Personality

What are your personality traits? Can we define and label them?

I really enjoy studying people, both from a psychology point of view, but also from a spiritual point of view, individually and collectively. There are a few tools which I use to help me make generalizations about human-kind or to get to know specific people who cross my path. One of these are relational psychology tests, which are kind of guided meditation exercises which utilize free-association to delve into your psyche, such as used in Exercise #3 below. This one is based on a symbolic journey that works kind of like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story. Common ones include The Forest, The Castle, The Oasis, and the Cube. There are many different versions. These may be less scientific, but they're great for personal introspection. 

Journal Exercise #3:  A Walk in the Woods

This is a guided imagery psychology test, and so there are no right or wrong answers. But, it is important that you allow yourself to fully visualize the experience without thinking too much. If you've seen this sort of thing before, just try not to think about the interpretation. Focus on visualizing the journey. It may be a good idea to write down key points of what you see so you can remember later when we interpret the symbols. If you really want to take this seriously, ask a friend to read the points below, pausing after each question so you can write your answer. Capture as much detail as you can about your first impression, but don't over-do it. Just note things like impressions of feelings or emotions, sizes, colors, or other sensory information. 

1. Picture yourself walking through a forest. Take a look around you and notice the following:

What kind of trees and how large are they? How closely do they grow together? Are they evergreens or deciduous trees? Are there different varieties or difference sizes? Do you feel anything emotionally about the trees or your relationship with them?

2. Look down and ahead, how are you finding your way through the trees? 

Are you following a defined pathway or just meandering through where the underbrush is thinnest? Is the pathway narrow or wide? Is it smooth or paved? Or is it rougher with loose stones and roots? Is the way clear or filled with thick brush? 

3. Is anyone with you in the woods? 

Can you identify who or what, and how do you feel about their company?

4. Do you see any animals?

What kind of animals, and how many or how large are they? What does/do the animals do? Do you try to approach any of them and how do you approach them?

5. As you continue on your way, you come across a house in a clearing. 

Describe the size and style of the house and how do you enter it? Does it have a fence? 

6. Once inside the house, you see a table. Describe what you see on or around the table.

7. As you leave the house, you look down and discover a cup or possibly more than one.

How many do you see and what does it or they look like? Is there a particular one that stands out or that you have stronger feels for? Can you describe those feelings?

8. Next to the house is a body of water. What form is the water in (e.g. a stream, a river, a lake, etc)

You need to cross the water. How do you do it? 

9. On the other side of the water, you attempt to continue your journey, but before you get far, you come across a barrier obstructing your path. What is it? 

You need to get past the barrier, how do you proceed? 

10. What do you see when you get to the other side of the barrier?

11. How do you feel about the place you have arrived at? Are you satisfied with it? Do you want to stay there or not really? 

Interpretation:

Be advised that it is most effective to fully complete the journey above, before you read the interpretation of symbols below. 

1. The journey itself represents the journey of life. The forest represents the world or the society you live in, typically your view of other people. It's important to pay attention to the feelings you have as well as the imagery, just as in dream-interpretation. If the trees are very large and overwhelming, then you may feel intimidated by society or worldly expectations. If the trees are of diverse types, then you may enjoy culture and meeting new kinds of people. What did your trees tell you about how you view your place in society?

2. The path through the forest represents your life path. If it is ill-defined or rambling, you may either feel lost or wayward, or you may be the adventurous type who prefers to travel whichever way the wind blows. But symbolically, you don't follow a straight course. The surface of that path can also illuminate how difficult you think life is. If it's full of stumbling rocks or roots or very uneven, then you might interpret that as you see life as a journey of challenges. A smooth, straight path would indicate clear direction and a relatively easy action plan. 

3. If you have human company in the woods, it may represent an important person in your life. If you simply feel a presence without form, it may represent divine company or a feeling of universal connection or direction.

4. The size or disposition of the animal(s) you come across represent your perception of problems in your life. How you approach them indicates how you handle your problems (either passively or actively). 

5. The size of the home represents your ambitions in life. If there is a fence or closed doors, that may indicate that you are not easily open to people or do not easily extend trust.

