The Spiritual Self and the Transcendence of the Ego

When we see others for who they are and not as our egos would have them be for us we are looking through the eyes of the spiritual self. It is then that we see each person as he or she truly is, which is as an authentic individual, and it is this perception that guides our behavior as we interact with them.

When we, as spiritual selves and not as individual egos, look into the world we see it from the same perspective, that is, from the perspective of the world and not from each individual's ego-influenced perspective. It is this perspective, that of the spiritual self operating within each of us, that unifies our social behavior as it determines the meaning that fills our perceptions, and through this shared meaning, our behavior is empowered with a common purpose. Through the spiritual self's transcendence of the ego's idiosyncrasies and personal biases we discover the basis for the formation of a naturally occurring spiritual society as we are united by the perception of an authentic world.

The phantom-like nature of the self that lurks within perception as a sense of "I am aware" is, in essence, a feeling summarizing the complex neurophysiology that creates the meaning inhabiting our perceptions. As our neurophysiology changes with development over time, the phase of self changes as well. It is this neurophysiology that links our experience of self to the underlying quantum world of subatomic particles that define quantum physics.

As our experience of self changes from the presence of the ego self to spiritual self so does the meaning that defines our perception of the world. It is the particular phase of self that determines what the world we experience looks like. Yet there is more to the spiritual self and as we explore this potential we will understand why an intelligent universe favors this self and how we can come to understand how the spiritual self is necessary for the appearance and growth of the soul.

Recognize that there are 3 phases of self (the "me" self, the "I" or ego self and the spiritual self). Each phase has a different influence on our perception and behavior.The witness in meditation, empathy, intuition, our experience of awe and the peak experiences of Abraham Maslow are all characteristics of the spiritual self. They appear in the presence of the spiritual self.Explore how the brain projects its neurophysiology into the world as the meaning we perceive in the world.Explore what it means to perceive and live in an authentic world.Realize that we have no direct experience of ourselves but rather, we learn who we are at any moment by "reading" the meaning we project into the world through our perception of the world.Explore how the ego self distorts our perception of the other person and through this perception shapes our behavior towards them.Explore how the different phases of self influence the struggles to be a better person.Understand the act of creation not as the creation of the universe but rather as the creation of reality within the universe.Explore how each phase of self is anchored in the developmental process that defines the growth of individual.Explore the potential relationship of quantum theories of consciousness to the nature of the spiritual self and how these are related to the neurophysiological structure of the spiritual self.Explore how the concept of synergy leads to our understanding of the universe as intelligent and what this means for how we understand the soul.