what we call personality is a survival mechanism. they form the same way genetic variations do; under the influence of changing psychological and biological environments.  in a way every species is a personality characteristic of the planet. 

research is discovering that all animals inherit personalities (basic instinctual neurological and biological behavioural patterns). these prevent a species or every member of a species from behaving the same way eg advancing with equal gusto into risky situations and dying prematurely. both cautious and inquisitive personality configurations and everything in between increase a species chance of survival. 

the planet's biological survival mechanism now has a human species personality that no longer needs to wait solely for slowly changing environmental influences to advance it's biological and neural intelligence. human neurons can now reflect on their inherited characteristics and consciously override old neural pathways enabling instincts that hinder the development of intelligence in a changing environment to become obsolete at a much faster pace.

 
variations in personality charactistics are only detrimental when instinctual aggression (which all personalities inherit - even plants) fights to maintain old physical and neural patterns. the way to override this instinctual aggression and awaken intelligence without further suffering is to observe but stop expressing pychological aggressions. overrite their neural pathway by actually behaving harmless until it becomes inherent and aggression obsolete.

harmlessness is do no malice.   



  

Thanks Pawel,

although i get what Richard is pointing to and hope i've helped clarify that, i see the mind training processes at work behind his and every dharma practice method as simply mental preparations for the awakening of intelligence.

number crunching any particular practice means nothing to me. all kinds of techniques can be used/are being used, life itself overwrites old programs (though at a much slower pace).

so claims to fame for simply using the brain to the best of it's ability, is to me regressive. 

human intelligence has now reached the stage where it can see that all these methods it's been using down through the centuries have been activating the ability to discern the difference between mental fabrications and sensate facts.

whether one awakens that ability via Richard's actualism or Buddha's dharma, all paths and methods (some more direct than others) lead to that realisation.

but ... it is the 'actualising' of that realisation that led me to Actualism. because it is what a harmless intelligence, playing safely and creatively with mental fabrications without ever mistaking them for actuality, is and can do, that i'm interested in.

when thoughts are finally free of thousands of years of fear and suffering (once necessary for survival) there will walk on this fair earth, unique and colorful, joyful, unihibited, harmless individuals of the likes we never imagined possible.

 
encouraging that eventualization sooner rather than later is my lifes work.