6. The table represents your happiness with your life. If it is filled with food, people or flowers versus is it is empty, which might indicate some unhappiness.

7. The cup, or cups, represent significant relationships in your life. Often, these are romantic in nature, but not always. The number you see is how many deeply impactful relationships you've had in the past or currently. If one stands out, it may represent the person accompanying you (from earlier) or a spouse. It often represents qualities of your ideal mate, whether or not you have met them. 

8. The body of water represents your viewpoints on love. If it is merrily gurgling brooke, you may see love as fun, flirty or playful experience. A wide, rushing river, may indicate fears of love sweeping you away or a joy in the idea of being swept off your feet. A deep, still lake may show that you prefer deep, committed attachments full of emotional loyalty. The key to interpretation is examining your feelings about experiencing the water. How did you cross it? Did you jump in and swim across? Was there a bridge? Or was it such a small spring that you could simply leap over it? Consider how saturated by water you ended up. Do you avoid love, or relish the feel of the water?

9. The barrier you encounter represents death. Did you see it as a picturesque stone wall with nice easy gate? Or did you have to climb through an impenetrable bramble-thicket that scrapes and tore at you? Do you fear death or the pain of it? Or do view it more as a natural and necessary transition to the next realm? 

10. What you find on the other side of the barrier represents your view of the afterlife and your self-perception of how well you are doing in your life today. If you see a valley, you may feel like you are failing in life or haven't reached your full potential. A clearing or meadow may mean you feel just fine about your life, but a rise, like a mountain top or raised cliff, may mean you feel really great about what you've accomplished so far. Some may see a continuation of the forest, because you aren't quite done with everything you want to accomplish. 

For your journal, write down your impressions of this experiment, or what you learned about yourself. 

There are many free personality tests available on the web that you can take to help you delve into what makes you tick. Probably the most common are the Meyers-Briggs or Jung (Carl Jung) typologies. I have been working on my own personality system for some years now, and I hope to someday publish it. But, without going too far into it, I'd like to borrow a small piece of it for this exercise.

Journal Exercise #4:  Finding Your Personality's Natural Processing Realm

Ask yourself the following question:

When confronted with a conflict-oriented situation, such as an angry neighbor or a bar fight or even a (minor) car wreck, what is your initial reaction likely to be:

A.    The first thing I am aware of is my body's reactions, my senses are heightened.  I feel my heart pumping or my hands sweating. 

B.    The first thing that happens is a sharpening of my awareness. I have an instant perception of where each individual is spatially and their potential threat capabilities, as I assess fight or flight options.

C.    The first thing I do is shut down my outward expressions and mentally retreat inward to assess the situation before acting or showing my hand. 

D.    My first response is to express my feelings about the situation to whomever is closest. I need them to know I am upset!

E. My first instinct is to eliminate the conflict, by any means necessary. I may attempt to diffuse it, escape it, or if necessary step forward to control it in order to keep others safe. 

Your initial reaction can tell you a lot about how you most comfortably process information and experiences. This is what I refer to as your personality's "Realm". There are basically four realms:  physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Although, there are many personalities and some may cross-over realms depending on the kind of processing needed. Also, many consider the emotional and spiritual realms to have significant overlap. Personally, I disagree with this; I think they are quite distinct. But none-the-less, your answers should correspond as follows:

A.    Physical-type responses are about instincts. There are two subsets, Option A reflects a Sensory Physical, which are those who's instincts are processed by their body's biochemical system. 

B.    Option B, Environmental Physicals, are going to quickly and instinctively respond to the situation with action; their first step is to trust their instincts. They know their gut usually knows best. 

C.    Mental-type responses are about gaining the upper hand by strategy and analysis. They prefer to think through scenarios and assess options before committing to action. 

D.    Emotional-type responses are about expression and communication. 

E.    Spiritual-type responses are a bit trickier to identify, but in essence, they are pretty conflict-averse. Some of them may shut-down or pretend the situation isn't happening, others may step right into the heart of it an attempt to wrest-control of the situation. But the underlying motivation is take an out-of-control situation and return it to balance or to reassert harmony.