The Struggle for the Authentic Self: Creating Your True Self for a Peaceful World concerns itself with the issue of self identity and awareness, as such, it is built around two inter-related and very central questions:  “Who is the real me?” and “What is my purpose for living in the human world?”  In response to these two and other related questions, the book’s purpose is to awaken in individuals an intense desire to live an authentic reality, recognizing that their self identity, constructed mainly from society's forces and conditions, is not their true, authentic self.  The authentic self originates from our deep inner feelings, emotions, passion and creativity or what is popularly referred to as our intuitive intelligence or knowledge, our highest intelligence.   

Dr. Padilla integrated the work of social scientists, philosophers, quantum physicists, spiritual mystics, writers and practitioners, literary writers, singers and his personal experience to create a text which aims to inspire individuals to recognize that the attainment of the authentic self represents the ultimate, infinite purpose for which they live in the human world.  That all other “finite” purposes, like the pursuit of happiness and love, living in caring and compassion cannot come prior to the attainment of the authentic self.  How can a person feel love for self and others when that person does not know self from within the essence and beauty of his/her true nature? 

Dr. Padilla uses the word struggle in the title of the book to firmly establish how the attainment of the authentic self represents a struggle, a battle or fight to be waged against the conditioned “lesser self” or the self that society and individuals (mostly unconsciously) have collaborated to create.  Society is fully equipped with a wide array of forces and conditions of influence to sway individuals away from the authentic self so to ensure that they develop into and remain living as normal, ordinary, lesser self beings.   But once we agree to take on this struggle, this fight and win, once we give ourselves the permission to become the true authentic self, we will experience true freedom; we will experience true, ever-lasting love and happiness; we will experience the most incredible connection with the rest of the world, making us want to naturally and with profound heart-felt love inspire others to take on the struggle for the authentic self.