Air—Unconscious Triangle

The diagram below shows Air’s Unconscious Triangle, which symbolizes the Unconscious of this type of character.

The Unconsciousness of Air or “Conscious Triangle”” occupies the area of a triangle, which vertices are located in the following points:

• Earth,
• Fire, and
• Water.

In the above three points, there are the following states:

• Unconscious State (point—Earth),
• Strong Self-Esteem State or Power State (point—Fire or Water),
• Soft Self-Esteem State or Vulnerable State (point—Fire or Water).

Unconscious State of the Air type

Air’s Unconscious State is at the place, where is a point:
— Earth.

(In Mandala of Characters, Unconscious State is on the opposite side of Conscious State of a given type of character).

On the border of Conscious and Unconscious Triangle, we can find the Strong and Soft Self-Esteem States (or Power and Vulnerable States). Thus, Strong and Soft Self-Esteem States belong to both the Conscious and Unconscious Triangle.

As we can see above for Air type, its Power and Vulnerable States are located in the following points:

• Fire, and
• Water.

So, Power and Vulnerable States are on the border between Conscious and Unconscious Triangle. Then, it means that Air through these states can move to Unconscious Triangle.

In this case, both when Air type is under the influence of Power and Vulnerable States, it can move to Unconscious State.

Air can also move directly from its Conscious State to its Unconscious State. In the diagram above, we can see that there is a direct connection between the points:

• Air—that is, the place where there is Air’s Conscious State,
• Earth—that is, the place where there is Air’s Unconscious State.

The predominant impact of Unconscious on the Air type

Unconsciousness, (symbolized by “Unconscious Triangle”), can have an analogical impact on the psyche of Air as Consciousness (symbolized by “Conscious Triangle”) that I discussed in the previous chapter.

In turn, Unconscious State can play an analogical role as Conscious State. However, Unconscious State plays a leading role in Unconsciousness, that is in Unconscious Triangle. Then, Unconscious State in Unconscious Triangle communicates with Power and Vulnerable States analogically to the Conscious State in Conscious Triangle.

Besides, as I mentioned above, Unconscious State can communicate directly with Conscious State.

In Conscious Triangle when we are in Unconscious State, we can connect:
— either with Power State (that is, Strong Self-Esteem State),
— or with Vulnerable State (that is, Soft Self-Esteem State).

However, it is also possible (to a greater or lesser extent to connect:
— simultaneously with these two states.

It is also fascinating that Power and Vulnerable States are not always in the same place, it means:

• Air entering to Power State can move to both Fire or Water.
• Similarly, when Air enters Vulnerable State, it can move to both Fire or Water.

How we can explain this?

Generally speaking, the same situations, behaviors, manners, practices, ways of doing something, etc.:
— once can be a source of Power State,
— and another time can bring us Vulnerable State.

Then, we can ask here—why the same situation can put us either in Power or Vulnerable State?

This may depend on many factors. For example, it may depend on:
— our mood at a given moment,
— life experiences,
— our social position,
— or our self-confidence,
— the culture we grow up in,
— experiences acquired in specific places for us, that is, for example, in places where we lived, studied, and worked,
— traumas and psychological injuries we have suffered,
— our knowledge about our own psyche and knowledge about ourselves in general,
— and many others.

Each of us, therefore, has our own specific “baggage of experiences”. That is, baggage with mental, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, etc. experiences. Experiences that can lead us to Power or Vulnerable State.

In addition, it is also fascinating that we can distinguish specific types of characters among us. And our specific character type has a great influence on how we use what we have collected in our baggage of experiences. That is, our mental, physical, intellectual, emotional, etc. experiences.

Coming back to Air, this type under the influence of Power or Vulnerable State, may behave similarly to Fire or Water type.

Specifically speaking:

• Air, under the influence of Power State (Strong Self-Esteem State) may:
  — behave similarly to Fire type;
  — or behave similarly to Water type.
• Analogically, Air under the influence of Vulnerable State (Soft Self-Esteem State) may:
  — behave similarly to Fire type;
  — or behave similarly to Water type.

I think that the above appearance of Power and Vulnerable States in two places, in a sense, we can define as—duality (or dualism) of Power and Vulnerable States.

Location of Power and Vulnerable States (Power or Soft Self-Esteem States)

The Power and Vulnerable States are located between Conscious and Unconscious Triangles. In the previous chapter that concern Conscious Triangle, I talked about the impact that Power and Vulnerable States have on our psyche in Conscious Triangle.

The analogical situation occurs in Unconscious Triangle. It means Power and Vulnerable States influence the part of our psyche that is connected with Unconscious Triangle.

So, it turns out that Power and Vulnerable States can have an impact on our psyche in both Conscious and Unconscious Triangle.

Power and Vulnerable States, therefore, are fascinating because:

• they correlate with Conscious Triangle, that is:
  — they can be impacted by Consciousness,
  — or they can have an impact on Consciousness.
• or they correlate with Unconscious Triangle, that is:
  — they can be impacted by Unconsciousness,
  — or they can have an impact on Unconsciousness.

