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The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate & Business Relationships [Hardcover ed.]
 006250679X, 9780062506795

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Enneagram

Understand!' ng you

r

Business Rel ati onshi

Helen

Palme

USA $22.00

CAN

"Each of us

is telling

a different story to

and our

the truth,

tell.

We

$31.00

and we each have

view our marriage, a job,

children from radically different angles,

often without seeing a systematic bias. Extraordi-

Enneagram allows us

narily precise, the

deeply within our own characters and relationships with clients, family,

and

to look

to clarify

friends.

— from the introduction is

psychological system with roots insight into

enough

to

in

a centuries-old

sacred

tradition. Its

human behavior has made

appear

ads and courses

popular

it

settings as diverse as personal

in

at the

Stanford School of Business.

Helen Palmer's acclaimed Enneagram work melds ancient system

this

of identifying personality types with

modern psy-

empirical research and the insights of

chology to create a practical and powerful method of understanding ourselves and others.

The Enneagram

in

nine personality types

Love and Work introduces the

— Perfectionist, Giver, Performer,

Romantic, Observer, Trooper, Epicure, Boss, and Mediator

— illuminates

each type's strengths, weak-

nesses, and potentials, and identifies for

determining your

people

in

your

life.

description, Palmer tion:

How can

intimate

telltale

own type and those

indicators

of significant

With vivid examples and insightful

answers the fundamental ques-

a knowledge of personality improve your

and business relationships?

Palmer focuses on the passions and dynamic patterns of the nine types

and then views each type

relationship to the others. For example,

you are a

1,

The

if

you

Perfectionist, you'll learn

(continued on back flap)

in

find that

about your

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2012

http://archive.org/details/enneagraminlovewOOpalm

The Enneagram

in

Love

& Work

Also by Helen Palmer

The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others

in

Your Life

THE ENNEAGRAM in

Love & Work

Understanding Your Intimate

& Business Relationships

Helen Palmer

tim

HarperSanFrancisco A Division of HarperCollins.Pw£/z5^ers

To

my husband,

for so

and our son, Josh,

Christopher,

many good years together

the enneagram in love & work: Understanding Your Intimate &

© 1995 by Helen Palmer. All rights reserved.

Business Relationships. Copyright

Printed in the United States of America.

No part of this book may be used

manner whatsoever without written permission except

or reproduced in any

embodied

in the case of brief quotations

in critical articles

and

reviews.

For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd

Street,

New York, NY 10022. Text design by Margery Cantor

FIRST EDITION Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Palmer, Helen.

The enneagram relationships p.

/

in love

& work

understanding your intimate

& business

cm.

ISBN 0-06-250679-X

(cloth

ISBN 0-06-250721-4

(pbk.

ISBN 0-06-250808-3

(intl.

1.

:

Helen Palmer.

Enneagram.

I.

BF698.3.E54P35

Title.

:

alk.

:

alk.

pbk. II.

paper).

paper). :

alk.

Title:

paper)

Enneagram

in love

CIP

i55-2'6— dc20 95 96 97 98 99

This edition

is

& work. 92-56417

1993

* HAD

printed

on

10

987654321

acid-free paper that meets the

Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard.

American National

Contents

Acknowledgments

vii

Foreword by David N. Daniels, M.D.

INTRODUCTION i

1

Personality Typing

3

2 Synopsis of the Nine Types 3

ix

9

The Passions and Dynamics of the Types

THE PERSONALITY TYPES LOVE & WORK 31 One * The Perfectionist

Two

The Giver

33

61

Three * The Performer

83

Four * The Romantic Five • The Observer Six

The Trooper

107 \TJ 151

Seven * The Epicure £igfo

Mne

The Boss * The Mediator

175

199 223

IN

19

Ill

THE DIRECTORY OF RELATIONSHIPS One

252

Double One

With Two

With Three

With Four

With

With

With Seven

With Eight

Two Double

Five

Six

With Nine

278

Two

With Three

With Four

With

With Seven

With Eight

With Nine

With Four

With

With

With Seven

With Eight

With Nine

Double Four

With Five

With

With Seven

With Eight

With Nine

Three

Five

With

Six

299

Double Three

Four

Five

Six

321 Six

Five

343 Double Five

With

With Seven

With Eight

With Nine

With Eight

With Nine

377 Double Seven With Eight

With Nine

Six

Six

362

Double Six

With Seven Seven

Eight

390

Double Eight

With Nine

Nine

398 Double Nine

iv

EPILOGUE Notes

403

409

Bibliography

413

247

Acknowledgments

owe a great debt to the thousands of people who have been willon Enneagram panels and to share their insights and self-observations. I wish to acknowledge their embodiment of the nine types and to thank them for teaching us about themselves. Thank God for people who have been willing to work. I

ing to speak

I

want

to

thank

my strong core

of students

who have been

more than twenty years. Special thanks hub of our small universe, who has kept

with this material for

to

Debra Olsen, the

us

focused

at difficult times.

