That depends. Are we discussing in this life or outside of this life? If we are discussing the soul outside of this life, I would say that my soul has a personality (its individualized quirks and nuances), not an ego. If we are talking about within this earth-bound existence, I would say that my soul functions in this domain of space and time by operating through the brain, which manifests my ego.

In this life I (soul) have witnessed and overseen the development of my ego, which is a plethora of beliefs and processes that represents the operating software of my brain. This allows me to operate more automatically so that I can accomplish many mundane tasks without having to carefully oversee what is being done. I, especially as I have become more self-identified as my spiritual self, regularly evaluate the performance of my ego and make changes often. I evaluate my ego’s performance by attending to my feelings.

Negative emotional feelings have been extremely helpful in understanding my ego. In many instances, when I would experience certain negative emotions such as anxiety, anger or shame, I could determine what belief was triggered. If I caught it early enough I could abort the associated coping strategy (defense mechanism) from being implemented. Later, by inspecting the belief, and the associated emotional response and coping mechanism, I could then determine how well that belief served me. Typically, if having that belief precipitated a negative emotion, then it was almost always untruthful. Knowing that made it easier to change or better still, release those beliefs altogether.

That aspect of me that performs this function is primarily my soul. It is only with that wisdom that I can compassionately witness and evaluate the activities of my lower, egoic mind. Over time I have learned to live from that perspective, but I was quite surprised as to how that transformation took place.

As a neurologist I would have guessed that this transformation was mainly a mental process. I would have been incorrect. It was mainly a process that was feeling in nature. What was so interesting to me was that the less I thought, the more I was able to transform. Using the meditation techniques that I’ve described, I learned to switch off my brain. That essentially turns off the ego, as the software can’t operate on a computer with no power. The more I focused on feeling my body and emotions, as well as my spiritual energetic self, the less my ego and brain were active. Maintaining that state of being (with great peace and equanimity) during my waking time, after becoming a much more proficient meditator, allowed me to much more easily reshape my ego.

This transformation allows you, as your spiritual self, to express itself much more prominently in life. You then appear to others as much more genuine, as you are actually being your authentic self. This occurs as the real you, operating through the brain, are much less filtered by the lens of your ego, as it is significantly reduced. Not only will others appreciate you more, but you will be much happier and accepting of yourself, operating in this way.

Although your soul itself doesn’t have an ego, in this life it must work through one, just like a carpenter uses tools. So, why not make it a more useful tool?