The Personality ..

Hi daz,

Would you say that your personality a true reflection of your self...?

....and how would you define 'personality' .... no dictionary definitions allowed !

Hi Guys .

Is one's personality a true reflection of one's self?

x daz x

Ok, going against Wildstrawberry here myself hehe!....

Personality comes from the latin word persona which means "mask".
Our personality or mask changes depending on what situation we are in. If we are at work we tend ot have our "work mask" on, and when we're with our loved ones at home we have our "home mask" on, and if we're at our parents we have another mask on etc. etc. which is why people always feel awkward at work's Christmas parties when they bring their partners along, because they can't wear two masks at once and they don't want to show their work mask to their partner or their home mask to their work colleagues etc.

Of course this can depend on how different the masks are. As Shakespeare said in As You Like It...."All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players"... which is to say that we all tend to wear the masks of theatre in all that we do, and then take off those masks when we go backstage.

The true Self is something that doesn't change. It's the "I" that we were born with and the "I" that we will die with.... the same "I" that observes our personalities, our mood changes, our changing physical body etc. but in itself it doesn't change and it's the one thing that cannot be observed but we know it's there by virue of our being aware. A simple example of recognising the "I" or Self that doesn't change is when we have emotional changes. Let's say that we get angry about something, and we can observe ourselves being angry. Now, when that anger goes and we have a happy emoition instead, we don't suddenly find our Self has dissappeared along with the anger. The Self is not the Anger, and likewise it isn't any of the emotions, those are just things it's aware of, and we unforuntately become attached to under the belief that we are these things. The same sort of test can be done for anything we can observe changing. (another good example being the dying off of the cells of our body which are replaced with new cells as our body changes... the "I" that observes these changes doesn't die or disappear along with the cells).

So, is the personality a reflection of the Self.... absolutely not, it's a creation of the mind. The more people recognise their personality for what it is and the more they choose to act truthfully in everything they do (letting go of attachments, judgements etc.), the more their personalities fade to become similar in everything they do, and their stage act becomes true action, rather than a script they have learnt to play.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi daz,

Would you say that your personality a true reflection of your self...?

....and how would you define 'personality' .... no dictionary definitions allowed !

Hi W.S.

Thanks for batting the post back at me (lol) . :p

There are so many angles that one can come from regarding this . .

O.k. Let me start from here .

I would say that one comes into this world with their soulful essence in tact for use of a better word . Some may refer this to one’s nature . I would say one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression .

Life has it’s ups and downs but not everyone that lives on there own and is out of work or is suffering from a type of illness for example is lonely or miserable or bored .

Is anothers perception of anothers personality accurate? I suppose in one way one needs to know there own expression firstly (lol) .

Which can tie in with my own definition of the personality . I would say the personality is an expression of how one feels in relation to what they think they are (to a degree) and what that means to them in relation to their interaction with / of life .

If an individual experiences life where the personal aspect of what they are is absent and they are in a continuos expression of love for example are they then free from having a personality .

x daz x

Ok, going against Wildstrawberry here myself hehe!....

Boy are you in trouble 😀 .

Personality comes from the latin word persona which means "mask".
Our personality or mask changes depending on what situation we are in. If we are at work we tend ot have our "work mask" on, and when we're with our loved ones at home we have our "home mask" on, and if we're at our parents we have another mask on etc. etc. which is why people always feel awkward at work's Christmas parties when they bring their partners along, because they can't wear two masks at once and they don't want to show their work mask to their partner or their home mask to their work colleagues etc.

Of course this can depend on how different the masks are. As Shakespeare said in As You Like It...."All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players"... which is to say that we all tend to wear the masks of theatre in all that we do, and then take off those masks when we go backstage.