My heartfelt thanks also go to Jim Fox of the HarperCollins legal

department for defending

my right to open

of personality types to the public. He, along with

Loudon, has been

a true friend of the work.

I

the

Enneagram

my editor John

thank John from the

very bottom of my heart for his editorial guidance and exquisite patience in bringing this

book forward.

I

also wish to

edge Ani Camichian of HarperSanFrancisco,

more than tion editor

I

believed in myself. Finally,

Mimi Kusch,

Margery Cantor

I

want

copyeditor Holly

acknowl-

who believed in me to

thank produc-

Elliott,

for their extraordinary efforts.

and designer

Foreword

Helen Palmer's contributions to the Enneagram require a special

commentary. While it is true that she has elucidated the personality

types in an original way,

sis

to the study of type,

and added her own particular emphanot these obvious contributions for

it is

which she should be recognized.

The

first

time

I

saw the Enneagram being taught,

it

was pre-

method that Helen has been more than twenty years. The memory of that ini-

sented in an oral-tradition format, a

developing for tial class still

remains with

and confidence that types

what

I

and

their interactions.

For

starters,

is

me and

Helen

is

is

therefore with pleasure

largely responsible for developing

now becoming known

The approach

it is

introduce her book about the Enneagram

as the

Enneagram

based on Claudio Naranjo's

oral tradition.

earlier exploration

of personality type using interview techniques. This the passing of information

from generation

is

not simply

to generation

the spoken word, although the tradition encompasses this; is

panel format. In this

way we hear

directly the

self-observations, understandings, mental preoccupations,

strengths

and weaknesses of each

my opinion,

superior to any other

type.

The

it

own

representatives of the types themselves presenting their

stories, often in

by

oral tradition

way of teaching and

and

is,

in

learning

FOREWORD

X /

the

Enneagram material.

people to identify their ferences,

The

It

brings the system to

own type more

which allows

and to deepen self-understanding. oral tradition

is

a stunning

method with which to con-

vey sensitive psychological insight. Yet ideal

life,

readily, to appreciate dif-

framework

in

which

each type's recurrent

it

also

happens

to be the

to demonstrate Helen's elucidation of

way of organizing

attention. This focus

on

and the consequent awareness that different

the role of attention,

organizations of attention can produce, will endure over time as part of the theoretical core of the system.

the

way that we

tention that

are each

bound by a

attracted

first

me

called the molecular level of the

senses. all

was her

insight into

to the

Enneagram. This can be

way that personality works, since

what we can perceive and what information

attention defines gets left out as

It

habitual organization of at-

we

collect

and

sort the data presented to

our

When grasped, this fundamental understanding allows us

to realize that

we

are simply incomplete rather than right or

wrong.

Beyond the

oral tradition

in attention lies Helen's lucid

and

personality's underpinning

work concerning

lationship between original essence

and each

awareness. In this view, personality can

become

the direct re-

type's system of

a friend, instead

of an enemy, of essence, a source of energy to use for personal de-

velopment and

book she

in claiming the higher aspects of our type. In this

further

shows how the energy of each personality

manifested in particular one-to-one,

social,

is

and self-preservation

behaviors. I

have taught with Helen in the Enneagram Professional

Training Program since 1988.

We have worked on the integration who atwe can in

of personality with essence for both ourselves and those

tend the workshops, for ultimately

we must live

as best

both the realm of personality and the realms of essential as the personality

self.

Just

can provide a path back to the essence of

all

FOREWORD beings, so too can the energy of essence

develop a healthy personal this

life. It is

form a path forward to

an honor to be associated with

pioneering approach to the material.

DAVID

N.

DANIELS, M.D.

