The Spiritual Self and the Transcendence of the Ego

If you think about self-awareness, it becomes apparent that there is a sense of "I-ness" that accompanies most of our conscious perceptions but not all of them. If you think about behavior, it becomes apparent that the meaning of our perceptions is what organizes and directs our behavior. Therefore, experience seems to be telling us that it is the I of self-awareness that is responsible for our behavior. So, what happens when this I is not present but behavior not only continues but is also adapted to the environment? Who is it that perceives the world at this moment, and is it this hidden entity that behaves? At its heart this is what this book is about.
It begins with our behavior and says that if the I self is not present in self-consciousness, but we still behave then there must be a different form of self that perceives the world and acts according to this perception. That is, there must be different forms of self that co-exist with the I but we do not readily recognize. In questioning our experience we will recognize the presence of three phases of self, the "me" self, the "I" self (or what we know as the ego) and a third phase, the spiritual self. This book begins with these phases and discusses the implications for not only how we perceive and behave in the world but also the possibility of deeper meanings hiding in the presence of these selves. Meanings associated with the presence of the spiritual self that reach into the smallest levels of the universe to reveal the potential human being possesses to shape the world in which we live.