The Overleaves & Body Types - Michael Teachings

The Overleaves

Using a system of enneagramic tools called the Overleaves, the Michael teachings help us learn self-acceptance and tolerance for all people. Understanding and accepting the differences of others is the key to unlocking greater levels of compassion, both for ourselves and those around us. More importantly, the Overleaves show us how we pre-incarnationally decided to experience life. They are the roadmap for what it means to be human, and when properly recognized and validated, the Overleaves help us operate from our true personality -- the state of being where real spiritual growth occurs.

Overleaves are personality traits that “overlay” the essence. We choose them before a lifetime begins to facilitate the purposes of that lifetime, and usually select a new combination of them for each lifetime. The overleaves include the goal, mode, attitude, center, and chief feature. The goal influences what we do; the mode, how we do it; the attitude, why we do it; the center, the part of self from which we do it; and the chief feature, what tends to block or distort our doing.

Overleaves (General)

Here's a comprehensive collection of articles on the overleaves. No stone was left unturned in this impressive study.

An Introduction To Goals

Every person has one of seven Goals. The Goal causes the general sense of a lack in a person's life. Therefore, it determines what the personality seeks, desires, wants, pursues, and aims for. When the Goal is not fulfilled, the person feels frustrated, and life seems meaningless. The Goal gives the person a purpose, a direction, an overall intention.

An Introduction To Modes

The Mode is the way in which people pursue their Goal. It is also their general manner of conduct or deportment. It is the underlying behavior pattern or "modus operandi" of the personality — the standard operating procedure. It is how people do things: their style, their path.

Attitudes

Attitude concerns the way people regard the world. It is the perspective people have on things around them. It is the stance from which people view things.

Stoic ("whatever")
Spiritualist ("could be")
Skeptic ("might be")
Idealist ("should be")
Cynic ("probably isn't")
Realist ("probably is")
Pragmatist ("it must be")

An Introduction to Centers

The Centers are parts of oneself, parts from which one responds or reacts to life situations. They are different "places" in one's personality where experiences are "processed". A person does not have just one Center. All Centers are present in a personality, but in various strengths. These are ranked in sequence from one, the strongest, to seven, the weakest. Usually the two strongest Centers dominate the response pattern of the individual. For instance, a person in the Moving part of Emotional Center will react to situations emotionally and feel driven to do something about it.

Emotional
Intellectual
Physical
Moving
Instinctive
Higher Centers

Comments on the Chief Features

Chief Negative Features (or fears), concerns a person's image — the self-image, and the image one presents to others. Every person has a chief Feature, and one or two others of lesser strength. There are no good Features. All of them are driven by fear; all of them are contrary to love. The Features operate against the desires of what many call the "higher self" but which Michael calls the "Essence". The Features are most likely to flare up in situations perceived as threatening to the self-image. Otherwise they quietly control the ego. According to Michael, enlightenment results from the extinguishment of the Features.

Self-Deprecation (Fear of "being inadequate.")
Arrogance (Fear of "being judged.")
Self-Destruction (Fear of "losing control.")
Greed (Fear of "not having enough.")
Martyrdom (Fear of being a "victim.")
Impatience (Fear of "missing out.")
Stubbornness (Fear of "change.")

Percentage of Chief Features in World's Population

Self-Deprecation - 10%		Arrogance - 15%
Self-Destruction - 10%		Greed - 15%
Marryrdom - 15%		Impatience - 15%
	Stubbornness - 20%

Body Types

Each Bodytype has a number of distinctive physical characteristics. These traits are adopted from the astrological and mythological attributes of the planets for which the Bodytypes are named. The traits apply to males and females both, although some bodytypes are more "masculine" and some more "feminine" according to cultural stereotypes. There are also personality traits associated with each Bodytype. Most people are a mixture of various proportions of two or three Bodytypes.

Introduction to the Seven Bodytypes
A basic overview to get you started.

Body Types
Shepherd Hoodwin explores the subject.

Here's a further examination of bodytypes.

Lunar
Venusian
Mercurial
Saturnian
Martial
Jovial
Solar

Miscellaneous

Annotated Overleaves Chart - Popup text Phil Wittmeyer
Here is a standard overleaf chart, but with annotated definitions that pop-up via java script. A very useful resource.

Celebrity Overleaves - A short compilation of celebrity overleaves, created to supplement some of the other existing sources.

Personality Profile
Use this questionnaire to identify your overleaves.

Negative Poles
Discusses fear and the negative poles.

Individual Chart Analysis
An interpretation of several Michael charts.

Discrepancies in Overleaves
Explains the inaccuracies found in some Michael readings.

Astral Overleaf Schools
An interesting take on selecting overleaves.

On Arrogance
A personal reflection on how a Michael channel has battled this difficult chief feature. By Shepherd Hoodwin.

Arrogance vs. Self-Dep
Shepherd continues with part II of his look at this chief feature.

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