Meaning of "Life in my blood, soul of my life"?

Hello everyone. I am reading a novel, and I came across this expression. Could you please let me know its meaning?

Then I saw it and touched the speckling twig hanging just above my head. It was crystallized. I tried to pull at it, but it was impossible to break off. What would happen if I pulled harder? The twig might tear somewhat, and I’d probably cut myself. I pictured the blood welling up on my finger and spilling on the snow. I leaned my head all the way back and thought of what my father would say: This isn’t new. You’ve been like this for years. And there’s no one can help you. Life in my blood, soul of my life.

What would Clara say if she’d seen the state of my bleeding finger? I pictured her coming up to me in her maroon shoes and standing right before me in the snow.

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, First Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist who meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. At night, the protagonist leaves the party and heads towards a nearby park called "Straus Park". There, he is looking at a frozen twig and thinking as to what might happen if he pulled the twig hard. He thinks the twig might break and cut his finger.

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.

I assume that the italicized sentences are what his father says to the protagonist, but I wonder what he means by "life in my blood, soul of my life".

My wild guess is that, he is against bleeding of any sort because, in his blood, life, or soul of his life, is contained, but I am not sure...

And this appears to be a noun clause, so I wonder how it stands alone as a sentence; would it be that "There is" is omitted in front of the sentence, perhaps...?

Thank you very much for your help.