The soul and the spirit are not to be conceived as being one and the same. The soul or 'Nephresh' is the natural consciousness of life without the higher realisation of worlds which have preceded this world, and the worlds which are to come. The soul is said to go through many formations, transformations & rebirths before it becomes entwined with the consciousness of the overself. It must realise the separation, remember and then re-attain overself awareness.
When it is understood that the soul is not the same as the spirit (the Ruach) it is then possible to petition the Godhead for the higher counsel to achieve true knowledge and true wisdom.
At that time, the Ruach as the spirit of higher reason is granted by the godhead for inspiration and the understanding of the multiple levels of the divine mind.
Finally when the Ruach and the Nephresh are synthesised, the higher aspirations of the union creates the sovereign soul of light known as The Neshamah, which is then called into the light to 'beget the fruits of divinity and anoint those called to the work of the divine mind as a vehicle of higher love and wisdom'.
