Life must be kind of like school. I can remember being ex-cited every fall about the first day of school—and, at the end of the year, thrilled to be getting out.

Precisely¹! Exactly! You’ve hit it. That’s it exactly.

Only life is not a school.

Yes, I remember. You explained all that in Book 1. Until then, I thought that life was a “school,” and that we had come here to “learn our lessons.” You helped me tremendously in Book 1 to see that this was a false doctrine².

I’m glad. That’s what we’re trying to do here with this trilogy—bring you to clarity. And now you’re clear about why and how the soul can be overjoyed after “death” without necessarily ever regretting “life.”

But you asked a larger question before, and we should revisit it.

I’m sorry?

You said, “If the soul is so unhappy in the body, why doesn’t it just leave?”

Oh, yes.

Well, it does. And I don’t mean only at “death,” as I’ve just explained. But it does not leave because it is unhappy. Rather, it leaves because it wishes to regener-ate, rejuvenate³.

Does it do this often?

Every day.

The soul leaves the body every day? When?

When the soul yearns⁴ for its larger experience. It finds this experience rejuvenating⁶.

It just leaves?

Yes. The soul leaves your body all the time. Continu-ally. Throughout your life. This is why We invented sleep.

The soul leaves the body during sleep?

Of course. That is what sleep is.

Periodically throughout your life the soul seeks reju-venation, refueling, if you will, so that it can continue lumbering⁷ along in this carrier you call your body.

You think it is easy for your soul to inhabit your body? It is not! It may be simple, but it is not easy! It is a joy, but it is not easy. It is the most difficult thing your soul has ever done!

点击收听单词发音  

1 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 doctrine
n.教义；主义；学说
参考例句：
He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。 The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

3 rejuvenate
v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力
参考例句：
The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。 Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

4 yearns
渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Every man yearns for sympathy in sorrow. 每个遇到不幸的人都渴望得到同情。 What I dread is to get into a rut. One yearns for freshness of thought and ideas. 我害怕的就是墨守成规。人总是向往新思想和新观念的。

5 yearn
v.想念；怀念；渴望
参考例句：
We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。 Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

6 rejuvenating
使变得年轻，使恢复活力( rejuvenate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The rejuvenating ambience of autumn is immeasurably more ancient than even the calendar. 秋天那让人恢复青春活力的气氛远比历法还要古老。 来自名作英译部分 Rhoda says that it's embarrassing to be so idolized, but also very sweet and rejuvenating. 罗达说，给人这样过份地崇拜是很发窘的，不过也是愉快惬意使人年轻的。

7 lumbering
n.采伐林木
参考例句：
Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。 Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

8 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 reassurance
n.使放心，使消除疑虑
参考例句：
He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。 Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

10 awakening
n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的
参考例句：
the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣 People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

11 rejuvenation
n. 复原，再生, 更新, 嫩化, 恢复
参考例句：
Prolonged starvation and aging might lead to rejuvenation of embryogenic potential. 长期的饥饿和衰老可以导致胚胎发生能力的复壮。 All this signs rejuvenation of agriculture. 所有这些都预示着农业将复苏。

12 ecstasy
n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷
参考例句：
He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。 Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

13 valid
adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的
参考例句：
His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。 Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

14 awareness
n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智
参考例句：
There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。 Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 meditation
n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录
参考例句：
This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。 I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

16 crunch
n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声
参考例句：
If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。 People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

17 caressing
爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的
参考例句：
The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。 He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

18 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

19 extravagant
adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的
参考例句：
They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。 He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

20 ails
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 sublime
adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的
参考例句：
We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。 Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

22 meditate
v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想
参考例句：
It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。 I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

23 intermittently
adv.间歇地；断断续续
参考例句：
Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学 The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

24 muffled
adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）
参考例句：
muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音 There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 distractions
n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱
参考例句：
I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。 There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

27 splendor
n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌
参考例句：
Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。 All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。