Our past history or accumulated experience with a person can blind us to who they really are in the now. As we get to know them, and spend year after year in their company, we become blind to their constantly changing state of mind and relationship with the world. Therefore, we are unable to see them for who they really are in the moment.
Likewise, our perceived self is constantly changing as we grow with the passing of time and acquisition of experiences. However, we continue to live under the illusion that others perceive us as our conscious awareness perceives itself. These second and first-hand perceptions will always be clashing with one another, and yet neither one is the "true self."
The true self is equivalent to all the current and past perceptions of individuality as interpreted by those who have known us long enough to form a mental image of us as individuals and by our own sense of self consciousness. Combined, these realities come together and form the "true self." It is impossible to for any human to interpret this "true self" of their own volition.
Based on personal accountants of states of enlightenment brought about through intense meditation, psychedelic drug use, or by long-term practice of mindfulness techniques, it might be possible to tap into the "true self" in a conscious state. But perhaps these accounts are actually describing a pass into the realms of unconsciousness, where the true self is more likely to reside in its perceivable form.
