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Do You Have A Speculative And Intelligent Personality - And What Does That Mean?
By
E. Raymond Rock |
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Our personalities, it could be said, fall into six categories: Faithful, greedy, hateful, deluded, speculative and intelligent, and if we tend toward the speculative and intelligent, it’s a good bet that our spiritual life will progress in fits and starts because we outsmart ourselves.
The bright side is that we’re not easily fooled for long; we don’t drink kool-aid with Jim Jones, and therefore we are somewhat insulated from many mistakes, wrong paths, etc. possibly made by other personalities.
Once we prove to ourselves that we’ve hit upon the real deal, we hang with it, wringing it out until there is nothing left. This is what a speculative/intelligent personality does with everything, actually becoming more than just speculative, and becoming downright cynical! But when there is nothing more to wring out, and the speculative personality still can’t get a handle on whatever it is that it is investigating, it becomes mesmerized with the possibility that it has finally discovered an avenue with no BS.
This itch that can’t be scratched and offers no real satisfaction is a unique experience for the intellectual/speculative personality. There is that “something” that you can’t quite put your finger on, but know it’s there, and you just can’t walk away from it either. Fortunate are the faithful and deluded personalities that can dwell in their complacency, as well as the hateful and greedy that can turn spirituality into a possession!
For the speculative and intelligent personality, it is good to practice a discipline or morality along with contemplative prayer or meditation, perhaps using one-pointed concentration simply to calm the mind to begin with. Once calm states or Samadhi are established, then that category of personality does well in integrating the insight developed into their lives by studying very deep, intellectual subjects; “slicing and dicing” to the point of exhausting the intellect. The insight developed from Samadhi will color the intellect, and previously impenetrable subjects will become mystically clear.
This combination of discipline, meditation, and an application of the resulting wisdom instills faith based on actual experience. This encourages the speculative, intelligent type. A belief based faith that the other personalities (bless them) can blissfully live with doesn’t work with the speculative, intelligent type.
Discipline deepens meditation, and the increased awareness that develops from deepening meditation in turn alters the practitioner’s actions so that the discipline will become more of a natural, effortless way of life rather than an externally imposed regimen. The speculative, intelligent personality is deeply interested in perfecting his or her human existence, and the practice mentioned can greatly enhance that aspiration.
Once this thing catches fire for them, a possibility of full enlightenment while living on earth is not out of reach.
Author's Bio
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit www.AYearToEnlightenment.com
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