Advantage of Air’s Strong Self-Esteem State (Power State) in Unconscious Triangle

As I mentioned above, Air can have its Strong Self-Esteem State in two places:

• at the point—Fire, and
• at the point—Water.

Air’s Strong Self-Esteem State (Power State) at the point—Fire.

In this situation, Air succumbs too much to Power State, which is located at the point—Fire.

The extensive influence of Strong Self-Esteem State often makes Air type overconfident. Then this type can, for example:

• focus too much on logical thinking;
• overly stand by our reason and point of view;
• have an irrational view of:
  — situations we have to deal with;
  — and tasks and problems we need to face;
• trust too much our knowledge and intelligence;
• etc.

Air’s Strong Self-Esteem State (Power State) at the point—Water.

In Power State, Air can also show the characteristics of Water. Then he or she may, for example:

• think that we are more valuable than others;
• ignore the feelings of others;
• disregard what we feel is unjustified, and not relevant;
• be irrational;
• make efforts to get others to share our values and follow our judgments;
• etc.

Advantage of Air’s Soft Self-Esteem State (Vulnerable State) in Unconscious Triangle.

As for the Air’s Soft Self-Esteem State, it is analogical to the above-mentioned Strong Self-Esteem State.

Air, therefore, can have its Soft Self-Esteem State (Vulnerable State) in two places:

• at the point—Fire, and
• at the point—Water.

Air’s Soft Self-Esteem State (Vulnerable State) at the point—Fire.

In this situation, the Air succumbs too much to Vulnerable State, which is located at the point—Fire.

The extensive influence of Vulnerable State often makes Air just too uncertain and vulnerable. Then, she or he may, for example:

• not seeing justification in our actions;
• feel that the reasons of others outweigh ours;
• be afraid of the lack of logic and in ours and others’ behavior;
• irrationally access various tasks, situations, and problems;
• etc.

Air’s Soft Self-Esteem State (Vulnerable State) at the point—Water.

In Vulnerable State, Air can also show the characteristics of Water. Then he or she may, for example:

• be insensitive;
• avoid engaging in something when we do not feel it is worth it;
• have difficulty finding arguments and values that prove the rightness of what we do;
• think that we are not important and valuable;
• irrationally assess reality;
• etc.

Other ways of movement between psychological states in Unconscious Triangle

In addition to the possibilities mentioned above of moving between psychological states in Unconscious Triangle, other combinations of moving from one state to another are possible. They are as follows:

1. Air can move between the Unconscious State and Power State. And rarely move to Vulnerable State.
2. Air can move between Unconscious State and Vulnerable State. And rarely move to Power State.
3. Air can move between Power and Vulnerable States. And rarely move to Unconscious State.

Advantage of Air’s Unconscious State in Unconscious Triangle.

When Air is in Unconscious State, this state can play a major role in the psyche of this type. In other words, Unconscious State can take over the role of Conscious State.

The advantage of Unconsciousness over Consciousness may have positive or negative sides:

• A positive impact can be, for example, when, thanks to Unconsciousness, our psyche is brought into a greater balance in a situation when Consciousness dominates too much the whole psyche.
• A negative impact can occur when Unconsciousness dominates too much Consciousness.

The dominance of Unconsciousness over Consciousness often occurs for some time, after which Consciousness takes over again the leading role.

In the case, when the influence of Unconsciousness is negative, then it can create many problems in our psyche and in our life.

The domination of Unconsciousness over Conscious can often be disadvantageous to us when we know our Unconsciousness to a small extent. It means, for example, when we think little about it, we do not recognize its activity, and we have little conscious influence over it.

The unawareness of our Unconscious State and situations when this State over-dominates us can be burdensome for us in two areas. It means:
— for us personally,
— and for other people.

As for the problems that can be created by Unconsciousness towards ourselves, we can see it, for example, in this kind of situations:

• The jamming of Unconsciousness.
  We consciously try not to let our Unconsciousness speak. In the long run, however, it is tough, because our psyche must allow Unconsciousness to speak for the sake of balance. Then various problems can arise when the activity of Unconsciousness happens at completely unexpected and inappropriate moments for us. For example, when we want to control ourselves, we must focus, we must be prudent, responsible, etc.
• Fighting with Unconsciousness.
  We can consciously fight with our Unconsciousness and consider it as something that does not belong to our psyche. This can lead to a constant struggle or, in a sense, a war of Consciousness versus Unconsciousness. Then, for example:
  — suddenly we begin to behave in a way that we do not understand, and it is difficult for us to control it;
  — in unexpected moments, we can strive to do something, but it is just not working out. And it can happen despite our great endeavors; high concentration and attention; prior preparation; the amount of energy and effort invested; etc.
  — despite our best efforts, we cannot focus on the important tasks, work, various duties, etc., that we must carry out;
  — and so on.
• Night Unconsciousness activity.
  If we consciously manage to control the Unconsciousness during the day, Unconsciousness may take control during the night. And it can be done in a way that is severe for us.
  For example, through insomnia due to unmanageable thoughts that flow from Unconsciousness. And if we sleep, through dreams, which will make us think and deal with our Unconsciousness.
• Etc.

