingesting and digesting the information, sounds, images and experience of others. Their stories, beliefs, insights and inspiration help us grow, find our place in the world and eventually realize the truth of our divinity.

At 84, relaxing in my bedroom recliner after climbing fourteen steps, I reflected on the prospect of an eventual move to a one-floor plan situation. Observing my four tall bookcases, would I take all those books? Like never before, I suddenly saw them as constituting a “library” of consciousness, the intelligence and inspired expression of other people that fed my soul. I wouldn’t read most of them again, yet their presence was a definite comfort. Scanning the shelves, I noted that my primary and ongoing “fields” of interest were spirituality, theology, comparative religion, art, aesthetics, philosophy, anthropology, cosmology, physics, metaphysics, systems science, ecology, future studies and biology.

Wondering how those subjects fit together and what they were/are trying to teach me; I realized that their appeal and significance was less about the acquisition of knowledge or lessons to be learned and far more an appreciation and love of all that is—as it is. I would therefore characterize this urge to gather intelligence, insight and wisdom as an effort to improve my attempts at creative expression. Love cannot, and should not, be contained. Artist Alex Grey masterfully articulates this in his book, The Misson of Art.

The Psychology of Collecting

Research from the University of Arizona found that the core driver of collecting is the desire for control and structure. It provides predictability in a world that often feels chaotic, and it reinforces a sense of order and mastery, yielding comfort from small, organized items that can be managed. In Collecting in a Consumer Society, psychologist Russell Belk suggests that what we collect symbolically communicates who we are. For instance, a book collection “can signal intellectual curiosity or cultural identity.” He notes that, as sort of a silent autobiography, other people can “read” our collections if they care to look. And physically, collecting certain items, particularly those that are rare or otherwise highly valued, can trigger dopamine, the neurochemical of anticipation and satisfaction. The “hunt” itself can be as gratifying as the possession.

Collection are also social phenomena, indications of expertise, status, taste or cultural capital, like bird-watchers who boast about their sightings. Typically, collectors form communities, like clubs, forums and conventions where shared interests strengthen group identity and belonging. Collecting can provide an extension and enhancement of memories. Objects like cars, antiques, food recipes and music can serve as tangible links to meaningful memories. And photo albums, playlists and memorabilia cabinets can bring emotional comfort and support to a life story that bridges past and present.

Importantly, psychologists make a distinction between “collecting,” the purposeful acquisition of objects that give pleasure in organizing, displaying and trading, and “hoarding,” which is compulsive accumulation that lacks purpose and creates extreme clutter. Where collecting is connected to enjoyment and identity, hoarding involves distress and loss of control.

While I appreciate these well-tested perspectives, their reference is limited to the phenomenon of body and mind. Certainly, they apply to me in differing degrees depending on interest levels that vary with time, but they overlook the soul which I consider the foundation of human experience. From this perspective, before we’re born the soul—in concert with other souls within our “family” of souls—makes a generalized “plan” for the coming incarnation, creating guidelines that will “urge” specific experiences, relationships and venues designed to help awaken the soul’s limited self (a consequence of being embodied) to the reality of its True Self, the higher and eternal aspect that is and has always been fully realized, one with the One—God.

How, when and what we collect is a function of the soul. Beneath the surface, it uses acquisition, the basis of collecting, to provide both direction and acts that are designed to fulfill an aspect of its pre-birth agenda. In addition to photographs and books, for most of my life I’ve collects ideas in the form of quotes and databases on physics, systems science, anthropology, spirituality and televisions higher potentials.

To illustrate how passionate collecting can become, from 1967 until about 1975 I spent hours feeding hundreds of dollars’ worth of dimes into a machine in the basement of a university library to copy pages in books and journals on the ancient Maya civilization that were “on reserve.” Decades past, wondering about the nature of my passion for the subject (which continues to this day with some modification), but because the information continued to feed my soul the collection of information and images grew. Eventually, through a variety of experiences, I came to understand that an aesthetic capacity acquired in that primitive setting needed further development and expression in this one. In a meditation the explanation became clear—to begin to see God in all things and all people.

What have you been collecting? Music? Memorabilia? Images? Books? Toys? Ideas? Whatever, they’re feeding your soul, and for a good and necessary reason. In a meditation, talk to your soul, ask what it is.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring the thought leaders and events of the 1980s.