Behind the self a deeper self, and on and on until you reach the soul's core which is formed around certain basic attitudes and evaluations. You might start following the track of knowing and perceiving but in the deeper regions the frames are ethical, expressive of fundamental evaluations and expressions of faith. The soul is not the end, it is an appearance in awareness, and it is  bounded by death; the meaning of the soul is death. Awareness being deathless is not at stake, but also, being deathless contributes no form or energy. The soul is destined for death and if this is transcendence it cannot be known prior to the dying, to the being forsaken. So all of your deepest intentions are moved by soul and form part of its eternal drama. Everything of interest belongs to the soul's drama, its passion. That this seems so very Christian does not necessarily imply that Christianity yields the best approach to it, but it may be inescapable at a certain level.