The Five Dharma Types: Vedic Wisdom for Discovering Your Purpose and Destiny

Preface

This work is a practical manual intended to help you attain fulfillment in your personal, social, and spiritual life. It is not a treatise on religion, philosophy, or academics, all of which offer relative truths to a specific culture, age, and environment. Instead, it is distilled from all of the above to present universal truths pertinent to humanity in the modern age. In today’s global society, where humankind’s understanding of reality is muddled by distinctions of race, color, and creed, it is ever so difficult to find one’s place. The mundane world is a cacophony of sound, and the song of the spirit is difficult to discern for the multitude of contrary voices pulling us this way and that. This guide is intended to help you find your voice in the chorus of the many, and perhaps more importantly, to develop your ear that you may better hear and harmonize with the world about you. It is designed to help you know your purpose, and understand that of others, and by doing so to live in the world in a way envisioned by our most cherished prophets and mystics.

This book is best read in its entirety, as you will discover things about your dharma type, as well as those of others in your life, by reading even the sections that don’t appear to apply directly to you. Reading only those parts that reference your type will prevent you from fully integrating it, as we must understand all five types in a symbiotic system that mirrors Nature, where one entity feeds another, which feeds the first in turn.

When each of us fulfills our destiny we empower others to do the same, and when they fulfill their destinies we are benefited in turn. This is the basis for mutual respect, sharing, and responsibility—the foundations that pave the way to wisdom. May this be a useful guide to such wisdom and of service to all who use it!

Note to the Reader on the Use of Sanskrit Terms

This book is not a translation but an original work that makes use of Sanskrit terms with no real English equivalents. Where appropriate these have been plainly spelled out rather than transliterated. This is for two reasons. First, readers new to the material may find it cumbersome to decipher transliterations along with the plethora of new vocabulary and concepts. Second, readers who are already familiar with diacritical marks or even conversant in Sanskrit should know the proper spelling and pronunciation of these words. Thus, no great need is served by introducing transliteration here.

Introduction and Self Tests

Dharma kshetre Kuru kshetre . . .*1 begins that well-known and beloved classic of spiritual wisdom, the Bhagavad Gita. In India’s Vedic tradition†2 it was customary to open an important work with an auspicious word that served both to set the tone as well as to give readers an idea of its content. With dharma at its fore we can understand the Gita to be a treatise on purpose, duty, and Natural Law. Dharma is also the subject of this book. In the West we are familiar with terms like karma, but there is less understanding of dharma, our purpose in the world. Life without purpose is meaningless. Our modern Merchant society tries to provide meaning by giving us wealth and possessions to strive after, but material things cannot answer those most basic questions: Who am I? and Why am I here? Material objects can sustain us on our quest, but what we have come to do remains a mystery.

The Gita tells us that we must embrace dharma, our purpose, in order to find happiness in life. But how can we do this if we do not know what our purpose is? How are we to walk the path of fulfillment without a map to show us the way?

It is the role of society to organize people in such a way as to foster their optimal self-expression. Over the last several thousand years humankind has tried to invent and reinvent social structures that befit the free expression of our destinies, but our inventions are limited in scope and knowledge. As Paul writes in Corinthians, "We know in part and we prophesy in part." What is needed is something that addresses our core essence to align us with the Natural Laws of the universe. Myth and archetypes do that very thing.

That which is beyond even the concept of reality, that which transcends all thought—the myth puts you there all the time, gives you a line to connect with that mystery which you are.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL, THE POWER OF MYTH

If you do not think that myths are important, consider that we pour ourselves into mythic molds every day without realizing it. Fashion, movies, sports, family, and social dynamics all furnish different identities, casting us into roles like boss, parent, chic girl, or Lakers fan, thereby affecting how we behave and what we expect from life. But most of these roles are poor complements to the fullness of who we really are. The dharma types, on the other hand, are personal myths that have existed since time immemorial and will continue to be useful so long as humankind exists because they are the unseen matrices that guide how human beings express their destinies. Though invisible, their effects can be readily determined: a Warrior behaves like a Warrior and a Merchant like a Merchant in organized, predictable patterns.

