The Layers of Our Character

Lotty Dotty | The Layers of Our Character | Personality development, by itself, is a very nuanced and intricate field of study. It can be understood in a variety of ways. Simply said, our personalities are the total of the unique mental, physical, and behavioral traits and patterns we exhibit throughout our lives. Personality development is often misunderstood, and some people even dismiss its importance. The workplace is often where one’s individuality is widely appreciated. Most companies invest time and money into training their employees in soft skills like communication, leadership, and creativity. All these refer to character formation.

Notice that these usual topics don’t delve deep into how character impacts relationships, because their focus is on the surface level of personality development. Both the human body and mind are critical factors in this area, and a lot of study and mental tuning is needed to enhance one’s personality. 

Admitting you need to work on your character is the first step in making any positive change. One of the best ways to become mindful of where you should begin is by practicing yoga.  According to yoga philosophy, the key to a balanced mind and body is to cultivate health in all five layers of our being. 

The first layer is our consciousness, which refers to our external bodily activities like walking and talking. The second layer is the subconscious, which involves physiologic processes that we don’t think about, like stomach digestion. The third level is our mind, which consists of one’s mind and emotions.

The fourth layer is wisdom, and it establishes our morality and values for appropriate behavior. The last layer is bliss. This is concerned with our sense of contentment and happiness. In the state of Samadhi, attained through meditation, we feel this happiness. 

Each of these layers adds to our personalities as individuals. The different aspects of our identities include our conscious physical self, our subconscious self, our mind, wisdom, and our spirit.  All of them have an impact on and are interconnected to one another. When we learn to address the needs of each layer of ourselves, we reach a healthy balanced character.

Meditation is one of the effective ways to achieve this balance because it deals with improving our brain, body, and emotions.  This has been backed up by recent neurobiological research.

Being aware of the layers of our being and our capacity to work on them helps us to learn more about ourselves and become more in tune with our own individual needs. It provides us with directions for attaining a healthy state of contentment and fulfillment– forming our character in the best way possible.