Another way of defining ‘Sense of Self’: The subconscious awareness of who we are, the way we experience our own Being, and what we use to indicate to ourself that we exist.
What is the difference between ‘Self’ and ‘Sense-of-Self’? In other words, can there be a ‘Self’ (identity, Being) within our psyche which we do not have a ‘sense’ (awareness) of? Consciousness of one’s ‘Self’ is distinct from the existence within the psyche of such an identity or Being.
This theory analyzes Sense-of-Self, or Self for that matter, into six components or ‘layers’ of kinds of ‘awareness of self’. The very deepest layers are not usually accessible to ordinary consciousness.
There are three healthy and unhealthy versions of Sense-of-Self analyzed at length in this Theory:
– Normal, healthy, natural (Natural Sense of Self or NatSoS)
– Unhealthy and distorted (Substitute Sense of Self or SubstSoS)
– The result of healing from an unhealthy distorted Sense of Self (Restored Sense of Self or RestSoS).