What Type of Spirit are You?

I was asked tonight to do a theme on character traits.  Hmmm. I have to say this one stumped me.  If I were to ask you to write down five of your "good" traits and five of your "not-so-good",  you would be handing me ten words that you define yourself by.  If you wrote down extravert, I would get the sense that you like hanging out with large groups of people, that maybe you are quite social, possibly talkative or at least able to carry on a conversation.  I suppose this is a good starting place. But character traits, while they may give a baseline description of who you are, are simply labels.  So you took a sticky white label and wrote extrovert on it with a black marker and stuck the sticker across your arm.  Unless you super glued it there as well, that label is as removable as a bandaid.  It's changeable; you are changeable.  Changing might sting a little as the label rips off the tiny hairs on your arm but they will grow back and the sting is only temporary.

What's wrong with being an extrovert, you may ask? Why would I change that?  I would reply to you nothing and you probably wouldn't. But what if you wrote down greedy or selfish or shy or alone and you didn't want to be those things?  You aren't stuck in an "alone" mold, forced by the unseen powers of the Universe to languish there forever!  When you are ready, you would take a deep breath, prepare for the sting and rip the label off.  You would then join you extrovert friend for a night out and change begins.

Rather than character traits, I  much prefer Sonia Choquette's description of the types of spirits.  I know I have used this as the premise of a theme before but maybe it is new to you.  Medium and vibrational alchemist Sonia Choquette defines five types of spirits and asks you to depict which type of spirit is you.  I knew right away which spirit I was. Her description fit and it still does. It is often in the forefront of my mind as I go along doing whatever my day prepares for me.  So let me describe these spirits for you using her analogies. Remember, all spirits are important and one size does not fit everybody. There isn't a good spirit and a bad one.  We need all types for all of the spirits to evolve and interact. It just may give you more insight into you.

So the five spirits Sonia talks about are Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Etheric.

 

EARTH

The earth element spirit grounds us and supports us.  Sonia says this person likes to check out the spaces they enter.  They will set up whatever needs to set up if no one else is doing it.  Are you the person at work you immediately sets up the chairs for a meeting or makes the coffee, not because it is in your description, but because you do things.  I love how Sonia describes an Earth spirit being approached by someone who is overly excited or has a problem. The earth spirit's reaction is to get them to sit down (more grounded) and to offer them food (weighting them down perhaps?!)

This type of spirit supports life and, when grounded, is nurtured by the Earth. When not so grounded, this person feels disconnected.

AIR

The Air spirit, as Sonia describes them, love getting their hands on information and passing it on.  She says these are the people at meetings and workshops who take lots of notes but will never go back and read them.  These are the people, she jokes, who must have invented the internet; so much information a mouse click away.  When air spirits are approached by someone with a problem, she says they quickly hand out the solutions.  They will offer you the answer before you finish stating the problem.  They want to give you the answer and they have them all somewhere in their notes. These spirits are messengers and, as such, do not internalize the information they receive.  Air spirits take a deep breath (of air!) to stay calm and focused.

 

FIRE

Fire spirits are all about ACTION. When you bring them your problem, they want you to act quickly, to run, to move.  She jokes these spirits will yell fire just to get people up and moving.  These spirits are very inpatient and everything is go!  Imagine you are an earth spirit married to a fire spirit!  A challenge arises and the Earth spirit wants to sit down and eat and reconnect with earth's grounded heaviness. The fire spirit screams are you crazy?! Get up! Don't walk, run!  These spirits are the people you would refer to as firecrackers; they mesmerize with their flame but are all about the crackle, the pop, and the element of surprise.

 

WATER

Water spirits, as you may already glean, are very emotional and sensitive.  They cry at everything.  When approached with a problem, they want you to sit on their lap so they can nod along with you in time to your nods.  Sonia jokes they invented kleenex.  These are great spirits to have around because they help cleanse us, wash away our "issues" and offer us new perspectives.

 

ETHERIC

And then there are the etherics. You do not have to confess if this is you, but Sonia describes these spirits as seeming insane to the others!  These are the rule breakers. These are the spirits you need to calm down.  These are the people who approach you with issues, get you all worked up and then get exasperated with you! I love how Sonia says if you have no idea about this type of spirit, then you are probably it!

 

Sonia's descriptions, partially in jest, ring so much truer to my heart than a character trait list.  What tells you more about me?  Does my telling you I am concerned and dependable give you as much information than my telling you I am totally an Air Spirit (assuming you have read the descriptions)?  I only read non-fiction because there is no information gathering for me in fiction. I google a lot and if you ask me to present a theme on any given topic, I will research it and flood you with my opinions.  If you ask me a week later about a theme or quote, I will have to go on my own website to see what I said because, alas it is true, I don't retain a lot of information.  I don't need to; it is all highlighted and written in my notes!!  And when presented with someone's issue, I do want to solve it for you or steer you in a helpful direction. I want to tell you which oils to use, which stones to buy, which books are inspiring.  And if you tell me which Sonia spirit type you are, I will know your heart more than the words you wrote down initially on your piece of paper.

Yogananda:  “What you are is much greater than anything or anyone else you have ever yearned for.  Spirit is manifest in you in a way that Spirit is not manifest in any other human being.  Your face is unlike anyone else's, your soul is unlike anyone else’s, you are sufficient unto yourself; for within your soul lays the greatest treasure of all – Spirit.”

 

Ultimately, you are changeable. You can be what you want to be. It is that simple.

 

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