The true Self is something that doesn't change. It's the "I" that we were born with and the "I" that we will die with.... the same "I" that observes our personalities, our mood changes, our changing physical body etc. but in itself it doesn't change and it's the one thing that cannot be observed but we know it's there by virue of our being aware. A simple example of recognising the "I" or Self that doesn't change is when we have emotional changes. Let's say that we get angry about something, and we can observe ourselves being angry. Now, when that anger goes and we have a happy emoition instead, we don't suddenly find our Self has dissappeared along with the anger. The Self is not the Anger, and likewise it isn't any of the emotions, those are just things it's aware of, and we unforuntately become attached to under the belief that we are these things. The same sort of test can be done for anything we can observe changing. (another good example being the dying off of the cells of our body which are replaced with new cells as our body changes... the "I" that observes these changes doesn't die or disappear along with the cells).

So, is the personality a reflection of the Self.... absolutely not, it's a creation of the mind. The more people recognise their personality for what it is and the more they choose to act truthfully in everything they do (letting go of attachments, judgements etc.), the more their personalities fade to become similar in everything they do, and their stage act becomes true action, rather than a script they have learnt to play.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi Giles .

I agree that the self doesn't change and I agree with much of what you said .

Just a few thoughts to put by you .

So, is the personality a reflection of the Self.... absolutely not, it's a creation of the mind.

Well I would say that the self is of the mind also . 🙂

Can the personality be separated from the self Giles?

If an individual is at peace with their individual self for instance would that inner peace be reflected or will that peace have an influence upon their person / personality expression?

x daz x

I would say that one comes into this world with their soulful essence in tact for use of a better word . Some may refer this to one’s nature . I would say one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression .

Are you referring to yourself here?

Personally, I'd say that our True Nature is always there, in everyone... so it always stays - never goes away, but can become eclipsed by conditioning, issues etc

Is anothers perception of anothers personality accurate? I suppose in one way one needs to know there own expression firstly (lol) ..

I would question why is it important if anothers perception of anothers personality is accurate? Interacting personality to personality (as opposed to one True Self/Absolute recognizing another True Self/Absolute) occurs because of attachment doesn't it, keeping one (or two) bound in dualism, or so it seems to me. So if the way one's personality is perceived by others matters at all, it's because that person is identifying with, and is attached to a mask (self-image, or persona).

Which can tie in with my own definition of the personality . I would say the personality is an expression of how one feels in relation to what they think they are (to a degree) and what that means to them in relation to their interaction with / of life .

If an individual experiences life where the personal aspect of what they are is absent and they are in a continuos expression of love for example are they then free from having a personality .

So if your definition of 'personality' is the sum total of an individuals un-integrated issues in expression, are you then wondering if an individual who is in continuous expression of love, is "free from having a personality" or characterless... hmn, I'm not sure. Do you see an aspect of your own personality (by your own definition of that word) as burdensome in some way?

And, is the personal aspect of what they necessarily absent when "they are in a continuos expression of love for example"....what makes you believe this is the case - at the beginning of your post you said: "one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression ." , which are contradictory statements, it seems - assuming that you believe that the quintessence of our true nature is love - I think you've said that on the forums haven't you?

Ok, going against Wildstrawberry here myself hehe!....

Boy are you in trouble 😀 .

Hummn... I think a few people around here may have been mistaking me for their mother, who just so happens to be a little bit cross with them....hmnnn, indeed.:D

Hi Daz,

Just a few thoughts to put by you .

Originally Posted by Energylz [url][/url]
So, is the personality a reflection of the Self.... absolutely not, it's a creation of the mind.

Well I would say that the self is of the mind also. 🙂

The small "self" is of the mind, but the true Self, that Self that is complete awareness, the one that is observing but cannot be observed... is not of the mind... except that we use our mind to conceptually understand the observer we are aware of.

