INTRODUCTION

I have been a Baha'i for over twenty years. In that time, I have seen various local Baha'i communities put tremendous efforts into addressing racial diversity and differences of gender in a number of positive ways. In recent years, I have seen the National Baha'i community begin to address other types of diversity as well in the process of promoting entry by troops. One of these additional types of diversity now being recognized is that of varying temperaments. This article will introduce this issue and provide some hints on how an appreciation of temperament diversity can help in our interactions with fellow Baha'is.

This article is largely based on the Baha'i book, Consultation, A Universal Lamp of Guidance by John E. Kolstoe. John Kolstoe was a well-known Baha'i in Alaska who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Alaska for many years. He was one of the workshop presenters at the Building the Kingdom Conference held in Milwaukee in the summer of 2001.

EXAMPLES OF TEMPERAMENT DIVERSITY IN THE BAHA'I COMMUNITY

Kolstoe describes many ways that temperament diversity can create challenges for Baha'is as they discuss how to achieve common goals:

" . . . Another set of different personalities which can cause difficulty is the practical and deliberate person in contrast with the impulsive and impetuous one. The practical person may view the other as going off half-cocked, whereas the impulsive one may be concerned that the more practical one works only with the head and never with the heart."

" . . . Sometimes seated at the same conference table are a person who is a high achiever and someone who has difficulty coping with life. The one may be able to keep his personal and business affairs in good order and find opportunity and advantage in every problem. The other finds that nothing seems to work out well and rushes headlong from crisis to crisis; survival itself is looked upon as an accomplishment. Other than their love for Baha'u'llah, the only thing they have in common is that each finds the life-style of the other completely incomprehensible."

". . . There is also the long-time Baha'i who is set in his ways. He may know the Writings well. He may have served with distinction in some extremely difficult situations and performed great service for the Faith. Yet he may oppose every new idea and view bold projects with great skepticism."

"What about people who seem to live on a high plane of intensity? That is, those who feel so strongly about something that it becomes an obsession. They have intense sincerity; neither the motive nor the value of the project are questioned, but the intensity of feeling may make it difficult to see things in proper perspective and may alienate others."

". . . And the list could go on and on and on . . ."

Kolstoe goes on to sum up the basic issue here:

"The Baha'i community is made out of whole cloth. Every conceivable human characteristic - strength and weakness - is found among the followers of Baha'u'llah. Also, there is no end to the list of human characteristics that can become a source of irritation. Everyone has mannerisms which someone else considers a fault. Some people have a great tolerance for personal idiosyncrasies in others and some do not. Any and all possible combination of irritating habits may be found within a Baha'i community."

"In this regard there is an interesting paradox:"

"1. It is easier to see faults in others than it is in ourselves."

"2. It is easier to change our own behavior than it is to change the behavior of others."

". . . Giving up prejudices of skin color, race and national or religious origin, difficult though it may be, is easy compared to giving up the prejudices against those whose thoughts, values, traditions, habits, style, cultural or personal priorities are different. Therein lies a challenge which the Baha'i community as a whole is just beginning to notice. It can be dealt with effectively through consultation."

John E. Kolstoe: Consultation, A Universal Lamp of Guidance, Pages: 146-9

COMPARING THE FOUR TEMPERAMENT TYPES

A qualification and gentle warning before I continue: The four temperament / personality types presented are generalizations only. We are all multi-faceted, complex spiritual beings who cannot be reduced to mere personality categories. These four basic types are only used as aids to help us understand and hopefully begin to appreciate this aspect of our diversity. Please peruse the article "True Colors" using these hyperlinks:

"True Colors" came from a marketing magazine that I ran across years ago and provides an easy and fun method of determining one's personality type. The article provides concise and useful comparisons of the four basic personality types; the comparisons invite appreciation by the readers of how the four temperament groups balance each other out and all have a positive role to play.

I would like to summarize a few points made on the handout and share the following information:

1) The Orange Group / Spontaneous Group uses sense perception as its primary means of understanding the world. It forms approximately 38% of the US population according to research presented in the book Please Understand Me: Character & Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates.

