Presence is Chief Teacher

Presence is Chief Teacher

I have shared countless essays for this private Facebook Group and sometimes I run out of time to write something new. Occasionally, I repost a past essay rather than create a new post. Today, I looked back at previous posts to select one related to the topic, only to discover ironically that I had not written a post on the topic of “The struggle against one's chief feature or chief fault,” which P.D. Ouspensky said is “the most important part of the work.”

Not finding an essay on this topic reminded me of the story of Benjamin Franklin making a list of 13 virtues that he set for himself to attain what he called moral perfection. He originally wrote 12 virtues, and a friend had to point out that he might want to include vanity. It often takes someone else to show us our chief feature. Franklin was blind to his own chief feature that had to be pointed out to him by a trusted friend. Franklin then added humility as his 13th virtue and his instruction to himself was, “Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

In “The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution,” P.D. Ouspensky lists six primary obstacles to awakening: lying, imagination, the expression of negative emotions, unnecessary talk, identification, and considering. These psychological obstacles are a means by which chief feature expresses itself and supports the illusion of will and consciousness. Of all these, my Teacher observes poetically that the primary obstacle to awakening is imagination:

Presence is chief teacher while imagination is chief feature. — The Teacher

Put another way, imagination is supported by chief feature and is the most prominent characteristic of personality. Chief feature is also often linked to body type and there is more diversity than the following list of types and features. But for simplicity and in the interest of clarity, it is a good starting point. Lunars have the chief feature of willfulness; Venusians have non-existence; Mercury types have power; Saturns have dominance; Martial types also have power, but their power is in the physical realm; Jovials have vanity; and Solars have naiveté. Fortunately, these features can be transcended and used toward consciousness.

Personality is interested in supporting its version of reality and imagines itself to be self-conscious. This manifests in the way a feature is analyzed and hidden from its host. For instance, willfulness masquerades itself as a unified ‘I’ rather than a mechanical habit of resistance or stubbornness; non-existence sees itself as a quiet, cooperative team player rather than “zoning out” in reaction to unpleasant decisions; Mercury types might mask deceptive, self-serving motives behind the habit of fast talking to achieve their goals; dominance mistakes its mechanical tendencies to dominate a situation as benevolent leadership rather than an obsession with control; power in the physical realm is justified by thinking that its physical power is a necessary step for rebuilding rather than becoming upset with disorder in the aftermath of its reactions; vanity — as in Benjamin Franklin’s case — does not see itself as lacking humility but rather represents their personal behavior to themselves as magnificence; and lastly, naiveté uses the mask of sweet innocence and charm to avoid taking responsibility. Ultimately, personality invents these justifications to keep us asleep and prevent our true essence from waking up.

The truth is that only by relinquishing your hold on what you think is yours – not once, but again and again – will you find the inner freedom you long for. — Meister Eckhart

Through self-observation and self-remembering I can be present to my life, examine the traits of my type, chief feature, center of gravity, and other characteristics that reveal the manner in which I fall asleep. At that point I can begin to work against the obstacles that keep me asleep and break free of them.

Saturns must use their chief feature to dominate the lower self. Shakespeare’s chief feature was vanity but he completely transcended it. If one does not transcend chief feature, it will consume higher centers. — The Teacher

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Jesters Playing “Cochonnet,” Eduardo Zamacois, 1871