Introduction
This is the second of eleven reflections on Thomas Merton’s teaching on the True Self/False Self dynamic. This conflictual but enlightening relationship permeates Merton’s huge quantity of writing on the spiritual life. The basic point of the conflict is the individual’s pull toward and away from God, one’ true and ultimate destiny. Merton’s exposure of the consequences of original sin is ruthless in its intensity. This is the task of the False Self. At the same time, the pull of the True Self, the ever-present call of God’s personal and passionate love, is even more powerful. The human heart is the battlefield of this seemingly endless confrontation.
Merton’s teaching on the dynamic of the True Self/False Self is a truly marvelous gift for our spiritual journey. However, it demands some basic understanding of our true goal in life. First and foremost, we must realize that our rightful destiny is union with God. To clarify this goal, which most often we distort by our talk of heaven, we need to appreciate several basic points.
In many ways, Merton anticipated the incarnational approach to spirituality called for by Vatican II. He emphasized human experience as the source and location of our experience of God. He saw God’s will in the concrete demands of daily life. God is seeking us in every circumstance of our life. On God’s part, it is always a call to love. It may be the alarm clock in the morning, the thrill of a little league game, a moment of crisis in the emergency room, the joy of a Thanksgiving dinner or the pain and joy of an empty nest. God is present with a call to life and love in every moment and circumstance. All of life is grace and a summoning into the True Self.
According to Merton, when we speak of the “I” we are most often referring to the superficial, empirical and external values of the False Self. All of the many characteristics of the False Self are deceitful because they are contingent. This means that they will pass away at death. This is a long, hard lesson for us to accept. A wonderful example to this truth is Jesus’ story of the man who had to build his new barns so he could pursue the illusionary freedom of his new security while, in fact, he had only hours to live. (Lk 16:15-21)
This transient “I” which holds center place in our consciousness is, at best, a mask disguising the abyss between the False Self and the True Self. Merton says this deeply rooted deception that permeates our life is going to pass away as smoke flowing out of a chimney.
The true task in our life is in a growing awareness of what is real. It demands breaking loose of the conventional wisdom that is a singular stumbling block to the freeing power of the gospel. We live in a darkness that we think is light. It is an extensive and challenging road that leads to Jesus, the Light of the World.
Almost everything in our consumer-driven society speaks of values contrary to the message of Jesus. We need to shatter the constraints of the mindset that sees security in our possessions, a constant desire to look younger, a pull to an endless search for the right medicine and stock portfolio that will all but assure us of immortality. The battle of the True Self and False Self will lead to a recognition of the desperate need for a self-knowledge and a stunning transformation of consciousness leading us to see our reality through the eyes of the gospel.
These changes will open Pandora’s Box for us. Our deeply held prejudices will surface into the light of day much to our dismay. Slowly, we will learn that all the idols were not limited only in the Old Testament. The idols of our self-deception that make us the center of reality are many and ever-present in our life. They even show up in the “respectable” practice of religion. We slowly learn that our faith journey is often a matter of convenience rather than conviction.
Breaking loose from the conventional wisdom of a comfortable religion, we are shocked to learn that being a “good Christian” is truly a Road to Jerusalem. Like the early disciples, we will need to travel in a faith that must face misunderstanding, confusion and doubt. The true Jesus is evolving out of the caricature of him that we have treasured for so long. Our long-cherished hopes and ambitions are disintegrating right before our eyes. The precious desires of respectability and recognition, security and acceptance, slowly will fade from our perspective. We begin to recognize our God in the weakness, rejection and total devastation of the Crucified Christ. The passage from the False Self to the True Self is a truly shattering experience.
This passage is a moment of deep transition in our life. Pleasure, success, health, money and. even life itself, all take on a sense of lesser values. Eventually, we will have to transcend pain, suffering and death. This all leads to the embrace of God’s loving call to life that is without end.
This victory is possible because, in spite of the pervasive consequences of Original Sin, God’s grace is more powerful, more universal and more overwhelming. God wants nothing more than that we accept God’s love and mercy as the full blossoming of the True Self.
Merton’s teaching on the dynamic of the True Self/False Self is a truly marvelous gift for our spiritual journey. However, it demands some basic understanding of our true goal in life. First and foremost, we must realize that our rightful destiny is union with God. To clarify this goal, which most often we distort by our talk of heaven, we need to appreciate several basic points.
- We are imbedded with a fierce pull to selfishness and sin by our heritage of Original Sin.
