Understanding the Light by fluffhead3154

To understand Lost we need to understand the meaning of the light on the island, what makes it so great? Why do they have to protect it? After struggling to understand this I came up with this theory.

• The island is real they are alive on the island
• Flash sideways is purgatory
• The Light on the island represents: either everyman’s soul or an energy source that develops souls or maintains them somehow. (Basically if the light goes out everybody loses there soul.) I came to this because the mother told both Jacob and MIB that the light is in everyone and if it goes out here it goes out everywhere. Jacob also says to the candidates by the camp fire if the light goes out everyone close to you will die or parish.
• Okay so the only way to get to heaven or an afterlife is dying and your soul goes on. You can’t take your body or your mind with you. So basically protecting this light gave them the opportunity, for not only themselves but all mankind to live for eternity in an afterlife. That’s why it was so important and the show culminated with all of them enjoying eternity together.


Other reasons I believe the light source is this soul energy. Let’s call it the “Well of Souls”
• Why MIB became the smoke monster? When he fell into the cave the light source ripped his soul from his body and spit him out dead. Instead of his soul leaving to go onto purgatory it stayed on the island. Whereas when Jack went to the light it too ripped out his soul and it left and went to purgatory and Jack died on the island. Basically the smoke monster is MIB’s soul.
• So why did MIB turn human? When Desmond pulled the cork the light went out and everyman’s soul was lost. Smoky representing a soul was lost. He then lost his power of being the smoke monster and was just a human body which allowed Kate and Jack to kill him.
• So the light is the main energy source that maintains everyman’s soul, but the island has several pockets of energy throughout the island that feed the main source. So MIB understood this and found one of the pockets of energy and understood that if he harnessed the energy it could teleport him off the island. So he creates the donkey wheel, but his mother finds out and destroys it. Not sure who finishes the teleport but Jacob now used it as source of protection for the island. Aka when Ben moved the island and ended up in Africa and the island traveled through time.
• So this energy source can teleport you through time and space. This made the island very attractive and brought the dharma initiative to study the energy behind it. They didn’t understand it and Ben had them all killed.
•Widmore I think wanted to become immortal like MIB but I don’t think he fully understood what it meant to become immortal.
• Jacob brings candidates to the island to protect this light and the candidates all have a flaw and really no reason to get back to their lives off the island they are a perfect fit to protect the light for several years. The Losties also build relationships with each other relationships they never really had prior. Because of their time on the island and the relationships built they now have people to spend eternity with. I feel this is the focus of the show with the overall concept of the light of energy (Well of Souls).