Clinical Professor,

/ Xi

Department of Psychiatry and

Behavioral Science, Stanford School of Medicine

Arica Institute Press

is

the publisher of

numerous

books and other publications written by Oscar Ichazo that describe

Mr. Ichazo's theories of the "enneagons."

The author of this book, Helen Palmer, has developed theories about the use of the

standing

enneagram

human personality and its

in

under-

relationship to as-

pects of higher awareness that are different

and distinct

from those expounded by Mr. Ichazo. Neither Helen Palmer nor HarperCollins Publishers Arica Institute, Inc., nor has this

is

affiliated

with

book been endorsed

or authorized by Arica Institute, Inc., or by Mr. Ichazo.

Introduction

Personality Typing

When

freud was asked what was

live well,

he

essential for people to

said to have answered, "to love

is

and

to work." His

goals for the "talking cure" were therefore the pleasure of loving

relationships

and productivity. 1

A

couple of generations

Freud's hopes for humanity are just as apt.

most of our time and energy

later,

We do indeed devote

to matters of the heart

and mind;

and most of our joys and sorrows concern relationships and reers. tral

We have come a long way, however,

differences

ca-

in observing the cen-

among people and what can help them to love and

work well. The Enneagram

in

Love

& Work describes nine different ways

of relating in intimacy and business. Each viewpoint

is

determined

by certain mental and emotional concerns. The nine types dovetail well with a wide range of current psychological thinking, but they

describe normal logical trends. fective,

another, and each can be ef-

but they interact in radically different ways.

The nine model

and high- functioning people rather than patho-

No type is better than

personalities are part of a

called the

gram means "model." In 1988

I

in Greek,

and

wrote The Enneagram: Under-

standing Yourself and the Others in Your

on

human development

Enneagram. Ennea means "nine"

Life.

That book

is

based

self-descriptions of the nine personality types, set in the

4 /

PERSONALITY TYPING

&

model's framework of spiritual ideas. The Enneagram in Love

Work

is

intended as a companion. This book describes

how

the

nine types interact in intimate and work-related settings. There

not

much

duplication of information between the two books.

have attempted to introduce some

new material about

is I

the types,

including a directory of the ways in which they typically relate to

one another.

The best way to recognize your type

is

by listening

to people

who share your own point of view. When those who know their own type tell you how they love and work, you know you're either like

them or you're not. For years

taught the Enneagram using

I've

panels of speakers who represent their types. Listening to others describe themselves

themselves.

The their lives

It is

by

is

far the best

better than

way

for people to

understand

any teacher's opinion, or any book.

panelists speak as living authorities.

They draw us

into

by offering their private insights, their personal thoughts,

and an authenticity of feeling the listener's

memory. The

that imprints their point of view

teacher's role

is

on

to develop a conversa-

tion in ways that respectfully demonstrate the key behavior patterns

and the inner intentions of type. Listening to live presentations

when

secure people

tell

is

especially encouraging

about the ways they've learned to work

A common prejudice still exists about selfMany think of it as work for broken people rather

with themselves. observation.

than as a means for personal growth. This bias cultural belief system. If being able "to love key to living well, 2

why then would

cessful in

life,

who

people

is

who

to

work"

is

the

are already suc-

can already love and work exceptionally well,

be interested in radical self-change? The answer of successful people

than a good sex

grounded in our

and

who want more

life,

and more than

than a

lies

in the stories

fulfilling career,

a healthy family.

more

They have

every reason to be entirely satisfied with themselves, but they are not.

They

are attracted to the

Enneagram and

tell

their stories

on

INTRODUCTION

5

Enneagram is one of the few personality systems

panels because the

that anchors type in spiritual

neagram

/

life.

studies in recent years

The explosion of interest

is

due to

in

En-

The system

this anchor.

provides a link between personality type and higher consciousness.

The Soup of the Soup of the Soup I

knew that the Enneagram was making an impact when ads

like this started to

appear in local papers.

It's

hard to imagine a

better grass-roots testimony to the practicality of the system. East Bay Express, personals ad, June 1992

soulmate/best friend? fectionate,

open-minded,

Vegetarian, athletic, romantic, af-

intelligent, optimistic, liberal,

un-

conventional, nonmaterialistic, attractive Amer-Asian male (26, 5'6") seeking life partner (tall, attractive, 26 to 30s)

same qualities. Drug-, smoke-, T.V.-,

with

alcohol-free. Please write

with photo.

rubensesque. tion,

Straight black female, 36, seeking conversa-

companionship, and fun with black male

who

has wit and

sanity.

enneagram

six, 44, seeks

shared vision, movement, health, growth,

I

Enneagram Nine woman

warm

to evoke

Where

are the ads like:

ad.

