I recently found myself in an interesting predicament "Do you believe the soul exists," he questioned me. My answer was an unequivocal yes.

What followed was a list of questions asked in an attempt to define and give form to the soul. I was asked if I could sense it through the faculties of taste, touch, sight, smell or sound. I was asked if it is tangible, how it can be detected, if it need be detectable in order to exist, how I was so convinced of its existence and so on. I was at a loss. My only retort was to ask the same questions regarding thought — my logical friend believes that thought exists; but can he prove it? While this served to quiet the interrogator, it did little to truly resolve whether or not the soul exists.

How do you prove such a thing? I feel strongly that the soul exists — that it must. Yet, I cannot give much reason as to why. It is merely something I "know." That does not suffice. For as resolutely as I "know" it does exist, someone else may feel he or she "knows" that it does not. Which is right?

To me, the soul is the essence of a person, separate from their flesh and biological components. It is who and what they are. It is what they feel. It influences their morals, how they think and what they believe. I have no doubt that there is more to everyone than solely their biological make up. I think there is something that allows for the connections humans can make among one another and the sense of self and solace we can find within.

What a sad life one must lead if he or she truly feels there is no soul! To think that something as complex as a human being could be so simply reduced to formulas and elements seems ludicrous. If we were intended to be robotic, why would we have creative thought and emotion? And what has caused us to create this delusion of spirit within ourselves? For surely there are more people who give credence to the soul's existence than those who discount it. Still, though, it troubles me that someone could perceive himself or herself as nothing more than science.

Perhaps there is no concrete, tangible evidence to prove the soul's existence. That's not going to keep me from believing, though. Maybe I can't see it or taste it or touch it. But there's this feeling I get when I am with my family or close friends, a contentment I find when among those with whom I feel I belong, a confidence within that guides me and tells me who I truly am when others make me doubt. Words alone do little justice to describe it. Try as you might, there is no equation that can be applied to explain this.

There's your soul for you.

• It's all about soul