Vine:
The Great Dictator

The extreme form of Vine is rarely found (in my experience) among people who are working on their spirituality. I more often find that fear of suddenly developing Vine characteristics - domination through use of force and fear, being mentally authoritarian, demanding absolute obedience, and the unscrupulous drive for power - can prevent many spiritually inclined people from exercising their personal power.

The Vine personality is for most of us one of the least attractive ones. We live in a century in which dictatorship brought tragic results. We've seen the effects on our lives globally of corporations without conscience. On a personal level we may have experienced tyrannical parents, or childhood playmates who were bullies.

Vine's dictatorship may, however, be extended only to oneself. A Vine person is also the disciplined artist who rehearses daily and is extremely ambitious, and constantly worried about how well (s)he's doing. In these characteristics we see the insecurities which drive all Vine people.

Vine people do not trust others to cooperate and help them; nor do they ever make any effort to help anyone else. Their success comes from their own nearly superhuman efforts of will directed either towards direct accomplishment or towards coercing others (employees, family) to be good soldiers to their generals.

This is their fundamental error. Energy which derives solely from the will or ego (as opposed to that which comes from the soul and beyond), will eventually exhaust itself. Those who are either stunned by one's forceful ways or afraid to rebel, will eventually break free. And ultimately, to live only for oneself is not a source of deep satisfaction.

In taking Vine, one realizes that when the will unites with the forces of love, when our actions are designed to serve others besides ourselves, true leadership, the quality of being first among equals, becomes possible. And those who are afraid to use their personal power at all will find that taking Vine helps to ease those fears, and teaches us to wisely use the power which is our birthright.

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