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responses, but the ontological presence of true nature itself appearing qualified with one of

these perfections. [See Essence, by the author]

The Soul

True nature manifests not only its dimensions and aspects but also vital energy and matter, thus

constituting all of reality. We do not include energy and matter in the dimensions of true nature

because they can be experienced from within their own perspectives, without recognition of their

spiritual origins, while the boundless dimensions and the essential aspects can only be

experienced as the spiritual presence of true nature.

True nature further differentiates its logos dimension into what we call the souls of sentient

beings. More accurately, the human consciousness is nothing but a soul, an individualization of

the logos that embodies both true nature and the dimensions of energy and matter. We are

each an embodied soul, where our consciousness is nothing but the consciousness of the logos

appearing through a particular physical body. Our awareness comes from the dimension of pure

awareness; our knowingness, and hence our mind, comes from the dimension of pure

presence; and our heart comes from the dimension of pure universal love. Our human and

spiritual qualities come from the essential aspects, and our animal characteristics come from the

dimensions of vital energy and matter as they arise through the consciousness of the soul.

The soul is an organism of consciousness, where the creative dynamism of the logos appears in

an individuated field as a growing and learning person. It is the consciousness that perceives,

and the matrix or field where all experience takes place. The soul develops and grows, matures

and learns. It needs to go through this development and learning in order to consciously and

knowingly embody its true nature with all of its dimensions and aspects. It begins as an

organism of consciousness, grounded in true nature, but dominated by the animal drives of the

physical vehicle. In other words, the soul begins with the potential of both the angel and the

animal, whose characteristics arise in its experience depending on circumstances and

environment. The soul begins its development through interaction with its environment,

especially with its primary care givers. It is here that the insights of object relations theory and

those of self psychology,  contemporary developments in psychoanalytic theory, are useful in

understanding how the soul grows and develops, since its initial development is what is referred

to as ego development, with its cognitive and affective components.

Ego Development

Initially the soul grows primarily by internalizing its interactions with its primary care givers. Such

internalized object relations pattern its experience of itself. It begins as a formless organism of

consciousness, but the images and impressions from these object relations structure its field of

experience, developing it into a sense of being an individual and autonomous person with a

recognizable identity. The personal history carried by such ego structure contributes to its

particular character and personality. By its nature ego development of the soul structures its

experience through the development of a mental image of self that becomes the primary lens

through which it looks at itself and reality. This becomes the basis of dualistic perception and

experience, and hence the primary obstacle in spiritual development. Nevertheless, ego

development is a natural stage of the development of the soul, necessary for the development

of its cognitive capacities and ability to live in the world.

In fact, the primary ego structures of the self are patterned according to specific essential

aspects; the context of the maturation and essential development of the soul, these structures

are actually transitional phases on the way to essential embodiment. For example, the structure

of knowing oneself as an autonomous individual is patterned on the personal aspect of essence,