if i may be a little mercurial a little woo woo a little mamby pamby for a moment- the self is a thing that you do, you create Your Self through the actions you take. this is usually something simple like “i am a respectful person and i create this self by doing respectful things such as refilling the pitcher or waiting my turn to speak” but it can be a lot more complicated than that. particularly for those of us who are less tethered to consensus reality, you can craft selves that are “true” i.e. get at some deeper level of You, of Who You Are while not being “real,” like in the case of someone identifying themselves as A Ghost, maybe to get at the deeper “truth” of alienation, transparency, maybe feeling trapped in time, while not Literally Being An Actual Specter, Remaining Fleshy, Etc. to go further, intentional engagement with these levels of “self” as a form of play can cause strange and beautiful effects, again, particularly for those of us with certain proclivities towards the Unreal, similar to the sort of rush someone might get from taking psychoactive drugs. certain thought patterns, feelings of euphoria and delirium, untethering from consensus reality, can result from intentional and targeted play with one’s identity. the way you understand yourself filters the way you perceive the world. i hope this has made some sense and thank you for your curious mind