MATTER AND SPIRIT

A person’s archetype is like an operating system, the internal software that runs a computer. Regardless of the color, size, or manufacture date of its hardware it is the OS that gives a computer its most basic expression and instructs it to work. Likewise, the dharma type informs every human being regardless of race, sex, age, or nationality. In this book we shall consider five dharma types, or operating systems, and how they affect us in specific ways. To get the most out of the systems we were born with we must become familiar with how they work. To that end, this is an instruction manual detailing the inner workings of each type in practically every area of life, from how to maintain health to how to make money.

The dharma types are Individual Archetypal Myths, the I AM identity inside that guides each of us in subtle but definitive patterns. Today we associate the word myth with something unreal or untrue, but to our ancestors, myths spoke to an enduring truth that lay beyond the ken of the senses. Consider that our everyday world is in perpetual flux—coming into being, changing form, and dying. In Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, this was termed samsara, constant movement, constant change. But myth is eternal, driven by the intelligent blueprint that underlies the mundane world of name and form.

Our ancient ancestors thought in mythic terms not because they were primitive, but because in many ways they were advanced. They understood that what would survive their bodies, societies, and even civilizations was made not of earth and stone but of something more subtle and permanent. Their personal myths helped them to find purpose and obtain an everlasting life beyond the parenthetical existence of the human body. The dharma types are alive today even as they lived 5,000 years ago, here for us to access if we only know how.

Like the laws of gravity or flight archetypes existed before they were harnessed by the conscious mind, and they have been around as long as the universe itself. Accordingly, they are considered apaurusheya, a Sanskrit word that means not invented by the mind of man. And to this day, though it may be impossible to localize one’s Warrior or Educator genes (perhaps because no one has looked for them), these continue to influence our lives in every sphere—from the most mundane, such as relating to a lover, to the most spiritual, such as relating to God.

In this context spirituality does not equate to religiosity. Myths delve deeper than religion, and spirituality here simply means that:

There is purpose to life.

There is order and justice in the world.

There is more to it than material existence.

These three points—called dharma, karma, and duhkha in Sanskrit—separate the ordinary believer, or the materialist, from the true spiritual seeker.

Duhkha, which means suffering, suggests that it is impossible to have lasting peace from physical existence alone because of the difficulties inherent to balancing the material needs of life. Ayurveda, the Vedic science of holistic healing, illustrates this by depicting three bodily humors constantly vying to pull us out of balance and states that health is tantamount to skillfully juggling them to minimize their effects. Physical duhkha is evident in how much cleansing, movement, nourishment, rest, and maintenance the body requires. Without attentive daily care it breaks down into disease—and even careful maintenance only prolongs the inevitable. Nothing is permanent in the physical world, and nothing endures; change is the only constant. Duhkha.

The next concept, karma, means universal justice—nobody escapes the laws of cause and effect. Knowing this a wise person practices the Golden Rule—Do unto others as you would have them do unto you—not out of some pious obligation but from an earnest desire to have an optimal life experience, and ultimately, to free him- or herself of samsara. Everything you do rubs off on you. Karma.

A certain order prevails in our universe. This order can be formulated in terms of purposeful activity.

MAX PLANCK

Finally, dharma is the sense that there is purpose to life. Without purpose there is only chaos and entropy in the universe. Without dharma life is a series of random moments ungoverned by any sense of natural order. The eventual question that a self-inquiring person asks is: Do I live in an orderly universe, or in a world of random chance? Our ancient ancestors were secure in their belief that there was more to life than the transitory material (duhkha), that life was governed by inextricable laws (karma), and that these laws were organized to serve the purpose of our evolution (dharma). These three elements of spirituality, the tripod of all Vedic philosophy, are developed throughout this book.

WHY VEDIC?