Can

the Enneagram, with

compassion

people, be so easily trivialized? pect?

40s, for

Also shared interests:

wisdom, nature walks.

was horrified about the

profound capacity

fuzzies.

its

for different types of

What about

"Enneagram

its vital

Six,

spiritual as-

courageous and

faithful, seeks Enneagram Nine to develop love and right action"? Where are the ads that say, "Male Six seeking any suitable companion. The goal is spiritual liberation"?



There

is

a Sufi story that illustrates the situation.

the dilution of teachings that were once hearty

Dilution

is

actually a classic

tain secrecy

It

concerns

and nourishing.

way for secret oral teachings to mainto the next. They are hidden in

from one generation

6 /

PERSONALITY TYPING

public places and from time to time

numbers of people. But only some

become available to large them palatable. The few

find

absorb the message, trace the teaching to

its

source,

and help

to

renew its vitality.

A kinsman came to see the Mullafrom somewhere deep in country, bringing a duck as a gift. Delighted, Nasrudin

bird cooked

and shared

the

had the

with his guest. Presently, however,

it

one countryman after another started

to call,

each one the

"man who brought you

friend of the friend of the

the duck."

No further presents were forthcoming. At length

the

Mulla was exasperated. One day yet another

stranger appeared. "I

of the relative the

rest,

am

the friend of the friend of the friend

who brought you

the duck. "

He sat down like all

expecting a meal. Nasrudin handed

him a bowl of hot

water.

"What is

this?"

"That

the soup of the soup of the soup of the duck that

is

was brought by my

relative.

"3

When too many come, the material gets watered down, losing

its

original vigor. Inevitably so few can be affected that the

teaching loses popularity and scure,

is

rejected as useless.

sometimes for generations, not because

it is

It

becomes ob-

untrue but be-

cause of the nature of the times. Like seed that

lies

dormant during seasons of drought and

cold, the perennial teachings disappear for long periods

renewed when the

and are

human climate is right.

Following Freud's directive, the current climate offers

many

work well with one Most of these focus on the psychological traits that make

teachings that concern our ability to love and another.

people different from one another. reality that all

Some

describe the collective

people share, but the Enneagram

is

one of the very

few that join the unique and private world of personality with specific aspects

of universal consciousness.^

INTRODUCTION The Enneagram's power as

in linking personality type to

human essence. Essence consists of the percontrasted to the accidental, elements of being. An

specific aspects

manent,

lies

/ 7

of the

awareness of essence has also been called higher consciousness or spiritual attainment.

tual qualities.

The higher aspects of type

are actually spiri-

They properly belong to the realm of the divine and

are not to be confused with talents, creative leanings,

functioning psychological

traits. Spiritual qualities

and high-

are not the

same as the clarity of mind and emotional generosity displayed by people

who are psychologically mature. gifts of the spirit appear when awareness is shifted be-

These

yond the boundaries of thought and

feeling.

They cannot be

grasped by analysis or emotion, because they are not of the same order of consciousness as psychological

traits.

There

is

a natural

tendency to confuse aspects of essence with good psychological all we have to name its many activities with words that describe ordinary events.

functioning, because to describe essence at

The Abhidhamma, the ogy,

is

classic

work on Buddhist psychol-

another ancient system that links type with spiritual

life.

The traits ascribed to the three Buddhist types correspond beautifully

with the Enneagram's central triangle. The Greed type,

like

Enneagram Three, is motivated by gain. More money, more fame,

more pleasure, and so on. The Hate type, like Enneagram Six, sees life as a battle. The Delusional type, like Enneagram Nine, tries to function without paying attention. In the Buddhist system, the three deluded views are counteracted by cultivating their opposite

tendencies,

which are Nonattachment, Compassion, and Mind-

fulness^

The

"Veil of Illusion"

Sacred psychology sees personality as a false-self system.

