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ZetaTalk: Distinguishing Characteristics
Note: written May 15, 1996


A great deal of confusion reigns regarding the spiritual orientations, and how to determine whether someone is leaning in this direction or that. Key characteristics may come into play when the chips are down, but this is seldom the situation and most of life allows the true orientation to be masked by personality, subterfuge, or such structured situations that the orientation of the individual does not have an opportunity to express.

Take the example of an office setting, where assignments are meted out to individuals but team work is stressed. To the manager, the extroverted young man recently hired may seem to be doing more than his share, at least to hear him talk, as he has many stories detailing how his expertise or enthusiasm for challenge came to the rescue of the group. But check with the individual members of the team, and one learns that the reverse is true, as he was the one who required rescuing and feigned ignorance until other members of the long-suffering team did his work for him. When he gets a raise and a nod, the team is puzzled, as it would not occur to them to report him to the manager for taking more than he is giving. They considered him in need of help, a youth in need of guidance, and took him under their wings. This type of going behind the back and taking credit is a frequent sign that the individual is operating primarily in the Service-to-Self, or is heading in that direction.

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