'Iam' - the cry of every human being; 'I am that' - the cry of every personality, who realises his selfhood and uses his personality in order to express the will of the in-dwelling entity, the true person.
'Iam that I am' - the cry of the individual soul as it is lost in the whole and realises its oneness with the soul or self of all.
The characteristics of the individual who is beginning to function as a personality might be briefly enumerated as follows. They are simple and clear and pre-eminently selfish. Let it not be forgotten that the primitive step on the way to selfhood of necessity is selfishness. Let it be equally well remembered that the prime hindrance to the advanced and highly evolved personality is selfhood, or the prolongation of the selfish attitude.
Extract taken from A Treatise On White Magic by Alice A Bailey P393