The "true self"

is

spiritual in nature. It

was overshadowed in early

when attention turned to meet the needs of survival. Over time we identified so strongly with the characteristics of our type,

life

8 /

PERSONALITY TYPING

and came

to rely so heavily

forgot our true nature self. ^

on conditioned perceptions,

and "became" our

that

we

personality, or false

The Enneagram is a psychology from sacred tradition that is

based on nine personality types, which, from the perspective of the true, or spiritual, lusion

is

self,

are nine illusions about

life;

and that

the natural starting place for both psychological

spiritual growth.

As for him who seems

to

looks through eyeglasses, everything he sees

be the color that they are.

And just as

things appear

smaller or larger according to the shape of the lenses, the passions

and

affectation of the soul

make

cording to the passions that govern

everything appear ac-

it.

(Juan de Borya, The Empresas Morales, 1581)

il-

and

Synopsis of the Nine Types

Partnership demonstrates the differences between us.

Each of us can be telling the

story to

from

tell.

We

look

at

truth, yet each can

radically different angles, often without seeing a systematic

bias. Extraordinarily precise, the

deeply within our clients,

to

have a different

our marriage, a job, and our children

Enneagram allows us

own character and to

to look

clarify relationships

with

co-workers, family, and friends. That insight quickly turns

compassion when you compare your own bias with those of

people

who are unlike you.

eyes of others

and

It stirs

compassion

to see

through the

to feel the pressure of their emotional

cause when you take on others' outlook, their perspective

NINE POINTS OF VIEW

Boss

Epicure

Trooper

8

1

Perfectionist

2

7

6

Observer

3

5

4

Giver

Performer

Romantic

life,

is

be-

right.

SYNOPSIS OF THE NINE TYPES

10 /

One

The Perfectionist

Earning love by being perfect. Worrying about getting it right.

Measuring up to the highest standards. Finding an

ethical platform

your life. Thinking centers on should, must, and

on which

to build

ought

We should have a faultless relationship. We must have a

to.

spotiess record at work.

serves as a

At

humane guide

best, the

its

to

commitment

improvement. In

to goodness

self-defense,

Ones

often feel morally superior by finding fault with others.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Searching for perfection. Avoiding error and

°

Conscientious.

evil.

High moral character.

and ought to.

°

Think

°

Do right. Emphasize the practical virtues: work,

right.

Should, must,

thrift,

honesty,

and effort.

An

°

Be

°

Compulsive work load can block out unacceptable feelings.

°

Anger caused by unmet needs.

right.

Severe internal

critic.

internal judging voice.

Self-denial generates resentment.

Not aware of own anger ("Vm just energetic today").

make a

°

Worry in

°

This focus of attention ensures an ethical

decision making. Afraid to

mistake.

and moral life.

It

can

One-right-way thinking: right or wrong, black or white.

No

also lead to: °

grays.

Superb powers of criticism.

°

An

intuitive sense of how perfect

things could be.

Two

The Giver

Ensuring love by being helpful. Managing other people's lives.

Supporting and pleasing intimates. The power behind the

throne

at

work. Different aspects of self emerge to meet the needs

of others.

A self for the team, a self for the boss, many selves for pri-

vate

life.

At

its

best, this giving

fensive gesture, giving

is

is

altruistic

and generous. As a de-

geared to getting something in return.

INTRODUCTION

/ 11

FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Gaining approval Adapting to please

own °

others.

Avoiding

needs.

Pride in being needed. Being central in people's

lives.

Being

indispensable. °

A sense of having many different selves to meet the needs of others.

°

°

Confusion

arises

between the different selves. "Which one

really

me?"

Hard

to recognize

own

needs.

is

Needs are met by helping

other people. °

Wanting freedom. Feeling confined by support given Self- presentation alters to

meet

of paying attention can lead

way

to:

°

Empathic emotional connections

°

Adaptation

to the

to others.

the needs of others. This

or:

wishes of others as a

way ofgaining or

retaining their love.

Three

The Performer

Winning

love through achievement

things with the family. Sensitive to status.

Wanting

nating an impressive facade.

to be

first,

at

work.

to lead, to be seen.

Ema-

Work is the area of interest;

are suspended while the job gets done. At

mance

and image. Doing

High-powered and high-profile

its

best, the perfor-

orientation produces effective leadership. As a

defense, image

is

feelings

means of

tailored to bolster personal success.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Achievement, productiveness, and performance. Goals,

tasks,

and results. Competition and

Poor access °

to

efficiency.

emotional

Convergent thinking. product or goal.

Avoiding failure.

life.

