The Soul and the True Self

Q:  I am currently wrestling with various concepts and definitions and how they fit together. When it comes to the false self and the true self I find the glossary at the back of the Intimacy with God book helpful. However does the soul equate with the true self or not? Or is it something quite separate? Also I have understood, perhaps wrongly, that the true self, is somehow beyond being wounded. Is this right?

A:  I sent your question on to Thomas Keating and this is his observation. Blessings, Fr. Carl

‚ÄúHere is a reflection on this difficult subject. The soul is the context or life-giving energy that sustains the body and mind, the container, so to speak, for spiritual growth, knowledge of God’s ways, and loving levels of communion with the Spirit, and the Trinity.  It has an external element, the true self as the image of God in us.‚Äù
Love, Thomas