When I came to understand more clearly the difference between my ego (or false self) and my “true self,” and then looked at various ways I might reach that “true self,” especially by becoming a “nobody,” I was stumped as to what this would actually mean in terms of human experience.

            I thought I’d do some research on work done in academia on the “self” and discovered Galen Strawson, a philosopher famous for studying the nature of consciousness or the “self.”

            Strawson writes that pure uninterrupted consciousness lasts only about one-third of a second to three seconds – which has recently been modified by Fei Fei Li to an interval as brief as a blink. That’s not to say that this period of consciousness can’t be renewed and extended by follow-up thoughts. Strawson thought, though, that turning a succession of thoughts into a narrative story is not necessary to be truly human. I agree with Strawson that it’s in a pure consciousness experience where we actually exist as our “true self.” That this experience, not one influenced by established “roles” or self-edited “movies” or “stories,” is where the “true self” actually exists. And, if this “true self” can be directed through our best understanding of an “alive” God, then we’ll be able to “see” and “act” through God’s eyes and mind after developing the “tools” which help us see and think like God would see and think if God were a human being – as if God were actually one’s self. Such principal tools of God include love, truth, justice, and beauty.

            Of course, it’s important to gain the freedom to become one’s “true self,” by using our own intrinsic freedom – the freedom God originally gave us at birth – but which we, unfortunately, and all too often, relinquish during the periods when we’re busy developing our egos into false selves.

            Remember, once you achieve becoming “nobody,” it’s only then that you’re able to become your “true self” – anytime you want. Just imagine the power of that – to be able to see through God’s eyes, experience life through God’s mind and soul, and, then, be able to act as God would act if God were a human being – that is, as if God were you.