The 8 Spiritual 'Types': Which Are You?

I just wanted to share a brief description of 8 spiritual 'types.' These are the 8 essential impulses that motivate people spiritually. This is one manifestation of a larger map of the psyche, in this case focused on spirituality. It can be represented by a circle broken into 8 equal sections, which represent the impulse, or type. Starting from the section on the right, and working your way counterclockwise, we can label these 1-8, or A-H.

These impulses describe what the fundamental goal of your seeking is, what you want to be, your motivation. Note how they flow, how it has a 'rhythmic' or patterned progression that can be understood in terms of its position on the circle.

A: Loving Union - You want the bliss that comes from loving union, a sense of oneness, closeness.
B: Ecstatic Liberation – All the chains that you thought bound you are illusory. You are absolutely free to experience joy, bliss, and pleasure, deeply connecting with others. Meanwhile you grow spiritually, in terms of your consciousness.
C: Guru – You want to be acknowledged for your attainments, so that you may guide and teach others.
D: Leader – You want to be in charge of a movement, or people. You know the correct path, and you need to guide people through it.
E: Confrontationally Defend Truth – Un-truths need to be brought down. You know what is true, and you are going to make sure people don’t go against it, or aren’t ignorant.
F: Passive awareness - There is nothing to figure out, no meaning. Things just are as they are.
G: Submissive Follower – You put your absolute trust in someone, or something. You give yourself up completely, so that you may be guided on the right path.
H: Compassionate Helper – You are here to please. You want to help alleviate the suffering of others, help others to be happy.

I am not saying it is that easy to pigeon hole someone, this is just meant to describe the FUNDAMENTAL impulse. You may have thoughts or beliefs that take on a form that is like another type, but it doesn't change the fundamental impulse, or 'type.' My type would be ‘B.’ What is your type? What is it that most motivates you, that you are driven towards?

more than one.

several actually and I do not think I can put them in order.

I'll be surprised to see people pick one.

Originally posted by NotAnAspie
more than one.

several actually and I do not think I can put them in order.

I'll be surprised to see people pick one.

Well, to do it fully you would have to map out and compare their relative weight. I weigh them on a scale of 1-4, in terms of intensity, and then add up based on certain trends. I just wanted to give a basic overview of the essential types, though, as generally one is primary, fundamental, when you get down to it.

A melting pot of D' E, & H.
2

I am the letter H, i have always been that way i love everyone and all animals, i hate to see anyone in pain are anything hurt

Also, these spiritual types are likely related to larger personality types, because each section of the circle represents an essential 'essence' to its impulse, which can manifest in any context.

hmmm...

I guess some part of me puts A above the others.
Part of me also says it shouldn't and other answers would be more acceptable if you look at spirituality as a collective but I guess I can't deny that A is my foremost answer.

Originally posted by TheJourney
A: Loving Union - You want the bliss that comes from loving union, a sense of oneness, closeness.
B: Ecstatic Liberation – All the chains that you thought bound you are illusory. You are absolutely free to experience joy, bliss, and pleasure, deeply connecting with others. Meanwhile you grow spiritually, in terms of your consciousness.
C: Guru – You want to be acknowledged for your attainments, so that you may guide and teach others.
D: Leader – You want to be in charge of a movement, or people. You know the correct path, and you need to guide people through it.
E: Confrontationally Defend Truth – Un-truths need to be brought down. You know what is true, and you are going to make sure people don’t go against it, or aren’t ignorant.
F: Passive awareness - There is nothing to figure out, no meaning. Things just are as they are.
G: Submissive Follower – You put your absolute trust in someone, or something. You give yourself up completely, so that you may be guided on the right path.
H: Compassionate Helper – You are here to please. You want to help alleviate the suffering of others, help others to be happy.

That's good set of categories TheJourney; although like most attempts at categorization, probably incomplete. I think that you describe these natures fairly well psychologically however.

I see myself in most of these but also none.

I confrontational-ly defend truth as much as untruth. I have absolute trust and thus am submissive to myself. Even though I know there's nothing to figure out, I nonetheless find joy in its pursuit. I don't alleviate suffering by making it my own burden, but consider myself a place where others can rest their weariness and find company. I don't wish to guide others but wish others would guide themselves. I enjoy connection as much as pleasant solitude.

I think what you may have missed was the fundamental spirit of The Artist and perhaps the Ironist, where most of my allegiances lie.

Good thread. I enjoy when people engage in healthy self-criticism of their own nature.

A: Loving Union - You want the bliss that comes from loving union, a sense of oneness, closeness.
B: Ecstatic Liberation – All the chains that you thought bound you are illusory. You are absolutely free to experience joy, bliss, and pleasure, deeply connecting with others. Meanwhile you grow spiritually, in terms of your consciousness.

I'm a mix of the first two. Loving unions, with no chains, freedom to be one's self.

