Namaste, all!
What a fascinating post this is!
I think the subject can be approached on many levels.
For one thing, what is a "soul"? One must realize that we don't always have to take on a physical body. Nor, in my belief, do we have to have all of our lives just on this planet. I, for one, believe that we have as many lives as we need to have in order that we can learn our lessons. Reincarnation makes sense to me, and it always lends me comfort.
But if there are so many billions of planets and some that would life--sentient beings--it makes sense that we would have the option to live in different times, but also on different planets. So there seems to me to be an unknown amount of souls.
Of course, there's the more pure level you're talking about here--that the soul is pure consciousness.
Since energy is, at its most irreducible level, all one thing, everything is connected. All matter is, essentially, just moving vibrations that form and coalesce into what we know, and what we do not yet know. And since everything and everyone is connected, we're really all just one Soul, I believe. Pure consciousness--Light.
And Light is pure Love; or, we can say, Light is Love in motion.
Be the peace you seek,
Saille
p.s. I've missed you all!