You can easily find yourself able to observe your emotions, so you kow you cannot be the emotions if you are the one observing them. Likeiwse, you can easily observe thoughts arising and going again, so you know you cannot be the thoughts. You can easily observe memories of the past and ideas of the future, so you know you cannot be the memories. You can observe your senses, so you know you cannot be the senses. All of those things manifest through the mind. However, the one thing you cannot observe is the observer itself, but you do know it's there because it's observing... it's aware. That awareness is your true Self, but whilst you know you are awareness you can't observe it no matter how hard you look... yet the creations of mind, and the things the mind processes (senses, emotions etc.) you can observe. Now, just because you cannot BE those things, doesn't mean that you are not attached to them, after all your awareness is manifesting through this physical reality (as real as your mind would like to consider it). As I said before, you are attached to these things but your true Self is not these things. Chop off my arms and I am still aware, still the "I" that I refer to when I question "who am I?" (and no jokes about chopping off my head... you know that would stop my physical communication with you, though by extrapolation it would seem out of place to suggest that the "I" will disappear because the head is removed, especially when we've already discovered that the "I" doesn't exist in the mind; the mind is just the interface through with "I" manifests in the physical sense).

Can the personality be separated from the self Giles?

Absolutely. the personality is a creation of the mind... learnt responses etc. We weren't born with personalities, they are something that have developed as we've grown, and as previously mentioned, we have different ones for different situations. If I were to give up work (wishful thinking eh!) and lead a life without it, then I would have no need of the work personality. In truth there is no need for a work personality (or any other), if one acts truthfully and to ones best in everything that we do... that is when true actions meet the needs of the moment and are not based on learnt responses, and we are acting from the knowledge within the true Self, not from what people have taught us (directly or indirectly) or what we believe people expect from us.

If an individual is at peace with their individual self for instance would that inner peace be reflected or will that peace have an influence upon their person / personality expression?

If one connects with the true Self and acts truthfully (rather than re-acts) then this will be apparent to 'others'. There would be no "personality" except to others who have personalities and will naturally see this person's acts as different from their own. It will be their own judgment and personality giving a false impression that the person has a certain "personality", but in truth they are just being true to themselves and others, and that will be apparent by the fact that they will not act differently for different people. Whether that fits with your concept of "at peace with their individual self" I'm not sure... because if a person acts truthfully in all they do without judgment or personality then they will be acting with a view to all as One, rather than an individual self. Once one considers themselves to be seperate from 'others' (an individual self) then conflict arises because we start to consider that some "thing" is "mine" and not "theirs" etc. and this is attachment (to use the buddhist term) which arises out of ego (ahankhara being the sanskrit terms for ego, meaning when the true Self becomes attached to something 'else' as if it 'owns' it (for want of a better phrase)),

Hope that's come across clearly. It's not easy to summarise several years of philosophy teachings.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Are you referring to yourself here?

I can relate to that which I have said . Yes .

Personally, I'd say that our True Nature is always there, in everyone... so it always stays - never goes away, but can become eclipsed by conditioning, issues etc

Yes I would agree

I would question why is it important if anothers perception of anothers personality is accurate? Interacting personality to personality (as opposed to one True Self/Absolute recognizing another True Self/Absolute) occurs because of attachment doesn't it, keeping one (or two) bound in dualism, or so it seems to me. So if the way one's personality is perceived by others matters at all, it's because that person is identifying with, and is attached to a mask (self-image, or persona).

I haven’t referenced that it is important to know one’s own expression but I am rather pointing towards if one knows one’s self one’s perception is clearer than when one does not . The vibe is similar to loving thyself before one can love another . One can apply a level of importance to knowing one’s self and self loving if they choose to .

So if the way one's personality is perceived by others matters at all, it's because that person is identifying with, and is attached to a mask (self-image, or persona).

Each individual to their own as in if it will matter to them or not but I would say that an individual can notice that another is in expression due to the presence of a fear rather than love . In that respect one would know love and fear and how that can be expressed . Then within that understandings had one can approach, converse, with another in away that will reflect their fearful expression rather than take it as a true one .

In that respect it is more about detaching from what is in expression rather than attaching in a way where one sees through the guises and the masks .

So if your definition of 'personality' is the sum total of an individuals un-integrated issues in expression, are you then wondering if an individual who is in continuous expression of love, is "free from having a personality" or characterless... hmn, I'm not sure. Do you see an aspect of your own personality (by your own definition of that word) as burdensome in some way?