As for the problems that can be created by Unconsciousness towards other people, we can see it, for example, in this kind of situations:

• Activation of Unconsciousness under the influence of stimulants and narcotic drugs.
  Under the influence of narcotic drugs or stimulants (for example, alcohol), we can let our Unconsciousness act to our detriment and to the detriment of others. For example, we can disobey the rules of social coexistence; be unpleasant to others; offend others verbally or with our behavior; do not care or harm our health, cause great stress to others; etc.
• Difficulty in dealing with people who have the characteristics of our Unconsciousness.
  When we cooperate or deal with people who have characteristics that our Unconsciousness has (or in particular our Unconscious State has), then it can be tough for us to do anything or even to be with them. Without any apparent reason, we may not like them, and sometimes even hate them. It is also often very difficult for us to even pretend that we like them, and it is difficult to show them any liking. Then, when we have to deal with such people (because we depend on them, it is beneficial for us, or it is good for our business), socializing with them comes with great difficulty. And it can be a source of constant hard to control stress.
  Of course, in life can stress and drive us crazy, not only people who have characteristics of our Consciousness. However, when we know our Unconscious State very little, people with characteristics of this our State can be difficult for us to understand. Understanding and accepting their attitudes to life and their ways of reasoning and acting can cause us constant problems and keep surprising us. It can also be difficult for us to be assertive towards them, defend ourselves against them, and deal with them at all.
• Etc.

What is the way out of the problems associated with Unconsciousness, which dominate us excessively?

Generally speaking, it is worth getting to know our Unconsciousness, especially our Conscious State.

Exploring our Unconsciousness is a very extensive topic, and it is a process that lasts for years. However, indeed, it is worth taking a path leading deep into our Unconsciousness. If only because it is probably better to get to know our Unconsciousness and use its enormous potential in life than to fight it and waste all the goods and benefits that it can bring us.

So, how can we explore our Unconsciousness?

Mandala of Characters can help us discover Unconsciousness. Among others, because Mandala of Characters gives us an answer to what exactly Unconsciousness (and especially Unconscious State) can look like for particular types of characters.

In the case of Air type discussed in this chapter, its Unconscious State is at the point of Earth.

Air, therefore, to understand its Unconsciousness, may, for example, get to know and understand its Unconscious State, which is at the point Earth.

So, basically, we need to know what type of character our Unconscious State has. When we know what type of our Unconscious has, it will be easier for us to see:

• What is the influence of this state on us?
• And when this state influences us?

Knowing the type of character of our Unconscious State over time can make us realize another amazing thing. It means the fact that we have frequent contact with our Unconscious State. In fact, actually, we can talk here about continuous communication between Conscious and Unconscious States.

How can we find it out?

Some factors that can help us to discover the activity of Unconscious State I listed in the following points:

1. Conscious State usually leads. Or in other words, Conscious State is in the foreground. In turn, Unconscious State works in the background, is still active, and has a strong impact.
2. Knowing our Power and Vulnerable States helps to distinguish between Conscious and Unconscious States.
   I think that when we are able to distinguish between our Power and Vulnerable States, then it is easier to see the activity of the Unconscious State.
3. Many behaviors resulting from Unconscious State we can assign to Conscious State.
   I think a lot of our behaviors is influenced by both Consciousness and Unconsciousness. For example, we can interpret thoughts and ideas flowing from Unconsciousness as conscious. And we just do not wonder what part of our psyche is influencing us at a given moment.
4. If we know what type of character has our Unconscious State, we can more easily see its activity.
   Knowing the character type of our Conscious and Unconscious States can help us to distinguish which thoughts, visions, fantasies, emotions, etc., flow from our Consciousness or from Unconsciousness.

Personally, now when I have realized that the communication between the Conscious and Unconscious States is very frequent, I wondered about the name for Unconscious State? It means I wondered whether the name of Unconscious State is appropriate?

In fact, if we look at what I wrote above, it turns out Unconscious State is not so unconscious, since we can have close and frequent contact with it.

Therefore, I decided to give Unconscious State second name. This name is:
— Complementary State.

For Unconsciousness, then, the second name can be:
— Complementarity.

Of course, I will still use the terms “Unconscious State” and “Unconsciousness”, because these terms are more familiar and therefore more intuitive.

So, coming back to Air type we can now say that its:
— Complementary State (that is Unconscious State),
is at the point Earth.

What I wrote above about Air's Complementary Triangle is actually just an introduction to the further journey through the Air's Complementarity (that is, Unconsciousness). I intend to continue this journey and write a larger study about Unconsciousness of this type. Now, however, it is difficult for me to say when this study will be published? It is because I am just a type enthusiast, and working on the Mandala of Characters is my hobby and my passion.

Jacek BŁACH