Searching for and rediscovering the true self is the fundamentum, the essential task that will gradually open us to receiving love from and giving love to God, others, and ourselves. We are created in the image of God from the very beginning.
You and I (and every other created thing) begin with a unique divine DNA, an inner destiny as it were, an absolute core that knows the truth about our being. This truth is tucked away in the cellar of our being, an Imagio Dei that begs to be allowed, to be fulfilled, and to show itself. This is the true self. Historically, it was often called “the soul.”
Human and divine are not separate, but one! I wonder why we so resist our same destiny. For most of us, this seems just too good and too dangerous to be true. There is so much contrary evidence! Many clergy fight me on this, even though it is quite constant in the Tradition. Is it because we are afraid to bear the burden of divinity?
…The true self is the Divine Indwelling, the Holy Spirit within us. I would say that the true self is precisely the divine part of us that is great enough, deep enough, gracious enough to fully accept the human part of us. If we are merely human, we will tend to reject our embarrassingly limited humanity. Think on that!
Paradoxically, immense humility, not arrogance, characterizes someone who lives from their true self. They simultaneously know they are a child of God, but they also know that they didn’t earn it and are not worthy of it. They know it’s entirely a gift. All they can do is thank Somebody Else, occasionally weep with joy, and kneel without any hesitation.
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