Character Structures: Moving From 'Being in Pattern' to Being Fully Present

By Shift Faculty Anodea Judith

The defensive strategy a child uses to face the challenges of life is dependent upon what skills they have under their belt. A younger child, whose charge is less regulated, has fewer skills to deal with insult than an older child. Infants, for example, have no verbal skills to defend themselves, and no ability to fight or run away. If they don’t like what’s going on, they can cry, which may or may not fix the problem. If it doesn’t, their best defense is to tighten their muscles and contract into their core in self-protection. An older child may have verbal skills and a greater sense of self, so she can defend herself with a more skillful command of her charge, using different strategies.

It also depends on what works. If going up into your head and trying to figure everything out made sense, then the child distances from her body. If latching onto another brought the connection wanted, then the child becomes highly oriented to others. If holding back tears or anger are what worked to get one’s needs met or avoid trouble, this became an unconscious habit. If following the rules offset rejection or pretending to be powerful worked to avoid manipulation, then that becomes part of the behavior. Over time, these strategies become a permanent part of a person’s “character armor,” defense mechanisms that are hard-wired into the body and energy system.

But character structure is determined by additional factors: Not only the age of wounding and the skill level available, but the type of wounding, the structure of the body, and the amount of charge available to a child at the time. The child who grows up in a volatile family with lots of siblings and intense emotions flying around will likely carry a higher charge than an only child who is left alone and neglected. Of course, like any system, it is not always so cut and dried. We may have multiple woundings at different ages. We may exhibit more than one layer of character armor, and a variety of defenses and beliefs. Most of us do.

What is important to remember is that these character structures are patterns that are lodged into the body, patterns that are held in place by charge. And these patterns have a cost. They limit the full and free expression of who we are. Their dysfunction ranges from mild to extreme as they limit our freedom, authenticity, and ability to form intimate relationships. Learning to recognize these patterns gives us the choice to distance from them, disable them, and eventually move out of them completely into greater presence of our essential being.

It’s important to avoid looking at this as some kind of pathology, or yet another system that tells you what’s wrong with you. Rather these are characterological patterns that can lead to deeper awareness. If you can recognize that you do those patterns, and become more cognizant of why and how, you have a better chance of getting out of them. If you can recognize these patterns in your partners, children, friends, or co-workers, you can avoid the pitfalls of getting hooked by their behavior, hold them in more compassion, and become more skillful at dealing with their personalities.

Anodea’s new 7-week course, The Character Type Training, starts Tuesday, October 31. Click here for more information.

Anodea Judith, PhD has been writing and teaching about psychology, energy, and the chakra system for 40 years. With a master’s in Clinical Psychology and a doctorate in Mind-Body Health, her bestselling books on yoga, healing, manifesting, and social change have become global classics. Her first book, Wheels of Life, an international standard, was followed by her groundbreaking book on the psychology of the chakras, Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self, which is frequently used as a text in universities and healing programs.

Anodea conducted a private practice in somatic psychology for 20 years before becoming a full-time traveler, offering workshops and trainings worldwide through her founding organization, Sacred Centers.

To visit Anodea’s website, click here.