Update 1.05 — perfection, time & space

This update applies to the top right corner of the Mandala of Characters. We can find there the following set of words.

JUDGING
art
moist, wet

I think it is worth adding two phrases to this set of words. That is, “perfection” and “time and space”.

PERFECTION

The idea of adding the word “perfection” to this place of the Mandala of Characters came from the Enneagram. In this place, we can find the type of character—Moist Air. This type is similar to the Type 1 in the Enneagram. One of the popular names of this type is—the Perfectionist. I found this name of Type 1 in Helen Palmer’s book titled “The Enneagram”.

The word “perfection” also fits here as the opposition to the word “difference”, which we can find on the other side of the Mandala.

Why is perfection the opposite of difference?

For example, because a perfectionist is someone who is a “sum” of some abilities, talents, skill, qualities, etc. This sum of high skills, qualities, and features means that the perfectionist cannot be subtracted of anything. While subtracting is a difference.

Perfection, therefore, as a sum of various skills and talents, is the opposite of the difference. It is because the difference is distinguishing of some features, attributes, trait, qualities, etc.

It is interesting because it turns out that, for example, a perfect person is the opposite of a distinguished person. Because the distinguished person prefers to be unique and one of a kind.

At first glance, it would seem that there is not much difference between the perfectionist and someone distinguished. However, there is a significant difference between them. That is, the perfectionist sums up various features and tries to give an impression of a satisfied person. It means the person who is without any faults, the person who is full of values, virtues, advantages, pluses, qualities, strengths, etc.

In turn, the distinguished person distinguishes a characteristic feature or features, on which he tries to focus his and other’s attention. And in this way, he wants to become someone special, unique, unusual, etc.

Therefore, the perfectionist sums up (or summarizes), and the distinguished person differentiates (or distinguishes). And it is the fundamental difference between them. Besides, in many cases, these people are similar to each other. However, this serious difference between summation and differentiation is putting these people on opposite sides. The matter of opposites is indeed fascinating. During my work on the Mandala of Characters, many times I came to an interesting conclusion. It means they are not their opposites, people who differ in a lot of things in a small extent. But their opposites are people who differ in a large extent in one matter that is important for them both. Of course, it also happens, that there will be two significant matters which are putting people on the opposite sides. And it is even rarer that there will be a few of these matters. But generally, it will be a very small number of significant differences.

TIME AND SPACE

The word “time” refers mainly to the types of characters: Moist Air and Wet Water. These are types that in their Conscious State often are able to manage and organize their time very well. Often it looks like planning and organizing it is a natural process for them. Usually, people from these types do not realize that this ability is more developed in them than in others. It seems for them that others should have the same skills in this area. For this reason, many representatives of these types, again and again, experience various kinds of frustration associated with it. They have grievances or grudges against other people because they don’t understand why they are so unorganized.

Of course, not all representatives of these types without exception are always organized, punctual, and they do everything on time. My point is that they have natural abilities, and whether these abilities are developed by them or not, it depends on each one of them separately.

So, these types are able to apply the following principle in their lives
—“think, plan, do”.

This principle requires that we have to deal with time properly, and we have to have the right approach to it. For example, by the fact that we have to plan something what we will do in the future. During planning the future, it is also worth remembering the past. Remembering the past can help us to avoid making the same mistakes as before. We can use experiences of the past to improve planning and doing something better and faster than before.

The word “space” relates to the word “time” because time exists in some space. In space, we can move from one place to another. Or somewhere in the space, we are doing something. However, regardless of what we do in space, always during doing something time goes by. Time and space are considered and studied by people in various ways for a very long time. We have even terms “space-time” or “time-space” which are well-known from using them in physics and literature.

These terms can also be distinguished. It means we can consider:

• Space-time—as three dimensions of space and one time:
  —tree dimensions of space are horizontal, vertical and depth,
  —and one dimension of time is a one continuous time flow.
• Time-Space—as three dimensions of time and one space:
  —three dimensions of time are past, present, and future,
  —and one dimension of space, that is, the place where we are at the moment.

However, regardless of how we describe time and space and how we deal with them, they are actually inseparable pair. And generally speaking, we live in time and space. This law realizes the most types of characters from this part of the Mandala. That is the mentioned above Moist Air and Wet Water.

Time and space also match to this place of Mandala, because on the other side we can find a phrase—“here and now”. In this way, it is visible the opposition “time and space” and “here and now”. Thanks to this, we can see which types focus more on “here and now”, and which types concentrate more on “time and space”.

So, it is the brief description of the new two phrases “perfection” and “time and space”. Then let’s put these new terms on the Mandala of Characters. The new set of words, which is in the top right corner of the Mandala will look like this:

JUDGING
perfection, time & space, art    
moist, wet

Please look at the following scheme of the Mandala of Characters, on which I put the mentioned above changes.

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