From Norway to Nigeria, from the Native American Indians to the Indians of the Asian subcontinent, archetypes are universal human attributes. They do not belong to any culture or religion any more than Earth’s atmosphere belongs to one country. Nonetheless, some traditions have nurtured them longer and more successfully than others. This work is based on the Vedic lineage of India. The dharma types do not belong to India, though it has done much to develop and, in the modern age, corrupt them. We shall see the reasons for this in the following chapter, and explore the pure essence of these types divested of any cultural dogma.

The word Vedic here is used not in an academic sense, tied as that is to historical timelines and geopolitical considerations, but rather to describe a living tradition that, while rooted in India, has spread its branches across time and territory to offer its fruits to the modern Western world. Vedic refers not to an individual tree planted in antiquity along the skirts of the Sarasvati (an ancient river in northern India), but to the lush garden that has flourished from its fortunate seed and continues to grow, though the waters that fed it have long disappeared from the earth. Today the Vedic lineage is evident in the fruits, flowers, and even weeds that comprise the culture of the Indian subcontinent. Its branches are known to anyone who has taken a yoga class or who practices meditation. From healing herbology to Vedic astrology, the implications of Vedic thought have spread around the world and common words like nirvana, guru, and pundit have become part of our lexicon.

The West appreciates function when it sees it, and the litmus test for success in a capitalist society is the ability to generate money. From religion to relaxation, Vedic imports like yoga and meditation are multimillion-dollar industries in America, which is all the more astounding since they are essentially free in India! But beyond their economic success there is a reason that Vedic transplants have found a rich soil in the West, and a people hungry for their harvest. That is because they offer an unbroken link to our ancestral past, and beyond that, to our divine roots. Therein lies the difference between modern personality measurements and the Vedic archetypes, between systems based in the last century and those with roots that probe deeper into the reaches of time: the latter recognize one’s connection to a sacred Self that is primordial, ancient, and unseen, though very much governed by Natural Laws.

Many self-help strategies that exist today cover some portion of the human experience, but none have the breadth and depth of the dharma type. None go so deeply into the spiritual component of existence or trace their lineage back as far into the ancient past. Self-help strategies are recent inventions of an industrialized world, while archetypes and myth have been around forever and speak to a more lasting aspect of life: our dharma.

The introduction of the Vedic body of knowledge, vidya, to America in the 1800s began a process of seeding this knowledge into new earth, and since then it has provided an opportunity for others to appreciate it anew: Indians have been taking a fresh look at their own cultural treasures since these sprouted in America. Yoga, vedanta (Vedic philosophy), and ayurveda enjoy an ever-increasing popularity today because people find in them something deep and real—an unbroken connection to the past that brings them in contact with their authentic selves.

BE YOURSELF

It is painful to be anything but yourself. It is better to be bad at what you do than good at what is bad for you,*3 which is why so many people today are fraught with anxiety, and no wonder feelings of being overwhelmed and dis-ease rampant. Life is stressful and empty when we are unaware of our destinies, for no amount of wealth, food, or entertainment can fill us like a tiny grain of purpose. The Vedic tradition asks, Why chase after different destinies, when it is hard enough to find your own? Helping people find their purpose was crucial in ancient cultures, and it is a multibillion-dollar industry in today’s global Merchant society. From self-help books and seminars to religion (the original self-help methodology), everyone seems to have a different answer. But the truth is deceptively simple—love, prosperity, and God are on your path: find that, and you find them all! We are so busy looking for these things that we ignore the fact that they are synchronous with our journey. Our job is simply to anchor our selves to our dharma; everything follows therewith.

Love, prosperity, and God are on your path; find that, and you find them all!

People pray for what they think will make them happy, like a certain amount of money, a certain job, or a certain partner. But how do we know that what we pray for is indeed our highest good? Even if we get what we desire, how much of our time is wasted yearning for things that do not pertain to our highest destiny, or worse, that distract us from our paths? When we follow dharma we are assured not only of our own prosperity but the good of everyone around us. The more we follow our purpose in the world, the more we lift up others in the process. There is more than enough fulfillment to go around for everyone on the planet because fulfillment is not a material resource like coal or water but a limitless side effect of dharma. Spiritual treasure is not tied to the rules of natural selection and competition: the more we give of it, the more we obtain.