2) The Green Group / Inquisitive Group uses reason as its primary means of understanding the world. It forms approximately 12% of the US population.

3) The Gold Group / Responsible Group uses tradition as its primary means of understanding the world. It forms approximately 38% of the US population.

4) The Blue Group / Feeling Group uses feelings/inspiration as its primary means of understanding the world. It forms approximately 12% of the US population.

Now I wish to share some thoughts on how to see these personality types:

1) We all use sense perception and reason in our deliberations. We all have been influenced by the traditions of our various backgrounds and each of us experiences moments of inspiration. Thus, we all are unique mixes of the four mythical temperament types as defined above. We shouldn't rigidly perceive ourselves as belonging to just one of these personality categories.

2) A person can get by reasonably well using any of the four methods of comprehension mentioned earlier in this talk. None of them is better than any other. However, we should be aware that we might have difficulty fully understanding or even trusting a person who uses a method that we don't use ourselves.

3) The variety caused by the use of different methods of understanding by different people during consultation can be a source of richness and chaos all at the same time. We have to guard from gravitating towards those whose methods mirror our own. Instead, we can strive to recognize that it is this very diversity of methods used in Baha'i consultation that can make it so effective in reaching well-rounded solutions to the problems we place before it. Also, the fact that every participant in this type consultation brings with them an unique mix of personality aspects and way of understanding means that they can make a special contribution to the process that no one else can. Respecting each other's specialness in this regard is a key element in truly embracing temperament diversity

APPLYING TEMPERAMENT DIVERSITY IN INTERACTIONS AMONG BAHA'IS

The following are some suggestions from John Kolstoe's book on consultation:

" 1) Give the other person the benefit of a doubt. Not all the facts may be available. Even if they are, there may be a reasonable explanation which is not obvious . . ."

"2) Any understanding one person has is subject to error. It may come close to the truth, but absolute, complete understanding is rare. Each one may be right from his (or her) own point of view."

"3) The different perception which someone else has may be a point of view which is important, in order to get a more complete understanding of the situation."

"4) Never be afraid to be wrong. When proven wrong; the only thing which can be hurt is the ego; and this can be beneficial spiritually."

"5) Remember that all Baha'is are really working for the same goals. All are under the shadow of the Covenant. The fundamental desire of every sincere believer is whatever serves the best interests of the Cause."

"6) Put the differences themselves in proper perspective. Do the varying opinions really matter? Is it important to the Cause of God to find the truth about the matter in dispute? If not, let each live with his (or her) own understanding. It is more important to be united than to be right . . ."

"7) Differences in perception simply reflect a part of the wide range of diversity in the human family."

John E. Kolstoe: Consultation, A Universal Lamp of Guidance, Page 111

Kolstoe continue by emphasizing the importance of respecting personality differences in the process of consultation:

"Differences of perspective do exist. They are part of the charm, the diversity, the splendor of the family of man; they are also necessary for effective consultation. It is from these variations that opinions are able to clash, to create that spark of truth. When the differences become credibility problems the nature of consultation changes. Emotions take over. The clean, sharp clash of opinions which produced the sparks of truth are lost. Rather than ideas clashing, personalities and egos begin to collide. Then only heat, rather than light, is produced and consultation degenerates into an encounter of egos. For this reason every effort should be exerted to keep differences in perception from becoming problems of credibility."

John E. Kolstoe: Consultation, A Universal Lamp of Guidance, Page 111

CONCLUSION

We can increase our appreciation of temperament diversity in the Baha'i community in a number of ways. First, we can strive to follow the suggestions mentioned above and be patient and loving with our fellow believers. Second, we can practice recognizing the four different personality types and note how we are each unique combinations of them. Next, we can balance this recognition with refraining from using it to label or otherwise over-simplify how we perceive other Baha'is, especially those who seem to be markedly different from ourselves. Then, we can seek to be non-fanatic in the expression of our own Baha'i identity. And finally, we can try to not dwell too much on how our fellow Bahá'ís perceive us.