I would say the personality will integrate all issues and non issues . I don’t think one can separate the issues from the non issues lol .

Individuals that know me well would say that I have been pretty consistent in my expression all of my life so far despite the sufferings had - now is that my personality that hasn’t changed or is that my true nature that hasn’t? When we speak of one’s personality changing I would say that many have seen life knock people down and whereas an individual that was always perhaps seen as to be happy and joyful one can at times seemingly lose one’s mojo .

And, is the personal aspect of what they necessarily absent when "they are in a continuos expression of love for example"....what makes you believe this is the case - at the beginning of your post you said: "one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression ." , which are contradictory statements, it seems - assuming that you believe that the quintessence of our true nature is love - I think you've said that on the forums haven't you?

I said quite rightly that "one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression ."

But that would depend on how much of the personality is in expression W.S. If one is expressing more of their personality rather than their true nature then what is in expression would reflect that . If an individual has detached themselves from conditioning and from memory that is of the person then perhaps one’s true nature or essence would be one’s expression .

Whilst an Individual is in expression of a strong personality one’s true nature perhaps will be on the back burner so to speak but one’s true nature will always be present to a degree and that true nature is of love .

x daz x

Hi Daz,

The small "self" is of the mind, but the true Self, that Self that is complete awareness, the one that is observing but cannot be observed... is not of the mind... except that we use our mind to conceptually understand the observer we are aware of.

You can easily find yourself able to observe your emotions, so you kow you cannot be the emotions if you are the one observing them. Likeiwse, you can easily observe thoughts arising and going again, so you know you cannot be the thoughts. You can easily observe memories of the past and ideas of the future, so you know you cannot be the memories. You can observe your senses, so you know you cannot be the senses. All of those things manifest through the mind. However, the one thing you cannot observe is the observer itself, but you do know it's there because it's observing... it's aware. That awareness is your true Self, but whilst you know you are awareness you can't observe it no matter how hard you look... yet the creations of mind, and the things the mind processes (senses, emotions etc.) you can observe. Now, just because you cannot BE those things, doesn't mean that you are not attached to them, after all your awareness is manifesting through this physical reality (as real as your mind would like to consider it). As I said before, you are attached to these things but your true Self is not these things. Chop off my arms and I am still aware, still the "I" that I refer to when I question "who am I?" (and no jokes about chopping off my head... you know that would stop my physical communication with you, though by extrapolation it would seem out of place to suggest that the "I" will disappear because the head is removed, especially when we've already discovered that the "I" doesn't exist in the mind; the mind is just the interface through with "I" manifests in the physical sense).

Absolutely. the personality is a creation of the mind... learnt responses etc. We weren't born with personalities, they are something that have developed as we've grown, and as previously mentioned, we have different ones for different situations. If I were to give up work (wishful thinking eh!) and lead a life without it, then I would have no need of the work personality. In truth there is no need for a work personality (or any other), if one acts truthfully and to ones best in everything that we do... that is when true actions meet the needs of the moment and are not based on learnt responses, and we are acting from the knowledge within the true Self, not from what people have taught us (directly or indirectly) or what we believe people expect from us.

If one connects with the true Self and acts truthfully (rather than re-acts) then this will be apparent to 'others'. There would be no "personality" except to others who have personalities and will naturally see this person's acts as different from their own. It will be their own judgment and personality giving a false impression that the person has a certain "personality", but in truth they are just being true to themselves and others, and that will be apparent by the fact that they will not act differently for different people. Whether that fits with your concept of "at peace with their individual self" I'm not sure... because if a person acts truthfully in all they do without judgment or personality then they will be acting with a view to all as One, rather than an individual self. Once one considers themselves to be seperate from 'others' (an individual self) then conflict arises because we start to consider that some "thing" is "mine" and not "theirs" etc. and this is attachment (to use the buddhist term) which arises out of ego (ahankhara being the sanskrit terms for ego, meaning when the true Self becomes attached to something 'else' as if it 'owns' it (for want of a better phrase)),

Hope that's come across clearly. It's not easy to summarise several years of philosophy teachings.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi Mate,

How I see it Giles is

The Self that observes and the small self (using your words) that is of of the mind must be present of the mind in order to observe . Self realization is realizing the Self within mind for beyond mind there is no Self be it big Self or little self .

