The chief negative feature or Obstacle is the only overleaf that is not chosen before birth. Children experiment with the different negative features and then settle upon one favorite sometime before age 35. Everyone uses all of the negative features occasionally, although you choose one from which you chiefly operate. It is also possible to switch chief negative features during your lifetime. People usually switch by sliding more‑or‑less permanently to the feature that is opposite theirs on the axis. There are different degrees of using the features; some people use them often and strongly, some people use them mildly or hardly at all.

All features are based upon fears. You pull in your chief negative feature when you are in the negative pole of the emotional center, i.e., sentimentality or emotionalism. (Since everyone can use all centers, even intellectual and moving-centered people get a "chance" to use their chief negative feature!) Features retard growth by pulling in additional challenges and difficulties. People will use their features to protect themselves during times of stress. The chief negative feature is the favorite device of “false personality,” i.e., the personality that is projected when you are using the negative poles of all your overleaves.

Chief negative features can also be used appropriately to strengthen personality by using them in the positive pole. This teaching encourages people to move to the exalted side of the axis if they are using ordinal features, as a first step to softening or erasing their features altogether.

The way to minimize your use of chief negative feature is to see that you can function without it and to strengthen your sense of self‑agape (love, forgiveness, and tolerance for your self). When you are worried, stressed, or afraid, you have fallen out of self‑agape and forgotten that you control your own universe.

The Obstacle affect the personality intellectually, emotionally, and energetically. Intellectually, they project an attitude about the personality. Emotionally, they make it difficult for others to connect with someone using a chief negative feature heavily. On the energetic level, they project a wall which signals others to stay at a distance.

People can use their chief negative features to facilitate karma formation and karma payback. When you are not in karma and are on a path of spiritual advancement, it is possible to minimize the use of the chief negative feature.

Arrogance and Self‑Deprecation

The Inspirational Features

Arrogance: Fear of vulnerability.

Arrogance is an exalted feature and therefore brings attention to the person who uses it. Ironically, what is usually at the base of arrogance is shyness. Arrogance is a barrier which prevents a person from finding out what people really think of her. The person in arrogance attempts to do this by making herself appear to be something other than who she really is. Arrogance and self-deprecation both deal with the issue of "How much am I worth in the universe?"

It is common for teenagers to experiment with arrogance by making themselves attractive or noticeable, while at the same time creating barriers to mask their fears. Arrogance is judgmental both of oneself ("Am I acceptable?") and of others. Judgment is always a major obstacle to experiencing agape.

In the positive pole, this feature can be used to develop real pride and make yourself more worthy in your own eyes. In the negative pole, someone in arrogance feels she is right and others are wrong and can be intolerant of the behavior or existence of others. Those in arrogance tend to spend an inordinate amount of time on their personal appearance, in front of the mirror, or worrying about the kind of impression they are making. People in arrogance can try to appear to be someone or something they are not or try to convince themselves they are other than who they really are.

Positive Pole

Pride. Self‑esteem. An antidote to self‑deprecation. Feeling of worthiness.

Negative Pole

Vanity. Shyness. Haughtiness. Snobbery. Seeing oneself as unacceptable. Judgmental of oneself and others. Creating barriers between oneself and others. Worrying about others' opinions of you. Shyness in crowds or intimate situations. Having false pretenses. Lying.

Self‑deprecation: Fear of inadequacy.

Self‑deprecation is the feature which says, on some level, "I am not worthy." This feature limits the development of essence because of the difficulty in "having," whether it be not allowing one's talents to manifest; seeing oneself unworthy of love (relationships), truth (knowledge), or energy (including money); or not feeling worth the benefits of spiritual growth. In this teaching, people are encouraged to give up their self‑deprecation, either by sliding to arrogance, or by finding themselves more worthy.

Self‑deprecation is a favorite chief negative feature for older souls because by the time you are an old soul you know how little you know relative to the whole universe. Also, control issues and having possessions become less important than having philosophical and self‑worth issues at that stage.

In the positive pole, self‑deprecation is appropriately humble, i.e., humble when there is a cause or need to be so. In the negative pole, people in self‑deprecation abase themselves by dressing poorly, not attending to their appearance, not taking care of their health or their possessions. Someone using self‑deprecation heavily will not be able to maintain appropriate relationships, satisfactory employment, necessary material objects, nor will she be able to manifest or develop her own talents. In addition, she will not spiritually grow since she will even be unwilling to accept her lessons in life.

Positive Pole

Humility. Unassuming. The reverse of haughtiness and snobbery. Gentle.

Negative Pole

Self‑abasement. Making oneself unworthy. Giving a poor appearance. Not feeling capable. Dishonest. Not being able to communicate clearly and directly.

Greed and Self‑Destruction

The Expression Features

Greed: Fear of not having.

