“Self” and “soul” are worlds apart – self is material, while soul is spiritual. Can both function in this world to bring us fulfilment and happiness?
Popular psychology often promotes self-realisation as the key to finding fulfilment and happiness – all you have to do is realise your “true self” and that will magically bring full and enduring meaning in life. It’s not that simple.
Self disintegrates
Firstly, things happen in life to raise our self-esteem or bring us down. At times we experience good people and events that elevate us; other times we experience bad things that make us fall. In extremes it may be a long time before we are elevated again; we may feel “stuck in a hole” and live with chronic depression. Sometimes we are brought so low it seems impossible to find any meaning, fulfilment and happiness. Which part of this recurring cycle reflects our true self?
Secondly, self-realisation is an illusion. Focus on the self through narcissistic fixation on the ego – the material “outer me” – separates us from our soul. In this ego-centric state we can realise fantasies of the self and achieve material self-actualisation, but we can also lose our soul and its connection to the spiritual. The gap between our material abundance and our spiritual deficiency is often confusing; it may lead us to feel guilty and ungrateful: “I have so much, so why do I feel so empty and dissatisfied?”
Thirdly, and perhaps most important, there is no such thing as “true self”. The entire concept of the ego-driven self is rooted in the notion that “I am a unique and special individual”. The ego is a product of this world, which is superficial, manipulative, and selfish; we constantly evolve and adapt our reflection of self to impress and dominate this world. Our behaviour is not “true” – we are not being authentic, but simply performing to what the world requires so that we can join the “success club”. As long as we are rooted in “self”, there is no truth to who we are.
Soul unifies
The soul animates our physical bodies and makes us live. Our soul comes from the ONE eternal creator and holds full knowledge of its unity with all life – true soul is conscious of its spiritual nature.
Our true soul is not separate from other souls but is one with all souls; it is universal. True meaning in all life comes from spiritual consciousness within the soul that thoughts, feelings, and actions of the soul affect the entire universe.
Although we are conditioned to think of our self as a “unique individual”, we can apply this erroneous belief to understanding our “personal” soul. Considering the nature of true soul we can begin to understand that my soul affects you and vice versa. When I act against you I act against me. The true reality of soul is that I am you and you are me – we are ONE.
In this true soul consciousness the notion of “self-realisation” derives from acting positively and constructively for others. I self-realise by realising you, and vice versa. My life is no longer an ego-driven selfish act – I am life in all of its singular wholeness – there is no you or me, there is just us. When we think, feel, and act, we do so as ONE.
If we can grasp this true soul consciousness we will begin to think, feel and act in considerate ways – we will reflect on our behaviour and its impact on others before we impulsively and selfishly impose our ego on the universe. Would you intentionally go out of your way to deliberately endanger your driving safety and cut yourself off in traffic; carelessly and unsympathetically scratch your own car door in a parking lot; or frustrate yourself from getting a promotion and pay-rise at work? Of course not! That would be self-defeating. So why would you imagine behaving that way towards others would bring you a life of fulfilment and happiness?
Surely, by doing to others as you would do to yourself (or as you would want others to do to you), you will bring feelings of fulfilment and happiness to others, and those others would then most likely want to reciprocate. Imagine millions of people selflessly acting for the good of all others; imagine a world where we do not act from our “individually split” self-centred ego but from the universal, singular soul.
Finding true fulfilment and happiness
If we serve the self without consciousness of soul we will be spiritually deficient. While in this state we may achieve a “full” life of material success but feel “emptiness” – like something is missing in our life – and we will not fully grasp why we feel that.
“True self” is artificial and fleeting (based on the latest “important” whim of the world), while true soul is authentic, permanent, and transcendent of the world. Acting from self consciousness means acting for personal gain with little-to-no regard for anything else, while acting from soul consciousness means acting with consideration for everything else for universal benefit.
To attain fulfilment and happiness in this life we must strive for true soul rather than true self. If we want a “meaningful self” we must live from the soul and think, feel and act with true spiritual consciousness.
Article by Michael Beaton
Author of Transcendence – A Search for Meaning and Hope
Also see Michael’s blog at: https://john3-6.blogspot.com/
Read more from Michael Beaton here
Article published in Edition 62, read full edition here
