Some people mistakenly see the pursuit of knowing oneself as a selfish endeavor. This is simply not the case.  The greatest gift that you can give to a loved one or to the world is to flourish and be satisfied as the self that is transparently grounded in its maker.

Most of what we call our self, is actually a false version of our self. We spend so much time and energy satisfying our ego pursuits and trying to raise our flag of self-importance that some of us actually never get beyond it's noisy distractions. 

The reason some do not get to their true self is because it is only obtained via the spiritual road. Be careful not to confuse religious with spiritual here. All religions and denominations produce what Thomas Merton calls the religious fall self, if those within these institutions are not able to get at the deeper issues of faith. The structure is not the thing as it is often assumed. We must go deeper. Whenever we go deeper into any subject or field of interest, it requires spiritual energy. It is not different if we would find our true self. In his work entitled "A sickness unto Death" Sorën Kierkegaard insightfully defined sin as the refusal to be oneself.

Last week our redefinition was to remove definitions from our concept of God. This week I'd like us to tie the concept of soul to our existing definitions of self. The self/soul  is ultimately a timeless aspect of our divine creator. We all began in infinity past as an aspect of God's perfect wisdom and complete knowledge. Our lives are perfectly designed to enable our unique self to develop and thrive based upon our unique circumstances, challenges, sufferings, and blessings. Our lives are purposeful, not coincidental. They enable us to go back from where we came only now our experiences bring a richness, depth, and beauty that they lacked before. (more on this later)

The true self is not found in a job tile, a zip code, a W-2, or a set of toys or admirers. Certainly our world is so full of amazing and enjoyable things and we should not miss the enjoyment of them, nor minimize the enjoyment of them for others. But our true self won't be found in them. I think we all get this at some level. The question is whether we want our true self/soul enough to actually possess it. Is your life defined by the refusal to be your true self, or by your pursuit of it?

Jesus said it best when he asked: "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:25)