Who Do You Think You Are? Part 2
September 10, 2025
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 2
Many of us define ourselves as our family defined us. Others of us find our identity for themselves. Many who are on the road to self-realization discover that we are infinite beings whose depth and potential are unlimited, so to nail down who we are is next to impossible. Our souls are infinite because as an aspect of God, they spring from the endless source of all being.
Anthropology, depth psychology, religion, and spiritual paths give us a variety of languages to explore who we are. But we must answer this question for ourselves. No one knows our exact experience in our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. Each person who ever was, is, and shall be is a one-of-a-kind expression of the Divine. And no one can connect us to the source of our Being but ourselves. And no one can tell us how we express the divine, or what our purpose is. As Eckhart Tolle says, everyone’s deepest purpose is to become conscious, and consciousness tells us our life’s purpose.
Do you think you are your body, soul, mind, emotions, or personality? Do you define yourself in terms of who you are by where you live, or your accomplishments, roles, talents, and interests? Perhaps you define yourself by your wounds, defeats, and deficiencies. Maybe you think of yourself as a “mixed bag of a lot of diverse characteristics.
Then there is the prospect that you define yourself subconsciously and are out of touch with how you view yourself in your depths. When this happens, we can be driven by our subconscious self-concept, but do not know it unless we become conscious of it. If our subconscious self-concept differs from who we consciously believe ourselves to be, we may be conflicted about our identity and unaware of why.
Then there is the possibility that your attitudes and behavior transmit your definition of yourself to the world. The following are the umbrella identities that each ego type thinks itself to be and expresses to the world in its particular fashion. They are expressions of ourselves from the level of our ego.
Type One: I am right
Type Two: I am helpful
Type Three: I am successful
Type Four: I am unique
Type Five: I am wise
Type Six: I am loyal
Type Seven, I am happy
Type Eight: I am powerful
Type Nine: I am OK
But there is a deeper definition of who we are, held within our souls. When we connect with the soul, we learn that we are not an ego, but we are a being of transcendent qualities. Then, we can amalgamate our soul’s identity with our ego’s hard-won wisdom. This brings us into totality, resulting in healing and wholeness. The deeper identity is on one of the nine points of the Enneagram of Soul. See Know Your Soul: Journeying with the Enneagram, for a complete description of The Enneagram of Soul.
In his book, The Kingdom Within, Jungian analyst and Episcopal priest John Sanford says, “For completeness to develop in the life of an individual, that individual must be involved in the totality of life.” He goes on to assert that this brings healing and wholeness. Sanford also points out … “The kingdom involves the realization of our personalities according to the inner plan established within us by God; hence, the unfolding of a Self that predates and transcends the ego.”
Spiritual practice: Choose your identity from the ones listed above. Does it feel like the deepest you? If not, you may want to explore the soul beneath your personality in the Enneagram of Soul: See, Know Your Soul: Journeying with the Enneagram.
Self-inquiry: Why would you want to understand your deepest self?
Prayer: Dear God, all the qualities you gave me are beautiful and worthy, even when I forget or discount them. Please help me understand how I can use them to help you work through them. Today, as I open my heart to others and give my love, I ask that your divine power radiate throughout my being and express your compassion, understanding, goodness, mercy, and love. Please allow me to do what I know needs to be done or said in the present. Give me the words that must be used and the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that give rise to those words. Grant that I know who I am and understand my true nature and place in your creation. Forgive me when I get “too big for my britches,” and bless me as I return to myself. In Your name, Amen