The mind allows one to know one without conceptualising what is realized . Only the ordinary / intellectual aspect of one’s mind evaluates anything .

I also see it that there is only one self . That self is of the mind and is also beyond the mind . There is also no separation of that self that is of or beyond the mind .

x daz x

Hi Daz,

I haven’t referenced that it is important to know one’s own expression but I am rather pointing towards if one knows one’s self one’s perception is clearer than when one does not . The vibe is similar to loving thyself before one can love another . One can apply a level of importance to knowing one’s self and self loving if they choose to .

Yes, I know.

Each individual to their own as in if it will matter to them or not but I would say that an individual can notice that another is in expression due to the presence of a fear rather than love . In that respect one would know love and fear and how that can be expressed . Then within that understandings had one can approach, converse, with another in away that will reflect their fearful expression rather than take it as a true one .

Right, Ok - that happens.. - what of it (that's not a rhetorical question)?

In that respect it is more about detaching from what is in expression rather than attaching in a way where one sees through the guises and the masks .

Who are you suggesting detaches from what is in expression - the express-or, or the individual observing the express-or

I would say the personality will integrate all issues and non issues .

Personally, I'd say that anyone who believes that it's the personality doing the integrating has a big head:D

I don’t think one can separate the issues from the non issues lol .

It seems fair to assume that issues are fear based. A few lines back you were separating issues from non-issues by identifying fear.

Individuals that know me well would say that I have been pretty consistent in my expression all of my life so far despite the sufferings had - now is that my personality that hasn’t changed or is that my true nature that hasn’t?

Oh right...

When we speak of one’s personality changing I would say that many have seen life knock people down and whereas an individual that was always perhaps seen as to be happy and joyful one can at times seemingly lose one’s mojo .

Does this bit have some personal relevance to you, are you talking about anyone in particular?

I said quite rightly that "one’s true nature can shine through an individuals personality and that essence stays as an integral part of one’s expression ."

But that would depend on how much of the personality is in expression W.S. If one is expressing more of their personality rather than their true nature then what is in expression would reflect that . If an individual has detached themselves from conditioning and from memory that is of the person then perhaps one’s true nature or essence would be one’s expression .

Whilst an Individual is in expression of a strong personality one’s true nature perhaps will be on the back burner so to speak but one’s true nature will always be present to a degree and that true nature is of love .

x daz x

I'd say one's True nature is always in expression, but from the perspective of the personality... it can't always be seen or felt.

Hi Daz,

Hi Mate,

How I see it Giles is

The Self that observes and the small self (using your words) that is of of the mind must be present of the mind in order to observe . Self realization is realizing the Self within mind for beyond mind there is no Self be it big Self or little self .

We'll have to agree to differ on this then.

I consider mind to be an aspect of the physical being, and if the Self were a part of the mind then when the physical being dies then the Self would die with it in that case. Self realization... I believe it's a mistake to consider it simply a case of recognizing the self within mind... that's just an intellectual understanding of the concept of what Self is, but as the Self cannot be observed, that is just a guide to help us understand so that we can reach the point where we can realize that the only way to BE Self Realized is to let go of all attachments in the mind, including the minds concept of Self which is in itself not the Self. The Self exists, but is masked by the mind.... when we truly take off the mask we don't realize the Self in terms of understanding within the mind, but we actually let go of the mind and become One with the Self.

The mind allows one to know one without conceptualising what is realized . Only the ordinary / intellectual aspect of one’s mind evaluates anything .

Perhaps what you are calling "mind" I would refer to as the one consciousness or complete awareness.

I also see it that there is only one self . That self is of the mind and is also beyond the mind . There is also no separation of that self that is of or beyond the mind .

