Let me begin the explanation of the soul of man this way: The same way you feel the reality of life while wearing this physical body of yours right now is the same feelings you get when you're in the clothing of your soul. Did you get that? Let me rephrase my statement, maybe you would understand it better this way: How alive and alert do you feel right now as a human? You could feel your body actively working and you could sense your thoughts and your environment, pains and joy and anxiety, right? Those are exactly the feelings you get as a soul. You wouldn't feel any different, 'cause you would be conscious of servitude, scourge, sorrow, suffering and sadness; or solemnity, sweetness, soundness, singleness and salvation (preservation). The only difference depends on where the soul is, in rest or resistance (sorrows).
What then makes the Soul different?
Immortality! That's it. That is one major thing that makes the soul different from the body.
Come with me to Matthew, verse 26 of chapter 16, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" There's something important in this passage, whatever you do while alive, in or with your body, it sends a reaction or reflection on your soul. You might not see the outcome immediately, 'cause this your mortality is still alive. However, your spirit or mind gives you a glimpse of it: through inner condemnation, anxiety, guilt, sorrow of the spirit etc (for a sinful soul), or relief, joy, gladness , peace etc (for a saved soul.) You eventually get to feel the whole reality of the state of the soul once the mortality is put off (I.e., once the body is no more.)
So, I believe you might have asked the whereabouts of your soul, right? Like, 'Where is my soul right now?" The simple answer to this question is, your soul awaits the expiration of your body for it to be given a final and eternal destination in Glory (Heaven) or the Grave (Hell).
Let me again rephrase myself in another perspective: The 'soul' of man is the undying and eternal part of him that would give account to his Maker on how he might have lived his life while alive on earth.
Note: Every human is in control of how they live. When the soul suffers or rests for eternity, it is a function of the decisions made by the physical body, initiated by the spirit. But understand that it's 'you' as a whole entity (human) that is the one in control. So, it wouldn't be unfair or partial when the soul receives the penalty or pampering, because this soul is the same human who lived, but just in a different "body or form".
The soul represents (or is in connection with) God the Father.
In Ecclesiastes 12:7, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
Why does it say '...the spirit shall return...?' It's actually referring to the soul as well. Just as the body is conscious of everything, so is the soul. And this consciousness is simply the presence of the spirit. Without the existence of the spirit, there is no consciousness. So, like I said in the previous chapter, the spirit is also immortal. Without it, the body wouldn't be conscious of anything. It therefore means, just as the spirit gives consciousness to the body, so it gives consciousness to the soul, but not just yet, until the body is dead.