If fulfillment were based on limited resources there would always be haves and have-nots: those who hold the resources and those who do not. Great misery is tied to this belief, especially when people do not know another way. The dharma types state that everything you need is already inside you. Your dharma is wired in you just as the oak is present in the seed; it needs only to be watered and guided by the hand of an able gardener while Nature takes care of the rest. There is no need to step on others to get to where we want to go—competition now arises to challenge and inspire people rather than dominate them. Imagine relating with people without needing to get anything from them. Imagine relating to people not as obstacles but as allies, helping each other obtain fulfillment.

Relationships are the test and temper of any person, philosophy, government, or religion.

Relationships are the test and temper of any person, philosophy, government, or religion. How we behave toward others reflects our evolution and refinement. We may be great at balancing our checkbooks or have mastery of the latest Neuro-Linguistic Programming technique, but if in our daily life we cannot do something as simple as treating others as we treat ourselves (the Golden Rule), then we are really only compartmentalized beings, not whole—unholy. Improving relationships with others begins by improving the relationship with ourselves. This entails understanding the dharma of the individuated self, and ultimately merging it with the larger Self, the Self of All. Love dawns when you know yourself, and compassion begins when you know the Self of All. When your I am becomes the I AM of everyone, all conflicts cease and misunderstanding fades like darkness before a torch.

Self-improvement in the Vedic sense is really Self-actualization; the Self is already perfect and cannot be improved upon. It is a question of realizing that essence, which in reality has no distinctions—the silent, pure witness living in the present moment. It is devoid of labels like dharma type, man/woman, human being. It simply is. Abiding in that, you have no need for a book like this. But books like this offer specific instruction to help you find your essence. Aligning with your purpose makes it easier to be yourself. And being one’s self translates into being-one-self. And that is the goal of spirituality, no matter what system you use. All that changes is the words—from Georgia Baptists to Greek Orthodox Christians, from Theravada to tantric Buddhists, and from Kashmir Shaktas to Krishna Bhaktas, the goal is the same: to know one’s Self, in turn knowing all things that can be known.

Once you understand that the Self is the doer, and you in fact do nothing, then what else is left to do? The answer is your dharma, that which is required by virtue of your birth. Every being that is born must act. From breathing, talking, and eating to moving and even thinking, action is incumbent on us as a Natural Law. These are general actions germane to the species. But there are actions specific to your individual nature that must be done; if you perform these you receive the maximum of desirable karma and minimize undesirable karma. What these are and how they are to be performed is the subject of the remainder of this book.

THE SEARCH FOR HOME

Whether we choose a secular or sacred path, the human mind is always searching for its source—people look for this connection in their genetic heritage, their country, and their religion, among other things. This search for belonging is evidenced by our attachment to everything from sports teams and ethnic cuisine to the vernaculars we speak. We may love Italian food because somewhere in our genes our Mediterranean ancestors desire to be fed. Something latent inside wants us to remember who we are and whence we came. People want to be connected to their own kind, and even within one country a state, city, or neighborhood differentiates itself from neighboring states, cities, and streets in order to carve out its identity.

When this search for belonging becomes perverted it turns into racism, prejudice, and ethnic cleansings. When our search for purpose is derailed and we cannot find who we really are we become attached to our race, profession, social status, and other temporary labels. In fact it is important to honor our genetic traditions—we owe much to the body we use, and the physical inheritance it brings us through gender, race, and cultural heritage. Part of our duty on this planet is to discharge the karma of our ancestors, to fulfill the dharma of our sex, and to abide by the customs and traditions of our clan and country. These are all obligations we must deal with if we want to survive and prosper, but the dharma type offers us a way out of mere survival into an expression of our true selves—a relationship with the world that is based on the ecumenical principle of unity.