Well, based on the topic of the original question, I would say there are lots of "self" depending upon the personality and situation, though there is only one Self of which we are all one.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Who are you suggesting detaches from what is in expression - the express-or, or the individual observing the express-or

Hi W.S.

I didn’t really bring into the equation as to whom or what detaches from what is noticed within an expression . It was more about having an awareness of what ‘is’ contained within the expression .

Whatever one relates the self to be and not to be is the question and the answer .

Personally, I'd say that anyone who believes that it's the personality doing the integrating has a big head .

What I meant by it was that one’s personality will contain issues and non issues .

It seems fair to assume that issues are fear based. A few lines back you were separating issues from non-issues by identifying fear.

Nah that’s just your interpretation W.S. . All is one . All is self . All is love . For they are the same . Nothing is separated . I didn’t separate issues from non issues just by identifying fear as an expression . I actually said ‘I don’t think one can separate the issues from the non issues’ .

Does this bit have some personal relevance to you, are you talking about anyone in particular?

I was speaking generally .

x daz x

We'll have to agree to differ on this then.

I consider mind to be an aspect of the physical being, and if the Self were a part of the mind then when the physical being dies then the Self would die with it in that case. Self realization...

Hi Giles .

Ah (Yep) that’s where we differ Giles and I respectfully agree to disagree hehehe .

I see the mind as our entire mindful environment . I would agree that the mind has an individual / physical connection for use of a better word as the physical experience is part of our mindful universe . The self is life, the self is love, so the self is all there is so the self will not cease to be just because the physical dies . The self is the observed and the self is the observer . The self is the creator and the created .

I believe it's a mistake to consider it simply a case of recognizing the self within mind... that's just an intellectual understanding of the concept of what Self is, but as the Self cannot be observed, that is just a guide to help us understand so that we can reach the point where we can realize that the only way to BE Self Realized is to let go of all attachments in the mind, including the minds concept of Self which is in itself not the Self. The Self exists, but is masked by the mind.... when we truly take off the mask we don't realize the Self in terms of understanding within the mind, but we actually let go of the mind and become One with the Self.

I understand and agree in regards to detachment giles . There is a fine line between knowing something and being attached to that knowing (would you agree?) If one knows thyself then one can know without being attached to that knowing because one as we have both agreed on needs to detach from what they think they know in order to realize self . (lol) .

Well, based on the topic of the original question, I would say there are lots of "self" depending upon the personality and situation, though there is only one Self of which we are all one.

I would say there are many aspects that are contained within the one self .

x dazzle x

I understand and agree in regards to detachment giles . There is a fine line between knowing something and being attached to that knowing (would you agree?) If one knows thyself then one can know without being attached to that knowing because one as we have both agreed on needs to detach from what they think they know in order to realize self . (lol) .

Agreed.

I would say there are many aspects that are contained within the one self .

I would say the aspects are a dualistic concept created from within the ego mind, but in truth all is One and there are no separate aspects. 🙂

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Agreed.

I would say the aspects are a dualistic concept created from within the ego mind, but in truth all is One and there are no separate aspects. 🙂

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Absolutely Giles .

Even the thought that 'I' exist is ego related ..

Although I understand that all is one within the oneness of consciousness and embrace it and make use of it within my reality, I still understand that it takes more than one to create an argument, inner conflicts do not arise out of one aspect of consciousness, for a single aspect of consciousness creates a singular focus and harmony, internal arguments arise out of two or more aspects of consciousness which collectively make up one human being.

Our aspects of consciousness arise in a similar way to our physical body, the body starts as a single cell which divides and separates until there is enough identical cells to start forming a body, so we could rightly say that every cell within the body is one, because they are formed out of one cell.

Our aspects of consciousness are the same, we arrive with a single aspect of consciousness which divides into the aspects of consciousness which we require to experience life upon this planet.

Just as our body requires different systems which need to work together to make it function as it does, our consciousness sets up different systems which work together to maintain our physical body in a way that reflects our general state of consciousness, Put them all together and we have one human being which is made up of many parts.