I can't stop thinking about E too though.

My mind might actually see this AS important as A but idunno...ewwww, this is HARD ONE!


This is almost like asking me if someone I loved lied to me about something...ewww....

tough one, tough one... i think I'm torn on these two because if i try to equate it to real terms, I know myself well enough to know that even though i think my first answer is A, I'm not really one to make certain sacrifices for love.

Hell, I'm 37 and never been married and had plenty of chances so go figure, can this possibly be the right answer for me?

You know what, I'm going to say I have no idea.

Originally posted by NotAnAspie
I can't stop thinking about E too though.

My mind might actually see this AS important as A but idunno...ewwww, this is HARD ONE!


This is almost like asking me if someone I loved lied to me about something...ewww....

tough one, tough one... i think I'm torn on these two because if i try to equate it to real terms, I know myself well enough to know that even though i think my first answer is A, I'm not really one to make certain sacrifices for love.

Hell, I'm 37 and never been married and had plenty of chances so go figure, can this possibly be the right answer for me?

You know what, I'm going to say I have no idea.

lol, I think you express a point in all of this well with this post. That is, each of these 8 types are like elements. They are all fundamental pieces to a 'puzzle.' There is a certain natural progression with them, and you can see how they are cyclically related if you look deeply.

F: Passive awareness - There is nothing to figure out, no meaning. Things just are as they are.

reply to post by TheJourney


I look up at the stars and see a universe so indescribably infinite that I am awed at my insignificance. We are the dust particles under the bed, the grains of sand in the desert. Even in our own species, even if we are physically connected to all the ancestors dating back hundreds of thousands of years, we have no conscious connection to them beyond our grandparents, or maybe our great grandparents. For the rest of our lineage before then, memory-wise they might as well have never existed.

We truly are insignificant. Here today - gone tomorrow. That's all there is.

More labels to strengthen the Ego's false sense of identification, I see.

Hm. Many of those don't seem so much as motivations as just some possible "results" or of a spiritual quest; or even specific phases one can go through (does any one start to explore spirituality because they want to become a guru??? Can that really be called a spiritual impulse, of a materialist one?
Can one become a leader without ever having passed through the phase of follower?)

None of these in particular really hit me as my base impulse, though I may have had moments of some of these superficially.

In it's very essence, I would say it is my innate sense that I have a larger self, beyond what can be percieved here, that I wish to experience and express here as much as possible. A sort of creative urge.

Secondary to that, I have the sense that it is through self mastership, or a certain training, tuning, of the physical vessel and mind to facilitate that- that is where certain practices come in like meditation, self discipline and integrity, collecting skills and knowledge.

an interesting post.

C and D are pretty much the same and would be a trap for the unwary in that they regard themselves as more advanced than the seekers/students. their mind is not totally empty. a desire to be a teacher is still a desire.

i dont see "surrender" there, or not as i imagine it. so i'll go for J

if there is anything in this world/universe that attracts you then it will hold you back. i see life as a gradual teacher in that you slowly realize that "out there", there is nothing that will satisfy totally, be it a successful bank robbery or building a hospital.

Originally posted by TheJourney

E: Confrontationally Defend Truth – Un-truths need to be brought down. You know what is true, and you are going to make sure people don’t go against it, or aren’t ignorant.
D: Leader – You want to be in charge of a movement, or people. You know the correct path, and you need to guide people through it.
H: Compassionate Helper – You are here to please. You want to help alleviate the suffering of others, help others to be happy.

This is close to the overall ATS membership wouldn't you agree? Maybe they should name a section of this site EDH

These are all noble personal traits that everyone aspires to.
Or should.

A well balanced person has a Tasty Personal Cocktail of A to H.

Some people's cocktails don't taste too good,

Some people's taste fantastic.

Like everything in life,
it's all about the balance.

reply to post by TheJourney


Thanks for posting this. ...Just curious - what's your source, and do you have any reference relating this view with Maslow's hierarchy?

Thanks, sofi

Originally posted by TheJourney

A: Loving Union - You want the bliss that comes from loving union, a sense of oneness, closeness.
F: Passive awareness - There is nothing to figure out, no meaning. Things just are as they are.
H: Compassionate Helper – You are here to please. You want to help alleviate the suffering of others, help others to be happy.

I'm a FHA (uhm... now how to pronounce that?...).

Passive awareness first (even though I just have a sense of a 'meaning' but no need to figure it out), then very much a compassionate helper. And to a lesser extent the 'Loving Unit' bit. In short I suppose I'm a pushover with no sense of direction!

Interesting definitions - but I agree that most people are rather parts of the whole than a singular definition.

Passive awareness sounds about right. I find it useless screaming about changing the world when the world is set on a path. The coarse of history is a heartless beast that tramples idealists and dreamers so keep your head down and hope you can survive to an old age. Live modest, be humble.