Although one’s personality is often confused for their individuality, a fundamental distinction can be easily made: a personality does not think. It is the individual that thinks, choosing the qualities, traits and characteristics that make up their personality. Personality is a characteristic pattern of thoughts — a mental construct. Whatever an individual thinks about, and especially what he thinks about himself, provides the mental building blocks with which his personality is constructed. If you have ever been called a block-head, it was in reference to your personality, not your individuality. You need not take offense at such a remark, but if you do, it may be that you too have confused your personality for your individuality. When
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We are not different parts of the whole, each with different characteristics and qualities, but rather, individual expressions of the whole, containing all of the qualities and characteristics of the whole. Ernest Holmes explained this by pointing out that an infinite God cannot be a being of parts, parceled out between us, but must exist as the infinite potentiality within us. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, for we are made of God, of one divine stuff and substance. Ironically, at the level of our individuality, where we are one with God, we are all one, and of the same nature. We are not separate individuals, but unique individualizations of One Life and Being, expressing our individuality through our unique personality. In constructing our personality, we are like an author who creates a character to act in ways that express the ideas and moral tone we wish to portray. It would be a shame to lose sight of the author’s name, attributing his ideas to the character in his story. Regrettably, we do something similar when mistaking one’s personality for their individuality: we lose sight of them. An individual is the embodiment of the thought and creativity of God, while their personality is an embodiment of the thought and creativity of the
We are not different parts of the whole, each with different characteristics and qualities, but rather, individual expressions of the whole, containing all of the qualities and characteristics of the whole. Ernest Holmes explained this by pointing out that an infinite God cannot be a being of parts, parceled out between us, but must exist as the infinite potentiality within us. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, for we are made of God, of one divine stuff and substance. Ironically, at the level of our individuality, where we are one with God, we are all one, and of the same nature. We are not separate individuals, but unique individualizations of One Life and Being, expressing our individuality through our unique personality. In constructing our personality, we are like an author who creates a character to act in ways that express the ideas and moral tone we wish to portray. It would be a shame to lose sight of the author’s name, attributing his ideas to the character in his story. Regrettably, we do something similar when mistaking one’s personality for their individuality: we lose sight of them. An individual is the embodiment of the thought and creativity of God, while their personality is an embodiment of the thought and creativity of the