Ecumenical, which means "of worldwide scope, universal, concerned with establishing unity among churches or religions," comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning home.*4 Our home lies in the unity of our species, by the understanding that we are related by the dharmas we share. More expressive than the role of parent—and deeper than gender, profession, or race—is your archetype. In that, all Merchants are related regardless of the expanse of language, custom, or geography that separates them. All Warriors share the common bond of their dharma, no matter how it expresses in the world. Today through DNA mapping people are exploring their genetic heritage many generations into the past to discover their roots, to find their country of origin. But in the modern world, where nations and borders come and go and national identities change, the role of the dharma type remains constant. This is the real meaning of the root dhri, from which the word dharma originates: to remain fixed, constant, centered in reality.

It is that connection we all seek when we identify ourselves with our sports team, our local restaurant, or our favorite song—but as we know, these things lose their meaning and grow stale in time, and the search for belonging continues. But those who are fixed in the eternal dharma of their archetype remain at home wherever they go.

DISCOVER YOUR DHARMA TYPE!

So let us now discover your dharma type. In Self Test 1 choose one answer that describes you best, though you can pick up to four for each multiple-choice question if you are unable to decide. Next, read the paragraphs in Self Test 2 and choose two that describe you best. Not all of their qualities have to fit, though they should at least elicit a gut reaction of yeah, that’s me—even if you don’t necessarily like them! There are two paragraphs for each type. If it is difficult to decide, you may pick as many paragraphs as you like, and narrow the results later. Check the answer key at the bottom of each test to tally your choices; the one that receives the most answers is most likely your dharma type.

*5

Your type will also become clearer to you upon reading the descriptions that follow in this book, which will make sense in light of your own life experience. Ultimately, it is useful to have friends or relatives help us with the tests and descriptions. Often we see ourselves differently from how the rest of the world perceives us. We may also be in a cycle that makes it difficult to access our essential dharma type. Life cycles can tint our basic expression like different colored lenses—some enhance our light while others sometimes diffuse it—so take your whole life into consideration when reading the following descriptions, and have a friend or relative help you in the process. Looking at yourself from childhood to now will provide a complete portrait that should help determine your type, or at least narrow it down sufficiently to make a determination when you read the descriptions in part 1 of this book. Enjoy!

  SELF TEST I

Circle the answers that best apply to you. You may choose more than one answer for each question if applicable. Try to think of qualities that are permanent in you, how you have always been, rather than how you are at times or during recent changes in your life. Tally them up at the end to determine your dharma type.

1. Circle the word that means the most to you or describes you best.

a. Freedom

b. Loyalty

c. Wisdom

d. Honor

e. Prosperity

2. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.

a. Independence and Bliss

b. Love and Devotion

c. Worldliness and Knowledge

d. Discipline and Perfection

e. Entertainment and Fun

3. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.

a. I love being alone. Sometimes I hate people, sometimes I like them, but they usually don’t understand me.

b. I don’t mind being alone as long as I have something constructive and productive to do.

c. I love being alone. I like people but I need time to spend by myself for quiet contemplation and rejuvenation.

d. I don’t mind being alone, as long as I have a goal to accomplish.

e. I hate being alone. I prefer the company of people, even if I don’t know them.

4. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.

a. I like strange, dark, or wild and remote places no one has ever thought of or been to.

b. I like the plains and wide expanses of earth. I like living close to the ground, on ground floors rather than high-rise apartments.

c. I like high and remote places. I like upper floors, high-rise buildings, and living above others looking down.

d. I like challenging places, places that are high, but not so high as to be remote. I like fortified and strong places.

e. From the Beverly Hills to gently rolling slopes, I like places where the action is, places that are easy to get to, but also exclusive. I like living in the middle ground, not too high, not too low, where there is activity and access to the world.

