Existence

Existence: One - Nous - Soul(s)

My thoughts on existence- please be aware that the fundamentals of this approach are originating from Plotinus' teachings (all the words/expressions and sometimes the definitions of the One, Nous and Soul are his ideas that I'm not taking the credit for. Although, I added my interpretations of such issues mentioned above, so this article is not an explanation of Plotinus' work, but rather a mix of his influence on my point of view).

There is something which is the source and origin of everything. Let's call it One.

One is the biggest; it is the supreme "power", it's not sentient nor self-aware (it has no "self" and it would be pointless to put labels on it or name characteristics because it's beyond all categories of being and non-being). It pervades everything we perceive on this Earth and even beyond that. Everything is just a part of it, yet it includes everything. Earthly words could not describe this holy phenomena, yet the closest attempt to denominate it would be the expression "pure existence".

However, One does not create existence, it emanates the existence, just as warmth emanates from fire.

The very first emanation that comes from the One is the Nous or Spirit, as I like to call it. It is neutral like the One, however they are not the same. The One would always be the first compared to the Nous.
To describe, the Nous would be, well, not a place, but rather a state:the source of Plato's Ideas. A Divine "Mind" or Logos, which we in our bodies perceive as the unconscious (not Freud's but rather a hive mind or unconscious where for example the archetypes are planted) or the "spiritual"/astral realm that we visit either while lucid dreaming or just "simply" dreaming.

The second emanation is called the Soul. Now there are different "levels" within this emanation that we should mention. There is the Eternal Soul, which is in the Highest Sphere, and there are fragments of this Eternal Soul: us.

So what are we? The best description of it would be the story of Narcissus. As he observed himself in the water and developed some kind of attachment to his image, the same has happened with the Soul or better said, with the "Fallen Souls" that refers to ourselves. We've got trapped in this "reality" (which is just an illusion, but that's going to be another article!) and we've been glorifying our own image for so long that we've forgotten the essence and the origin of our True Self/ Nature. 

For better understanding, here's a representation on the "levels" of the Soul:

On the level of Semi Gods and the Lost Souls good and bad now exist. However, only together, as each defines the other one. From our perception we seek the good and form of the Ideas, however on their on levels definitions "good" or "bad" don't exist.