- We are in need of a purification and transformation to break loose of our sinful condition.
- The call of the gospel message of Jesus is a constant movement away from the fallacies of the False Self to the saving freedom of the True Self.
- The true destiny of our spiritual life is embracing this struggle of breaking loose from the bondage of the False Self. This means I was born with a mask if not a series of masks. The movement to the truth involves the shattering of the masks and accepting my true identity.
- We only achieve the final and total victory of the True Self in either contemplation or death. Most of the positive victories in our life are at best partial and incomplete in their movement away from the power of the False Self.
In many ways, Merton anticipated the incarnational approach to spirituality called for by Vatican II. He emphasized human experience as the source and location of our experience of God. He saw God’s will in the concrete demands of daily life. God is seeking us in every circumstance of our life. On God’s part, it is always a call to love. It may be the alarm clock in the morning, the thrill of a little league game, a moment of crisis in the emergency room, the joy of a Thanksgiving dinner or the pain and joy of an empty nest. God is present with a call to life and love in every moment and circumstance. All of life is grace and a summoning into the True Self.
According to Merton, when we speak of the “I” we are most often referring to the superficial, empirical and external values of the False Self. All of the many characteristics of the False Self are deceitful because they are contingent. This means that they will pass away at death. This is a long, hard lesson for us to accept. A wonderful example to this truth is Jesus’ story of the man who had to build his new barns so he could pursue the illusionary freedom of his new security while, in fact, he had only hours to live. (Lk 16:15-21)
This transient “I” which holds center place in our consciousness is, at best, a mask disguising the abyss between the False Self and the True Self. Merton says this deeply rooted deception that permeates our life is going to pass away as smoke flowing out of a chimney.
The true task in our life is in a growing awareness of what is real. It demands breaking loose of the conventional wisdom that is a singular stumbling block to the freeing power of the gospel. We live in a darkness that we think is light. It is an extensive and challenging road that leads to Jesus, the Light of the World.
Almost everything in our consumer-driven society speaks of values contrary to the message of Jesus. We need to shatter the constraints of the mindset that sees security in our possessions, a constant desire to look younger, a pull to an endless search for the right medicine and stock portfolio that will all but assure us of immortality. The battle of the True Self and False Self will lead to a recognition of the desperate need for a self-knowledge and a stunning transformation of consciousness leading us to see our reality through the eyes of the gospel.
These changes will open Pandora’s Box for us. Our deeply held prejudices will surface into the light of day much to our dismay. Slowly, we will learn that all the idols were not limited only in the Old Testament. The idols of our self-deception that make us the center of reality are many and ever-present in our life. They even show up in the “respectable” practice of religion. We slowly learn that our faith journey is often a matter of convenience rather than conviction.
Breaking loose from the conventional wisdom of a comfortable religion, we are shocked to learn that being a “good Christian” is truly a Road to Jerusalem. Like the early disciples, we will need to travel in a faith that must face misunderstanding, confusion and doubt. The true Jesus is evolving out of the caricature of him that we have treasured for so long. Our long-cherished hopes and ambitions are disintegrating right before our eyes. The precious desires of respectability and recognition, security and acceptance, slowly will fade from our perspective. We begin to recognize our God in the weakness, rejection and total devastation of the Crucified Christ. The passage from the False Self to the True Self is a truly shattering experience.
This passage is a moment of deep transition in our life. Pleasure, success, health, money and. even life itself, all take on a sense of lesser values. Eventually, we will have to transcend pain, suffering and death. This all leads to the embrace of God’s loving call to life that is without end.
This victory is possible because, in spite of the pervasive consequences of Original Sin, God’s grace is more powerful, more universal and more overwhelming. God wants nothing more than that we accept God’s love and mercy as the full blossoming of the True Self.
Conclusion
In the beginning, it was stated how important it is to clearly understand that our final, non-negotiable goal is union with God, a calling that is eternal. Our life must be a constant quest to live the values of truth justice, mercy and love. This is God’s will for us. Our spiritual growth will unveil God’s presence in our daily lives. We will eventually see the utter importance of our daily responsibilities and relationships. They hold the gold of God’s will in the concrete. They will be a constant call away from selfishness; away from the dominance of the False Self. These commitments to our daily call to love and service will be a growing invitation away from the fluff of life to the substance of the gospel. God’s love and mercy become the means to our acceptance of the True Self. All of this search for life and truth is enhanced by a commitment to deep personal prayer.
