Part of the Casswiki article series Fourth Way
In Fourth Way psychology, personality comprises all acquired aspects of man’s thinking, emotions, and behavioral tendencies. It is what has been instilled from without as opposed to what is truly one’s own. Little ‘I’s are the building blocks of personality, programs “Program (Fourth Way)”) are what the little ‘I’s run, singly and in groups. Buffers”) separate groups of little ‘I’s, so that man can, without being troubled or suffering cognitive dissonance, behave in completely opposite ways in different circumstances.
All these things constitute personality. While personality is necessary for esoteric progress, it is not alone sufficient for it. In modern man, personality is generally developed at the cost of essence.
Essence is the set of capabilities or tendencies man is born with. Having one’s center of gravity in the moving, feeling or thinking center is for example a part of essence. When man grows, essence guides the formation of personality but is generally left undeveloped.
The Work begins by shaping personality with the tools of self-observation”), self-remembering and other methods. Essence as such is not readily accessible at the beginning, hence work on personality is more practically viable.
Sometimes the term false personality is used for personality when emphasizing its synthetic or anti-Work nature. Lying to oneself, pretentiousness, self-importance, subjectivity are for example attributes of ‘false personality.‘