5. Circle the sentence that describes you best.

a. I am the rebel or black sheep of my family. As a parent, I give freedom to my kids and let them individualize themselves from others.

b. I am deeply bonded with my family. As a parent, I nurture my kids by making sure they are well fed, healthy, and content.

c. I tend to teach my family and urge them to improve themselves. As a parent I make certain my kids learn how to think for themselves, get a good education, and understand the world.

d. I am the strong one in my family. As a parent I lead by example and earn my kids’ respect with discipline and order.

e. I actively support my family with shelter and resources. As a parent I provide for my kids and make sure they understand the value of money, self-effort, and making your way in the world.

6. In religion I most value the following:

a. Going my own way.

b. Faith and devotion.

c. Study and scripture.

d. Penance and discipline.

e. Rituals and observances.

7. In marriage I most value the following:

a. An unconventional spouse, one who understands my particular quirks and desires.

b. A dutiful spouse who is loyal and provides for me: a woman who cooks and cleans/a man who brings home the bacon.

c. A sensitive, intelligent spouse.

d. A challenging spouse with whom I can do activities.

e. A beautiful spouse.

8. I mainly watch TV for:

a. Horror, alternative political and spiritual viewpoints, science fiction (like the Sci-Fi, FX, Indie, and Alternative channels).

b. Family, drama, history, and community programs (like soap operas, reality TV, daytime shows, cartoons, entertainment gossip, and reruns).

c. Educational, thought-provoking, human-interest stories and entertainment (like National Geographic, PBS, Sci-Fi, and documentary channels).

d. Sports, action, news, and politics; adventure stories and entertainment (ESPN, CNN, etc.).

e. Fun programs, drama, music, comedy, game shows, financial and motivational stories and entertainment (like HBO, the Comedy Channel, and Spike).

9. Under stress I tend to:

a. Bend the rules or lie to get my way; feel invisible and self-deprecate.

b. Become lazy, close down in my own space, and worry a lot.

c. Be scatterbrained, feckless, and wishy-washy.

d. Become anger prone, inattentive, and reckless.

e. Be moody, depressed, loud, and restless.

10. At my best I am:

a. A revolutionary, an inventor, a genius.

b. A devoted friend, a hard worker, a caregiver.

c. A counselor, a teacher, a diplomat.

d. A leader, a hero, a risk taker.

e. An optimist, a self-starter, a promoter, an adventurer.

Answer Key

Tally your answers now. The most selected letter likely reflects your dharma type. For confirmation you should now move on to Self Test II.

A. Outsider

B. Laborer

C. Educator

D. Warrior

E. Merchant

  SELF TEST II

Select two paragraphs that describe you best. Then refer to the answer key at the end to determine your type.

Sometimes I think no one really understands me, and no one ever will. I love freedom and need to feel independent and free most of all. Although I can fit into many crowds, I never really feel a part of any of them. I wear many hats but none of them defines me. People may see me as secretive or mysterious, but I am just the way I am—different. By fate or choice I am attracted to foreign lands, cultures, religions, and values and have embraced some of these. I have talents and abilities that are not always recognized, and it can be hard to make a living if I do not compromise with my society. My ambitions are somewhat unique, and I have a quirky way of seeing the world. Sometimes I feel lost and don’t know what my true purpose is, but when I look at others I am reminded of what it is not: I can’t conform to somebody else’s lifestyle just for the sake of security, even though I may not have found my own.

I have often dreamt of owning my own business and being financially independent. From an early age I have felt a need to provide and be provided for. I have a strong sense of the value of money and I don’t mind working long hours to generate security for myself and family. I don’t pay much attention to my body, unless it is part of my business or I have the leisure time. I like giving and the feeling that it creates, but in this competitive world it is most important to secure my own and my family’s needs first. I have a good practical sense and know how to take care of mundane obligations. I believe that anyone can make it in today’s society if they’re willing to apply themselves. I am motivated and self-driven and can’t understand idealistic or so-called spiritual people who deny the importance of financial security.

