Why Study Body Types?

Why Study Body Types?

The reason for knowing body types is to lead you to who you are. We want to be third eye, not our body type. – The Teacher

The short answer is that the study of Body Types helps me to understand my machine and others. Observing and applying the knowledge of body types is a way to concentrate efforts on a major area of mechanicality.

The theory of body types provides a wonderful typology from which to see man as a microcosm. We are a solar system, as expressed in our corresponding endocrine glands. I use that understanding to help me wake up. As taught in the School, learning about body types is not a gee-whiz intellectual thing or a self-help guide or a way to find a spouse or make a company run better. Some may find utility in these pursuits, but it is not why or how we use the idea in our School.

One of the esoteric insights provided by body type is the correspondence of each of the seven types with a psychological chief feature. This chief characteristic is, in a sense, both a weakness and a strength. From one point of view, chief feature is fundamentally a weakness, however, because it is a recurring pattern of behavior that usually puts one asleep. When I’m experiencing friction, having a difficult conversation with someone, or encountering something unusual or new the natural tendency is to slide back into my chief feature.

We all live in a subjective body type. – The Teacher

For example, the Venusian type, a passive and positive type, tends to have non-existence as a chief feature. People who are of this type tend to disappear into the background and support others at their own expense. Please do not confuse true benevolence or true kindness with non-existence because non-existence is not valuing oneself, not valuing the moment.

Another type, the Martial, a negative and active type, is often characterized by having power as a chief feature. In other words, a Martial will exert power over other people and other things; this type naturally tells people what to do and uses too much force both physically and emotionally. If one is working with power, one needs to learn to curb that tendency and to interact more intentionally. Without that, people are hurt and disgruntled, and an object in the hand of a Martial may mean the object is damaged by excess force.

The physical body is a seed from which the astral body can germinate. Shakespeare said, “The worth of that is that which it contains.” – The Teacher

Since I am observing myself and disrupting my mechanical habits, I am aware that I can catch my chief feature when it happens and try to emerge from that mechanical state into a higher state. Self-remembering in effect dissolves all the mechanical tendencies and allows me to be who I am.

Chief feature can become a nexus for sustained efforts in the work. At the beginning, it is necessary to collect many observations, which means I need to remember myself to catch the actual occurrence of this type of sleep. Bear in mind, that when I am most asleep, I am most likely to be in chief feature. I revert to my lowest self, my lowest common denominator, at times. No need to despair because working on my chief feature means I am working on one of my greatest weaknesses. It is never a wasted effort.

I mentioned earlier that the chief feature is a strength because the chief feature and body types are parts or outgrowths of essence. This is an untamed essence, however. By observing and rising above it, I can understand how it functions in the machine and become its master. The Master can consciously choose how and when to interact with others and change our daily lives into something much more fulfilling.

The goal is not the machine, however. The goal is to understand our natural and mechanical tendencies to transform them into something higher. There’s a natural interest in this topic because we like to talk about ourselves. So be careful when you start to explore this area and be judicious with how much ego you put into it. In other words, make your observations for the sake of your work and not to become an expert on body type, or on perfecting one’s machine.

You are not the physical body; you are the astral body--divine presence, the starry world--conscious within. – The Teacher

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Spiral Galaxy NGC 3949, NASA, Hubble Telescope.