Deeper meaning & purpose.

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Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/17/2008 3:26:23 AM

bernie

Posts: 223
Joined: 11/22/2007
From: TX
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There's a part of every living thing that wants to become itself, the tadpole into a frog, the chrysalis into the butterfly, a damaged human being into a whole one. That is spirituality. - (Ellen Bass)

In personality studies there are many ways of looking at the persona or mask because it is so difficult and elusive to classify or categorize. Although one may think that s/he knows who he or she really is, this may not be the case at all. On the surface there are traits or basic types such as introverts and extroverts, etc., which, however, are part of a continuous dimension, with many people in the middle.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most frequently used personality tests in mental health. The test is used by trained professionals to assist in identifying personality structure and psychopathology. The clinical scales principally measure common diagnoses (neuroses, psychoses) or specific areas of pathology such as: depression, anxiety, fears that may impact the client in a measurable way.

Gordon Allport (1897-1967) is often called the father of personality theory: He was very much a trait theorist and believed in the individuality and uniqueness of the person and that people have consistent personalities. Allport believed that through autobiographies, letters and diaries an understanding of an individual's personality could be gained.

The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to identify certain psychological differences according to the typological theories of Carl Gustav Jung. The typology model originated by Jung (and further developed by Briggs and Myers) regards personality type as similar to left or right handedness: individuals are either born with, or develop, certain preferred ways of thinking and acting. The MBTI sorts some of these psychological differences into four opposite pairs or "dichotomies", with a resulting 16 possible psychological types.

The Enneagram is a geometric figure that maps out the nine fundamental personality types of human nature and their complex interrelationships. It is a development of modern psychology that has roots in spiritual wisdom from many different ancient traditions. The word Enneagram comes from the Greek for 'nine' - ennea - and 'figure' - gammos; thus, it is a 'nine-pointed figure.'

In understanding ourselves, our relationships, our spiritual growth, and many other important issues, we will see that type - not gender, not culture, and not generational differences - is the crucial factor.

The heart of the Enneagram is the universal insight that human beings are spiritual presences incarnated in the material world and yet mysteriously embodying the same life and Spirit as the Creator.

The great metaphors from all spiritual traditions - grace, liberation, being born again, awakening from illusion - testify that it is possible to transcend the conditioning of my past and do a new thing. - (Sam Keen)

This idea of freedom is as old as human speculation. It is present in the Sanskrit texts, in Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, Augustine, and Descartes. Perhaps its best expression can be found in Plato's allegory of the cave. What would freedom be if not the effort at breaking one's chains, climbing with great caution and difficulty the steep walls of the cave, and finally seeing the sun? What would freedom be if the Philosopher, after seeing the sun, did not return to the back of the cave to tell men that what they see is an illusion; that real freedom lies in the awareness of truth?

- (Fromm and Xirau, The Nature of Man)

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RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/17/2008 7:53:13 PM

joeharmony

Posts: 160
Joined: 11/21/2007
From: Newcastle, Australia
Status: offline

There needs to be a personality test for people who hate doing personality tests, because they always put one into categories, and require one to choose between alternatives which a)are not true alternatives, b)are often inacurate in describing who a person really is, and c)are by no means the only possibilities.

I tried doing the free Eannagram test, and got to question 3, and couldn't choose one of the alternatives, because they both had characteristics that fitted me. I've done other personality tests, and come out as an introvert who would have been a performer if I hadn't been taught to fear people by my childhood.

I've come to the conclusion that the only two things personality tests (and a host of other categorisation tools) do is show that human beings are more comfortable interacting with others if they are put into convenient boxes with lables on them, and also that the people who invent personality tests are anal-retentive, have OCD, and would have a nervous breakdown if confronted by having to choose between more than two alternatives.

_____________________________

_____________________________________
With Love
Joe

Post #: 2

RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/17/2008 10:54:37 PM

bernie

Posts: 223
Joined: 11/22/2007
From: TX
Status: offline

True, sir, they just don't work for some people, esp., perhaps, if they're overly analytical - a colleague would just pooh-pooh them, psych tests, because he was overly cerebral. He was a computer Geek, lived w/ about 200 computers, all Macs, loathed Gates. But deep down he had a magnanimous heart, asked him casually why he didn't have a family, he responded, something or other that he proposed several times, was always turned down. Anyway, he was very gifted, creative, and was like the Pied Piper inviting all his neighbors in a low-income area into his home for free computer classes. And he worked at an Alternative Center w/ very difficult kids which he would deeply enrich with challenging, fun games and indefatigable energy...on the Enneagram he would surely be a '5w6' (The Problem-Solver); yes, a la Bill Gates et al.

'They are often drawn to technical subjects: engineering, science, and philosophy, as well as inventing and repair work...They can combine a talent for innovation with business savvy, sometimes with highly lucrative results.'

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RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/18/2008 6:29:14 AM

buttington

Posts: 2242
Joined: 6/9/2007
From: UK
Status: offline

I did one of these tests recently and found, like Joe, that I couldn't choose between categories in several cases, and in one or two, none of the choices were 'me' at all!