A chief feature of greed gives one a huge appetite for life. Although it can manifest as miserliness, greed often shows up in young to old souls as a voracity for possessions, emotional and spiritual experiences, adulation, and physical highs.

People with this feature have large egos and no limits as to how much can satisfy them. Greed is the opposite of self‑destruction, since someone using greed feels that it is her right to have whatever she wants, and that it is the obligation of the rest of the world to provide it. Both geed and self‑destruction, however, are self-oriented.

In the negative pole, greed can get caught up in worldly desires to the detriment of any spiritual pursuit. Also, greed in the negative pole fears to lose what it already has and can become miserly and hoarding.

Positive Pole

Having a large appetite for life. Ambitious. Loving and appreciating possessions and experiences. High appreciation for the physical plane. Heightened ability to have.

Negative Pole

Voracious. Unable to be satisfied. Selfish. Hoarding. Miserly. Finding it difficult to give authority to others. Money‑hungry. Feeling the world owes you a living.

Self‑destruction: Fear of worthlessness

Self‑destruction is the feature that is used when people feel too unworthy to exist or to have what they really want. In self-destruction, the personality becomes suicidal or self‑destructive. This can appear in the form of actually ending the life, or in the form of self‑destructive habits: alcoholism; drug abuse; illnesses; severe depression; suicidal thoughts; being unable to support oneself (monetarily or emotionally); bulemic or anorexic behavior.

The thinking behind this feature is that you are unworthy of surviving or that life is so difficult that it is not worth continuing. Everyone uses this feature on occasion, but those who use it as their chief feature literally go about destroying themselves either quickly (e.g., taking life-threatening chances) or slowly (e.g., by extreme substance abuse).

In the positive pole, this feature can look like dying for a cause; for example, suicide missions in wartime. It is possible to escape from this feature by sliding to greed and allowing yourself to have the things you really want more often.

Positive Pole

Self‑sacrifice. Dying in order to save others. Using this feature for karmic payback where your death is owed.

Negative Pole

Suicidal behavior. Self‑destructive habits or beliefs. No self-esteem whatsoever. Giving up. Despondency. Not being useful to yourself or others.

Impatience and Martyrdom

The Action Features

Impatience: Fear of missing something important.

Impatience is the feature that has the personality ruled by time. Someone in impatience has a difficult time being in the present because she is always thinking about what needs to be done next. She also feels like she is going to miss out on something that has not happened yet.

People in impatience feel rushed. They are in a hurry to handle the next task or the next lesson, instead of whatever is happening now. They feel pressured by the limitations of time.

In the positive pole, impatience appears to be audacious, willing to push ahead and try something new. In the negative pole, impatience is intolerant of others, of situations, of itself. Allergies are often symptoms of intolerances built up from the use of impatience as a chief feature.

Positive Pole

Audacious. Daring. Plunging ahead. Willing to take chances.

Negative Pole

Intolerant. Hurried. Pressured. Not being in the present. Worried about the future. Finding situations, others, or oneself unacceptable.

Martyrdom: Fear of being out of control

Martyrdom is the feature that gives you the feeling you are out of control, being victimized, or have given yourself over to the power and control of another person, situation, or authority. Someone in martyrdom is not able to see she is really in control of her own life. It is difficult to be around someone who uses this chief feature heavily since we all know on an Essence level that being out of control is a lie, an illusion of the physical plane.

Control is an issue for both martyrdom and impatience. The person in impatience strives to be in control of that most ephemeral of elements, time. The person in martyrdom, while believing she is out of control, strives to control others by making them feel guilty for her supposed misery.

In the positive pole, the person in martyrdom can appear selfless, helping others without giving a thought to her own needs. In the negative pole, she feels life is unfair, it isn't working out, or that she is abused. She can also feel that she is being controlled, stepped on, used, or victimized.

Positive Pole

Selfless. Giving time and energy over to the care of those close to you or to a spiritual cause or ideal.

Negative Pole

Victimized. Humiliated. Long‑suffering. "Guilt‑tripping" others for one's own misery. Not taking care of yourself or others in an appropriate way.

Stubbornness

The Neutral Feature

Stubbornness: Fear of new situations

Stubbornness is the neutral chief feature and can slide to all the other six. People with this feature can end up using the other features quite often and freely. The feature is used as a braking mechanism to slow down the growth process when situations seem threatening. In the negative pole, stubbornness is obstinate and will say "NO!" to any suggestions from others. It is a place where people dig in their heels. In the positive pole, it is determination, and will pursue the direction it has set out for itself despite any obstacles.

Positive Pole

Determination. Having the power to get what you want. Being able to pass through obstacles. Steadfast in one's opinions.

Negative Pole

Obstinacy. Unbendable. Unable to listen to others, particularly to their suggestions or advice. Immovable. Unyielding.