The Five Paths to Happiness - The Keys to Living a Happy Life According to Your Personality

The Happiness of the Ether Type

The Ether type is a creative, sensitive, intuitive person who is full of imagination and likes to innovate and create new things. By being strongly connected to the Ether element, this type has the strength of inspiration.

It is not uncommon therefore that Ether types flourish in the field of arts as musicians, composers, writers, poets, painters, sculptors, singers, designers, dancers, interior decorators or anything that has to do with giving a soul to the world or raising the common general perception to higher standards of beauty and harmony. They are here to inspire the world.

Because of their sensitivity and strong connection to the field of inspiration, they prefer to work and live in quiet atmospheres that allow them the freedom to create without interruptions, which they dislike much. Peace of mind is a big priority for them. They have sensitive nerves and anything hectic, noisy, chaotic or stressful disconnects them from their creative world. They need quiet time to connect with the source of their inspiration.

So do not ask an Ether type to attend busy corporate working meetings, which they find boring. For serious matters, they prefer to interact with other people on a one-on-one basis because they feel that the flow of energy keeps better focused on the substance this way. Social events might be enjoyable for them as long as they are permeated by the substance that triggers their imagination, as when a painter exposes a new collection of paintings or a writer gives a lecture, or a musician gives a public concert.

They are usually not much interested in politics unless they feel that their art and creations can be a platform to help social causes or make a difference in favor of humanitarian or environmental causes. They feel as citizens of the world and resonate with the purpose of saving the planet from the madness of war, destruction or inequality created by the imperfections of the political and economic systems.

Ether types are promoters of global peace in its true sense and understand the need to forge it not through political rhetoric but through a deep sense of understanding that comes from awakening people to higher values at global level. Instead of weapons, they use inspiration. Instead of conflict, they promote understanding. Instead of repression, they favor openness. Instead of imposition, they favor tolerance. Instead of indifference, they favor compassion. Instead of lies, they favor authenticity. Instead of recycling the old, they are more interested in building the new.

As you may understand, Ether types are spiritual. They want to be able to touch souls in a meaningful way and inspire change on the planet inside out. They are more interested in touching, inspiring and awakening the souls of other people than in reviewing and evaluating the petty minor details of the governmental plan of action pushed forward by the latest elected politician. Ether types are interested in the big picture, in the soul behind any plan of action in the human sphere. They are not impressed by numbers, statistics, surveys or whatever marketing or political strategy is used to sell an idea. It must have a soul behind it. And it must be authentic and grounded in solid values oriented towards the highest good of all.

Since the Ether element is the quintessence, the spark, the potential, and the source of all possibilities, Ether types have the qualities of sensitivity, great vision, enthusiasm, creativity, innovation and high values. When Ether types are free to connect with the great source of their inspiration, they are happy.

However, to live in harmony with their element, Ether types should also take into account that they have very sensitive nerves. So any overuse of the senses may derail their balance. Noise, fast flashing lights, computer games and the sort overexcite them and produce anxiety in them. Too much exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and electromagnetic radiation emitted by modern electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, computers, tablets, Wi-Fi routers, Bluetooth-enabled equipment, etc.) is not good for anyone and Ether types, because of their special sensitivity, are the first ones to notice it because they can sense this energy even before it enters the body or affects the emotions. Ether types are also altered by violent media and shocking images that cause an over-excitement of the senses.

If Ether types overuse their senses or are exposed to disturbing influences and do not defend and cultivate their peace of mind, their tendency to nervousness may lead at some point to anxiety and other associated emotions like fear, lack of confidence, timidity, apprehension, despondency or depression. And these emotions, if sustained, are translated sooner or later into physical symptoms like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, dizziness, restless mind, insomnia, sciatica, backache, rheumatoid arthritis, varicose veins, dry skin or thyroid problems.

If this happens, they have to understand the message and take corrective actions to restore the balance in their systems. They can start by embracing a diet that is suitable for removing the excess of “bad ether” which is present in their minds and bodies. This diet is what Ayurveda practitioners call a Vata-pacifying diet. Basically, this involves avoiding cold foods, raw foods and dry foods, because they increase the airiness and lack of grounding in their bodies. So raw salads, for instance, are not a good idea for them. Yeasted bread is also best avoided. And ice cream, as much as it is delicious, is not a good idea for them either because it is cold. They are best served also by decreasing the intake of bitter, pungent and astringent foods because they increase the dryness in the body and disorient them. So coffee is not a good idea for them either.

Instead, they benefit from the consumption of warm, oily, moist foods, which nurture them and ground them at the same time. The intake of sour, sweet and salty foods is also grounding for them. Having hot drinks like ginger tea, or chamomile tea is beneficial for them. Centering their diet on broths, cheese (warm, not cold and as long as they are not lactose intolerant), cooked carrots, onions, spinach, garlic and spices is nurturing for them as are all nuts in moderation (provided they have not specific allergies), bananas, oats and rice. Having regular meal times is important because regularity adds order into their lives and energies.

Beyond their diet, at the emotional and mental levels, restoring the balance in their systems involves for Ether types also an important challenge. The challenge for Ether types is to ground their visions. They feel at home when they are connected to their element, the spiritual source of their abundant inspiration. But if they do not translate their visions into something that others can perceive, they may come across as idealists or dreamers disconnected from reality. As Ether types are very sensitive, they know this already and, in fact, they draw a great satisfaction when they see their inspiration embodied in a creation that can be touched, heard, seen, smelled or tasted by other people. This challenge is indeed about materializing their inspiration into something that can be perceived by others in the physical world. It is about giving some matter to their soul creations. It is about materializing their spirit.

This is why musicians spend so many hours perfecting, recording and mastering their compositions, or painters drawing and painting their creations with different colors and shades, or writers reviewing and retyping their manuscripts, or sculptors molding the marble until it has a perfect shape. The process of materializing their creations can be arduous and time consuming but Ether types are driven by their strong passion to give birth to their creations. They are eager to give life to something new. They are creators in the purest sense of the word. And if they inspire change with their creations, they are most happy.

As part of their grounding challenge, Ether types have to assign part of their energies to meeting the needs of an everyday life. They need a home, food and paying the bills, just like everybody else. This is when most people bombard them with the idea that an artistic or inspiring way of life does not pay the bills, as it happened to John Lennon when his aunt insisted that he should concentrate on serious education instead of playing his guitar, only to be proven wrong by Lennon’s later outstanding success as a musician.

Granted, not all Ether types have the same fate and faith in themselves as Lennon, but the fact proves that, in principle, any kind of lifestyle can be potentially successful in the outer world. And the contrary belief is much to blame for a great part of the unsuccessful stories that also happen in the word. It is the mindset of the person, together with a driven passion for excellence that makes the difference. Ether types need to realize that “an artist is someone who has learnt to trust in himself,” as Ludwig van Beethoven said.

In fact, Ether types need to have faith in themselves, to strengthen their boundaries, to develop the self-confidence necessary to face and overcome successfully any feeling of frustration or despondency that may arise along their journeys. A limiting belief will not let you go very far, not only in this case but in any kind of path or life style that you may choose for yourself.

So...