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I don't know what to say, except that I don't believe that someone in a vegetative state has a soul.

Actually they have awakened people from vegitated states. So where does the soul go when they are vegged out?

First of all, I totally respect your need for an answer that does not have to do with conformist religions. I am agnostic as well. Although I do believe in a higher power, my logic follows no creed. Which is why I am agnostic an not athiest. Anyways, my belief is that a soul is sort of a six sense. Mom's have had it for years, it's called mothers intuition. Animals have experienced it as instict. It is what tellls you right form wrong without reason or logic. Just as some people have no reason to hate abortion, but still think it is wrong. Because though it has been proved to be completely safe an does no cause the baby any harm...our body tells us wether we "feel" it is right or wrong deep down in our "soul". We are the only animals that cry which tell me something else. Humans are so capable ar beyond any animal that our own understanding of sadness an joy can cause our own body to weeep. Our soul to literally cry. I may be wrong, but I gave my theory. smile

I tend to view the soul as being the non physical aspect behind an animal or object. I do not believe that souls are limited to humans. The soul, I believe, changes and adapts to it's host and takes a part of that person into itself.
When I say host, I'm not implying that the soul is separate from the person it is with, I believe the soul to be an integral part of the person. A base foundation that influences thoughts, feelings, instincts and reactions.

I'm a feline therianthrope, which basically means I believe part of myself to be feline. I think that is down to my soul.

I see a soul as being infinite, timeless, immortal. It does not die with the body. One way I often describe it is being like a pile of tracing paper. Each life being a new sheet added to the top. If you look you can see through that sheet to the ones before, but as you go deeper they become fainter and fainter until they're no longer visible at a glance. If you look close enough you may unearth some of their details, but the further back you go the less you see, until they are completely eclipsed by the layers above.
As I see the soul as being the very essence of the thing it inhabits, the top few layers I believe can still have some influence over that person.
In my case, I believe I have lived lives in the past as various felines and I hold some of the memories, feelings, instincts and characteristics associated to those felines.

As for when the soul leaves the body, I can't say I'm sure. I would imagine a brain dead person may not have a fixed soul. If the mind is gone I don't think there would be anything to hold the soul in place, so to speak. That isn't to say they wouldn't have a soul, just not a fixed one. I tend to believe that there is a sort of 'collective soul', like a giant fluid formless substance that exists within everything.

That's just my own personal spiritual belief, it's quite complicated to explain. I'm sorry if any of that didn't make much sense, it's quite late here. razz I'm happy to elaborate on anything if needed.

As requested I will leave my religious beliefs out of my answer.

The soul is life. The very things that drives who we are, and what we are. There are those who are pure evil, and those who aren't, and those who are simply neither. The soul is what makes us what we are... human. Simple as that. We are spirits placed into a mortal body. When our body withers away it lets the soul leave. I don't believe in reincarnation, but I do believe that the soul goes somewhere after death. The soul is the essence of life. I don't really know what else to say, but that you should treasure your soul as the most precious gift you have.

Usually your brain will last about 5mins without brain damage after your heart stops. In that time you find your self in a dream. First time I died I had a odd dream. I had a dream about Sci fi world where I was running along the side of some giant battleship like tank. There also magic users and High tech weapons. I was Clinically dead for not to long. "I have a strong survival instinct." "not easy to kill!"

Soul... What Is a soul to me... The electromagnetic field that surrounding ones living body. That to me is what a soul is. That field created by a living body.