What if You Could See Your Soul?
One of the hardest parts of serious personal growth isn’t knowing what practices to follow—there are plenty. The challenge is facing hard truths and accepting them. And we know why: truth leads to responsibility. Once you know the truth, you have a choice—to change, act on it, or retreat back into ignorance.
What would you do if faced with all your hard truths at once? Would you be ready for it? If you could see your soul and understand its message, you’d be forced out of ignorance, and it likely wouldn’t be comfortable.
When The Matrix was first released in 1999, it made a profound cultural impact, prompting questions about reality, consciousness, and free will. In the movie, taking the red pill meant choosing the harsh truth of reality over blissful ignorance (the blue pill). Though the phrase has since been adopted by various movements to support specific ideologies, it still fundamentally represents the choice between truth and comfort.
Today, countless teachers and healers promise to awaken us to our true nature. But there’s often a positivity bias, with teachers focusing heavily on love, light, and personal empowerment while downplaying the darker aspects of human nature. Spirituality has become a business, and people are more drawn to teachings that promise happiness and fulfillment or offer quick fixes.
Even when shadow work is encouraged, confronting the harder truths of our nature can be challenging due to confirmation bias. We naturally seek information that aligns with our beliefs, making it easy to avoid or dismiss the tougher truths about ourselves.
Imagine if someday we could capture a high-fidelity analysis of our soul, revealing the truth about ourselves without the filters of bias or wishful thinking.
Self-knowledge brings great responsibility. As Sigmund Freud observed, “Most people do not really want freedom because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” If you could glimpse the true state of your soul, would you be ready to accept both the beautiful and the unsettling? And, more importantly, would you be prepared to act?
If the idea of seeing our own soul sounds daunting, what about the souls of those who shape our society? Our leaders carefully craft their public images, and the rise of misinformation has made it increasingly difficult to trust our political institutions. What truths might emerge if we could peer beyond these facades and see their inner selves? Imagine understanding the true motivations behind the decisions that shape our world.
Gallup’s “Trust in Government” poll asks Americans, “How much trust and confidence do you have in our federal government in Washington when it comes to handling [domestic/international] problems?” In 1972, 73% of Americans expressed “a great deal” or “a great amount” of trust in the federal government to handle domestic issues. By 2024, that trust had fallen to just 28%.
In the UK, the Brexit referendum and its aftermath underscored and potentially worsened low trust in government. The 2023 British Social Attitudes Survey showed trust in government had fallen to its lowest level in 40 years. Only 21% of Britons expressed satisfaction with how the country is governed.
In a democracy, we trust our leaders to make decisions in our best interests and on our behalf, often relying on media portrayals of their character to decide whom to trust. Discussions about a candidate’s character are quickly reduced to gossip, and, like in the new age healing market, it’s easy to be drawn to a leader not for their integrity or ability but for how they make us feel. What if, instead of relying on impressions and emotions, we could quantify and see into their souls? What if we could discern who would lead based on logic and reason, not on personal biases or unresolved trauma?
In Plato’s Republic, he describes an ideal government led by “philosopher kings” who have ascended from the “cave” of illusion and ignorance to perceive true reality without distortion. They embody the highest virtue, wisdom, and understanding, achieving perfect balance within their souls, with reason governing lower urges. Plato also suggests that these fully developed individuals would be reluctant rulers, governing out of duty to the collective rather than ambition.
If you could see the souls of your leaders, would you stay with the one who appeals to your fears, biases, and desires, or would you choose a leader who could guide you out of the cave of ignorance?
The ability to see deeply into others begins with seeing deeply within ourselves. How can we truly understand others without judgment unless we can first see and accept ourselves, committing to our own self-development? Seeing into a soul has the potential to be a great equalizer. We are all imperfect, with things we’d rather keep hidden—from ourselves and from others.