The Weight of The Soul

You may have come across an experiment which was conducted in 1907 by Duncan MacDougall. The experiment itself didn't prove anything scientifically but it is an area of great curiosity, in regards to the idea of the Soul and Spirit leaving the body after death.

An experiment was conducted in 1907 by Duncan MacDougall titled the “21 grams experiment”. In this experiment, he hypothesised, souls have weight and aimed to measure what exactly that weight was. Despite most people regarding his experiment as flawed due the range in his results, MacDougall admitted his experiment would have to be completed many times before a truthful scientific observation could be drawn. His experiment was overall disregarded and heavily criticised. The experiment has not been repeated since.

A brief overview, shows that some of the deceased lost one total sum of weight after death. Whereas others, lost a sum instantly then, another sum a few minutes afterwards. One of the subjects lost exactly 21.3 grams hence the name of the experiment.

(To find a full explanation a quick google search should help or you could try; Snoopes.com).

Now, I’m not saying for certain that the human soul weighs exactly 21(.3) grams, or that MacDougall's experiment was 100% valid but is this not slightly unusual?

Is this not an area to be explored further? A thought to be pursued?

We can’t deny the fact, when a life ends on this earth a lot of funky things happen to that body. All you have to do is watch a couple of videos interviewing morticians to get the picture. We’ve all heard of bodies sitting up in the morgues due to gasses being trapped and other bodily functions going a little crazy post-death.

So, something tells me there’s more going on in those crucial moments at the end of life than we actually know or may ever know. If the idea of the soul leaving the body after death did happen to be true, a lot of uncertainties surrounding death would be removed making it a lot less scary.

Idea. What if the fluctuating weight of the souls in MacDougall's experiment depended upon the life experiences or past baggage of that person?

I mean, we’ve all heard the word “old soul” and “heavy soul” right?

MacDougall's experiment was mostly criticised due to ethical reasons and invalidity with results. However in today's society, I believe we have the ability to investigate this issue thoroughly if we chose to focus upon it.

MacDougall passed away knowing the flaws in his work, however continued to believe he was on the way to uncovering a mystery.

This is something which I also find an area of interest as well as a little suspicious, seen as nobody has picked up where he left off for whatever reasons.

It's ok to not feel 100% certain about what you believe and that’s because it’s all part of the journey.

All you really need to do is, to toy around with the ideas and if they feel they fit within your belief system then accept them, if not? Ditch them.

Maybe you believe in something after death but you don’t know if that’s reincarnation or eternal darkness and nothingness and that’s ok.

Honestly, there are still ideas that I’m toying with (ghost's being one).

The more you explore; the easier it’ll get and sometimes it requires a lot of bravery, to challenge what you've known or even told yourself for comfort for so long.

Maybe do your own research into MacDougall and the 21 Grams experiment and see how you feel.

Until next time,

Peace and Love