Are you familiar with the tridoshas system of Ayurvedic medicine? It proposes three types of constitution that people can be classified into; vatta (thin / air), pitta (medium / fire) and kapha (thick / water / earth). The endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph types of Western herbalism correspond to it.
Interestingly, as people age, their constitutional types seem almost to turn into weaknesses: air people dry out, fire people burn up, etc.
There's also in Jung the concept of the superior and inferior types. In Marie-Louise von Franz's book Jung's Typology, she writes how the superior type wants to dominate one's psychological activity. Even when you try to learn how to use your inferior function, it is often through the lens of, or is 'corrupted' by, the superior function.
It strikes me that these two models have something in common: assuming that your physical constitution and your superior function can be considered your strengths, the use of these strengths can through time end up in imbalance.
(Maybe this is a 'no, duh' moment for everyone but me.)
I find it interesting because we're often told in our culture to use our strengths, but this would imply that at times, you almost have to realize your strengths are actually an imbalance by nature, and to focus at least for a time on dealing with your weaknesses.
I guess there's not really a question after all. But the SOP makes even more sense now!
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Are you familiar with the tridoshas system of Ayurvedic medicine? It proposes three types of constitution that people can be classified into; vatta (thin / air), pitta (medium / fire) and kapha (thick / water / earth). The endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph types of Western herbalism correspond to it.
Interestingly, as people age, their constitutional types seem almost to turn into weaknesses: air people dry out, fire people burn up, etc.
There's also in Jung the concept of the superior and inferior types. In Marie-Louise von Franz's book Jung's Typology, she writes how the superior type wants to dominate one's psychological activity. Even when you try to learn how to use your inferior function, it is often through the lens of, or is 'corrupted' by, the superior function.
It strikes me that these two models have something in common: assuming that your physical constitution and your superior function can be considered your strengths, the use of these strengths can through time end up in imbalance.
(Maybe this is a 'no, duh' moment for everyone but me.)
I find it interesting because we're often told in our culture to use our strengths, but this would imply that at times, you almost have to realize your strengths are actually an imbalance by nature, and to focus at least for a time on dealing with your weaknesses.
I guess there's not really a question after all. But the SOP makes even more sense now!