In an age of self-discovery, self-assertion, and consciousness-raising, it is a great joy to know that man already is a wholly fulfilled spiritual individuality. His identity is established because he reflects the divine Ego, God. In truth each of us is the likeness of this Ego, and we do not need to search for our identity. Our selfhood is intact; it cannot be abrogated. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes, "The one Ego, the one Mind or Spirit called God, is infinite individuality, which supplies all form and comeliness and which reflects reality and divinity in individual spiritual man and things." Science and Health, p. 281.
Although "ego" is usually defined in psychoanalytical theory as one division of the psyche, Mrs. Eddy, in her writings, turns us from the material concept to the spiritual counter fact—the one Ego, divine consciousness. The Ego and the Father are inseparably one. And we are the offspring of this Ego, His image and likeness, as the Bible teaches. What a comforting thought it is to realize that we are not a vast number of separate egos, sometimes in conflict with each other.
When we understand that man is eternally at one with God as His image or idea, we begin to see the nature of our true individuality. Man is because God is! God is the one cause and creator, the source of our spiritual identity, our only real identity. As God's ideas, we express Him in such qualities as lovingkindness, intelligence, integrity, patience, humility. Recognizing that we are the reflection, or image, of the one Ego assures us that we cannot be separated from our beloved Father—that actually we always express His divine nature in an infinite range of spiritual qualities and activities.
