Table of Contents
Essence and Personality two distinct aspects
According to Nicoll, essence and personality are two distinct aspects of a human being, with essence representing the authentic self and personality being an acquired and often false construct .
The relationship between these two is central to Nicoll’s understanding of inner work and personal development.
Here’s a breakdown of these aspects.
1. Essence as the True Self
Essence is described as the deeper, more real part of an individual, connected to something beyond the personal. It is the part of us that is not shaped by our external influences.
Nicoll states that our essence comes down from the stars. The development of essence within us is linked to a change in the level of being.
2. Personality as Acquired and False
Personality is the acquired side of an individual, a collection of habits, beliefs, and behaviours formed through interactions with the world. It is often a “painted up thing” or a picture, and a great deal of it is considered false.
Nicoll points out that the personality often presents a false picture of oneself, leading to self-deception and inner conflict.
(Note that this is at variance from how some psychologies view us. In some more academic views, Personality is considered to be our true self.)
3. Personality as an Obstacle to Essence
The personality, particularly its false aspects, is an obstacle to the development of essence. It operates mechanically and is driven by external circumstances, obscuring the true self.
The false personality is always turned outwards and must be made passive to begin to “hear” what is present internally.
4. The Need for Personality to Become Passive
For essence to grow, the personality must become passive. This means reducing the hold of the acquired personality and allowing the inner part of us to become more active.
This is achieved through self-observation, non-identification and a continual struggle to get to what is real.
5. The Transformation Process
The Work is aimed at making the personality passive, so that essence can develop. (The Work is also called “The Fourth Way”.)
As the feeling of ‘I’ is drawn out of the active personality, the passive essence becomes stronger.
Eventually, the inner essence will become more active and will control the outer personality. This shift is not automatic; it requires a conscious effort of self-work.
6. Different Laws
Essence and Personality operate under different laws. Essence is under the laws of the planetary world (24 laws), while Personality is under the laws of the earth (48 laws) and False Personality under the laws of the moon (96 laws).
For Nicoll, Real ‘I’ is above essence, and is under 12 laws, corresponding to the level of the Sun. This indicates that essence is higher in the scale of being than personality.
7. Reaching the Real ‘I’
The ultimate goal is not simply to strengthen the essence but to reach Real ‘I’, which is said to lie behind essence.
Real ‘I’ is a deeper and more conscious level of being. This journey involves a gradual stripping away of what is not ourselves to feel the vibration of Real ‘I’.
8. Aligning with True Self
Nicoll’s view of the relationship between personality and essence is that it is a dynamic one involving a process of transformation.
The Work is aimed at diminishing the influence of personality so that essence can grow and become more active, allowing an individual to align with the true self.
Important aspects of the work are self-observation and self-remembering. For more on this, see Self-Observation and Self-Remembering – the Benefits.
For more on Self-remembering, see also:
It’s worth noting that for Nicoll, these processes of transformation were long ones – there were no short-cuts, such as those promised by the ingestion of hallucinatory substances!