I like to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I believe in standing up for a good cause whether it is social, environmental, ecological, etc. Money is less important to me than securing justice in the world. I have strong convictions and character, and people often look to me for leadership. I have an inner strength that drives me to achieve. I can usually outperform others by sheer force of will. I have an eye for deception and can tell when someone is lying. I admire wisdom and like to associate with smart and educated people, though I may not have the time or opportunity to cultivate these qualities in myself. I can be highly disciplined and therefore acquire skills quickly. At my best I am courageous, noble, and self-sacrificing, but I can also be distracted, anger prone, and judgmental.

I love the camaraderie of working with others to construct something useful. I am handy, skilled, practical, and not averse to work. I am devoted to friends and family, and though not an intellectual I have a good sense about things, though I can’t always explain it in words. My needs and tastes are simple, and it doesn’t take a lot to make me happy: good food, good company, and a solid roof over my head are the essentials in life. I like being of service and feeling needed. Being useful to someone is more important than how much money I make, though I don’t like to be cheated. I believe in hard work and don’t understand lazy people. I can be superstitious and have deep-seated beliefs about things that often stem from my childhood and cannot be easily rationalized.

I prefer intellectual work to physical labor. I can be idealistic and focus on concepts and philosophies rather than living in the real world. I become disheartened by the ugliness and injustice of life and often lack energy to change it. I have always been smarter and more perceptive than most of my peers, though not inherently practical. I like to counsel others, though I don’t always practice what I preach. I have a knack for encouraging and finding the best in people, and as a result people come to me for advice. I don’t have a killer instinct and that’s a disadvantage if I try to compete in physical or other cutthroat professions. I like to live in a peaceful environment, rather than the hustle and bustle of the busy world. I often know what needs to be done but don’t necessarily have the energy or skills to do it. It is often easier for me to tell others what to do rather than to do it myself.

I set strong standards for myself and expect to live up to them. I love competition, debate, and testing my limits. I even compete with myself when others are not around. I have a huge heart, and my generosity sometimes gets me in trouble. I like to lay down the law in my family and with others. From early on I was blessed with physical and mental strength, though I often abuse these by pushing too much—I play hard and party hard. I like to care for those who cannot fend for themselves: the innocent, the elderly, and the underprivileged.

I hate constrictive social, religious, and moral institutions, and I feel it is my right to speak and act out against them. I also feel justified in flouting an unjust law and not conforming to artificial regulations. I am physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually different from others, and because of this I find it hard to fit in. I can see through people’s bullshit, and that makes me want to run away from society. Sometimes I resent normal people who were born with opportunities that I don’t have. I would rather overthrow the status quo to allow fresh growth than try to patch things up piece by piece. I respect an authority that allows me to be who I am and understands the gifts I have to offer.

I am a devoted, loyal, patriotic person and have a deep connection to the things that are dearest to me: my family, friends, God, and country. I believe it is important to abide by the codes and principles of my country, church, and society. I love to build community. I guess you could say I’m sentimental about the things I value. A dutiful worker, I believe in getting a job done right and am faithful to my word. I am also very good at what I do and specialize in well-developed skills. I secretly admire widely read and cultured people and wish I were a bit more like them, but I just don’t have the time to waste on that and prefer to be better at what I do than to know a lot of trivia. I have to touch, see, hear, or feel something; otherwise it is not real for me.

I love attention and being the life of the party. I am quick and clever and find it easy to get along with others. I can be very likable, though I don’t necessarily like other people and am more attached to the few people I can really trust—myself and my family. I am naturally glib and gregarious, and people tend to believe what I say. I have good taste and appreciation for the finer things in life, things that have beauty and value. However, I sometimes feel an emptiness that I have to fill with outside things, though it is never really filled until I give or do something for others. Sometimes I feel that I am not worth anything, and that if people really knew me they wouldn’t like me. Because of this I respect those who have raised and supported me, and I work hard to pay back their love in return. I am also very emotional and can go to extremes of depression and elation. This volatility may cost me in relationships and in