When I think of the soul, I envision a bright, burning light amid darkness, capable of leading you on your way. At times, it can shine from you onto others without a single word exchanged. It is where your deepest desires are kept, along with the emotions you try to bury. The faint mantra that repeats in your mind is the heartbeat of your soul. You must be still, quiet, and open enough to receive it—but once you do, it will change you forever.
One of the ways I feel connected to my soul is through floating, also known as sensory deprivation. Herman Melville, in his novel Moby-Dick, describes Ishmael deciding to go to sea when he "begins to grow hazy about the eyes" (18). The same applies to me; I go to the water—but float within it—to gain clarity and sustain my sanity.
Floating in a pod is like being in the Dead Sea, but in a spa setting rather than in the vast, open ocean. Once you enter your private room, there is a shower and a pod or a small cabin, like a personal pool or tub. It contains about a thousand pounds of Epsom salt, allowing the body to float effortlessly, supine. The last time you floated so effortlessly was in your mother’s womb. From birth, you’ve been exposed to constant stimuli—always turned on. In the float tank, you are cut off from sound, light, and gravity, isolated from all sensory input.
Most float sessions last one to two hours. The benefits include relaxation, pain relief, meditation, improved sleep, heightened introspection, and enhanced creativity. You may lose track of time, experience hallucinations, or become acutely aware of your body. When the session ends and you step out, you feel completely recharged—relaxed in both body and mind. Reentering the real world feels risky at times; there have been many moments when I wished I could crawl back inside.
Like peeling away the layers of an onion, you must strip away distractions to connect with your soul: social conditioning, constant digital connection, instant gratification, and expectations of who you should be. When you step into the float tank, all that slips away. Sven Birkerts, in his essay "Emerson’s ‘The Poet’—a Circling," suggests that having "complete openness to experience" benefits the soul. Naked in body and mind, total darkness surrounds you in the tank. There is nowhere to hide from your thoughts. Instead, you confront your deepest desires, examine who you truly are, and envision who you want to become. As Ishmael says, "[M]editation and water are wedded forever" (Melville 19). Floating is a form of forced meditation. At the core of my soul, I find love—for myself and everything in the universe.
These escapes from everyday life and consciousness allow me to see how all living things are interconnected. Nothing stays the same, and it's essential to evolve into who you aspire to be, guided by the soul’s light of self-awareness. It’s priceless to distinguish who you are from who you pretend to be. In a world that’s always on, disconnecting is essential. Turn off the never-ending voice in your head, the compulsion to check your phone, the belief that doing nothing is wrong. The more you sit quietly in thought, the more you will hear what your soul has to say.
During one of my most intense and transformative float sessions, vivid images of bright red blood and white bones surrounded me. That’s all I could see. Flashing scenes of birth, death, laughter, and tears played like a movie reel behind my closed eyes. Though terrifying, it was also enlightening. A mantra repeated over and over in my mind: "You are more than this; you are more than this." Incredibly, our bodies are made of organs, bones, blood, muscle, and skin—but there is so much more to us than that.
In his essay, Birkerts asserts that the soul is "something greater than the contingent sum of his parts, his experiences." To me, what matters most are experiences—not material things. Most possessions are projections, curated for others, not ourselves. Instead, do things for the experience, not just to say you did.
At a music festival in New York City, I danced freely as the music flowed through me. I looked around and saw people dancing for the camera, not for themselves. A girl took hundreds of identical selfies. And I wondered: am I part of this delusional world too? Being in touch with your soul lets you experience life more deeply—feel cool raindrops on your face, smell the sweet citrus scent of a peony bush as you walk your dog.
When you're out to dinner, have a meaningful conversation with your companion. Savor each bite of spicy Indian food instead of taking a picture to post online. The best gift you can give yourself—and others—is your full attention. At a museum, some may only see flowers in a vase. Look deeper. Notice how the light hits the petals, the water droplets left behind. Admire the painting’s silent immortality.
Feed your soul. Ask yourself: what do I want to do today? Sunday is the day I reserve for myself, and I protect it. Birkerts reminds us that life should give us "substance beyond all accumulations of the incidental and distracting." Whether I’m wandering through a used bookstore inhaling the sweet vanilla scent of old pages, making pumpkin ravioli from scratch, crafting mosaic glass art while listening to Manly P. Hall, hiking through nature’s brilliant canvas, or having deep philosophical conversations—these are the things my soul craves. To hear it, you must tune in to the right frequency. There’s no one path. Each of us walks our own unique journey.
The most important thing is that you eventually find your way. For me, floating was the portal to self-discovery—something I never knew I needed but now can’t imagine life without. Your soul is a compass. Learn to read it.
Birkerts speaks a powerful truth: "[T]he technologicalized world has distracted us completely, made it hard to believe that there is anything else besides." Why is your data so important? It’s a tool to redirect your attention to what you don’t need. Stop worrying about celebrities, your friends’ lunches, cars, legs, tweets, and sales. Unplug. Delete it from your mind. In a world where people skim headlines, go against the grain. Dive deep into your passions or interests.
Ishmael reflects, "the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment" (Melville 22), this realization is part of the soul’s journey. Stop and think before buying something. Do you really need it—or did the algorithm just read your thoughts? Do you truly like high-waisted jeans—or is that what reality TV told you to wear? Only by stepping away from these influences can you uncover your true self—what you want, what you love, what brings you joy.
A cosmic shift in consciousness shattered many of the truths I once clung to. My mind cracked wide open and revealed what truly matters. That float experience transformed my worldview. Knowing yourself allows you to see through new eyes. Time is too precious to spend scrolling through other lives instead of living your own.
Melville, Birkerts, and I all agree: the soul is an essential part of the human condition. Once your light shines, you’ll begin to see it in others and in all things. Artists who create from the soul connect more deeply with their audience. Finding a channel for trauma and emotion is healing. When you look deeply within, you begin to look deeply outward. Your soul reflects your truth. That road may be less traveled—but you will never be lost.