I've always found, in what ever kind of test it is, that I don't fit one category. I'm a little bit of each one, like, I suspect, most of us

In the latest test I apparently am an Investigator, a Reformer and a Helper.

So now you know

Jude

_____________________________

Love is the only way

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RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/18/2008 11:01:16 AM

bernie

Posts: 223
Joined: 11/22/2007
From: TX
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Interesting, ma'am, the Ones w/ a 2-wing, The Advocate...People of this subtype blend their quest for ideals & higher principles w/ empathy & compassion for others...they are genuinely interested in improving the lot of mankind & more willing to get into the trenches to bring about the changes they advocate. (Notable exs.: Hillary Clinton, Joan Baez, John Paul II.)

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RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/18/2008 7:52:13 PM

joeharmony

Posts: 160
Joined: 11/21/2007
From: Newcastle, Australia
Status: offline

It's a western, cerebral, disconnected trait to try to categorise people into convenient types, because it means you don't have to connect with the real person. Personality tests, along with most of the other western psychological tests, ignore the effect of life experience, or pathologise it. How much of who I am at the age of 58 is who I was born as and how much is what I've experienced during my life? How can there be any test of who I was born as when it changes with every experience?

I was wondering yesterday, what sort of person would I have been had I had a different early life. I am an introvert who fears people, but that was learnt as part of the abuse I experienced. I know I could have been a singer performing in front of lots of people, had it not been for that fear.

These same tests have been used through our recent history to allegedly show that a particular type of person, or a particular race of people, were inferior to another - e.g. IQ tests were used to "prove" that people of african descent were "inferior" to white people.

Life never presents a choice of two absolutes. People ar not ever simply either "diplomatic, charming and ambitious" or "direct, formal and idealistic". Joan Baez was an extraordinary singer and performer, who really connected with her audiences, yet she suffered extreme anxiety before concerts. John Paul II was a great reformer, yet he did nothing about the Church's ban on contraception, in fact he reinforced it.

Boxes are for putting stuff you're storing in the basement in, not putting people in.

_____________________________

_____________________________________
With Love
Joe

Post #: 6

RE: Deeper meaning & purpose. - 5/23/2008 9:31:24 PM

bernie

Posts: 223
Joined: 11/22/2007
From: TX
Status: offline

True, you can't compartmentalize, pigeonhole people, but you can see trends, patterns, traits that can be very telling of certain proclivities and attitudes. For instance, Extraversion and Intraversion, whether you'll become more or less energized as you act, and if you have a need to reflect in order to rebuild energy. The Introvert's flow is directed inward toward concepts and ideas; and the Extravert is directed outward towards people and objects. Thera are several contrasting characteristics between Extraverts and Introverts: Extraverts desire breadth and are action-oriented, while introverts (which this writer scores 100% on the MBTI; would rather read a book than go to a party) seek depth and are thought-oriented.

This, interestingly, may correspond to the Enneagram of Personality, the ' Type Four, The Individualist' (based on nine principal or ego-archetypal forms or types of human personality) is being driven by the desire to understand himself and find a place in the world. Riso and Hudson depict Fours as being deep-sea divers of the psyche: they delve into the inner world of the human soul and return to the surface, reporting on what they have found...Because of their attunement to their inner states - to their subconscious feeling and impulses - Fours are usually highly intuitive, an attitude that feeds their self-discovery and creativity.

However, if they are Healthy Fours what they mirror and reflect as they share from the depths of their souls is meaningful and constructive; and not morbidly withdrawing, searching desperately inside themselves for something they'll never find while creating a spiral of depression. (Ergo, why it's so vitally important to practice mindfulness, centering techniques, and discover our Essence, Presence; and disidentify from our persona, the mask, our illusory self.)

The heart of the Enneagram (Gk. for 'nine' - ennea - and 'figure' - grammos; thus, it is a 'nine-pointed figure') is the universal insight that human beings are spiritual presences incarnated in the material world and yet mysteriously embodying the same life and Spirit as the Creator.

THE STAGES OF THE WORK

If we were to really observe ourselves,

we would become aware of our tensions and habits.

If we were to become aware of our tensions and habits,

we would let go and relax.

If we were to let go and relax,

we would be aware of sensations.

If we were to be aware of sensations,

we would receive impressions.

If we were to receive impressions,

we would awaken to the moment.

If we were to awaken to the moment,

we would experience reality.

If we were to experience reality,

we would see that we are not our personality.

If we were to see that we are not our personality,

we would remember ourselves.

If we were to remember ourselves,

we would let go of our fear and attachments.

If we would let go of our fear and attachments,

we would be touched by God.

If we were touched by God,

we would seek union with God.

If we were to seek union with God,

we would will what God wills.

If we were to will what God wills,

we would be transformed.

If we were transformed,

the world would be transformed.

If the world were transformed,

all would return to God.

Post #: 7

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