Heart is

in work.

A multitrack mind focused on a single

SYNOPSIS OF THE NINE TYPES

12 /

°

"I

am what I do. " Confusion between

or

role.

the real self and one's job

Learning to "do" feelings. Doing the look and learning the lines.

° °

Chameleon. Changing roles and changing image. This

way ofpaying attention can maximize success.

leads

It also

to:

Self-deception. Beginning to believe the public image.

The Romantic

Four Longing love

is

near

We

right.

at

for love at a distance, feeling disappointed

hand.

had

We used to be connected, now

once.

it

Where did

it

it

when

doesn't feel

go? Lifelong searching for

heart connection; attraction, hate, high drama, pain. Elegant lifestyles,

unique presentation, a distinctive career, creative busi-

ness views. At ing.

its

best, the passionate quest leads to

depth of feel-

As a posture, dramatic moods make Fours too precious

for

ordinary life.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Wanting what is unavailable, far away, and hard

to get.

Avoid-

ing the ordinary. °

Mood, manners, Attracted

to the

luxury,

Disdaining ordinary

°

Amping up ordinary life

°

taste

hedge low self-esteem.

mood of melancholy. The flavor of longing.

°

tion,

and good

the "flatness of ordinary feelings.

life,

through

and dramatic acts. Drama

loss,

kings

"

fantasy, artistic connec-

and queens.

Push-pull relationships. Wanting the best of what is missing.

Pushing

it

away when

it's

available again. This alternating focus

reinforces: °

Feelings of abandonment and

°

Emotional sensitivity and depth. during pain and

crisis.

loss,

but also lends

itself to:

An ability to support others

INTRODUCTION

/ 13

The Observer

Five

Detached from love and charged emotion. Needing privacy to discover

what they feel. Separated from people in public,

feeling

more emotional when they're by themselves. Fives like protected work environments, no interruptions, limited windows of contact, and agendas announced in advance. At its best, the detached stance produces reliable, clear-minded analysis. As a psychological strategy,

detachment minimizes contact.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION Preoccupied with privacy and noninvolvement. °

Storing knowledge

and

the essentials of survival. Avoiding

emptiness.

Tightening the belt

with

to

maintain independence. Making do

less.

Valuing emotional control. Preferring structured events, known

agenda and

time.

Compartments. Keeping the departments of life separate from each other. Predetermined time slots for emotionally charged events.

The power of knowing. Analytic systems and special informaWanting the keys to the way the world works. Figuring

tion.

outfeelings.

Confusing spiritual nonattachment with the need

to

detach from

emotional pain. °

Watching life from the point of view of an outside

way ofpaying attention can °

lead

observer. This

to:

Feeling isolated from the events of one's

own

life

or an

ability to: °

Assume a detached point of view that is

unaffected by fear

or desire.

Six

The Trooper

Questioning love and a rosy future. Afraid to believe and be betrayed.

Do you still want me? Will my work flourish?

Is this

"

14 /

SYNOPSIS OF THE NINE TYPES

certain?

Should

doubt? Loyal in love, Troopers turn to their

I

intimates for reassurance. Mistrusting authority, they ask hard

questions at work. Well used, a questioning ity

mind produces

clar-

of purpose. As a life stance, inner doubt interferes with progress.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Procrastinating. Thinking replaces doing. Avoiding action.

°

High goals,

°

Anxiety peaks with

often with a history of incompletion. success. Success equals

exposure

to hostile

forces. °

Amnesia about success and pleasure.

°

Authority problems. Either submitting

to or rebelling

against

authority. °

Suspecting other people's motives, especially authorities'.

°

Identifying with underdog causes. Leading the opposition party.

°

Afraid

°

Skepticism

°

A mental "Yes,

°

Scanning the environment for clues

to recognize

own anger. Afraid of other people's anger.

and doubt. Buddhist "doubting mind. but

.

.

.

" or

"This

may not work.

"

to explain the

inner sense

ofthreat. °

This

way ofpaying attention

will confirm that:

°

The world is a threatening place, but also

°

Recognizing the motives and hidden agendas that

leads

to:

influence relating.

Seven

The Epicure

Entitled to love

and

to be well regarded. Expecting projects

come out right. Love and work should be adventures. Wanting to lead a fabulous life. The best part of love is initial attraction. The best part of work is a brilliant idea. Brainstorming, planning, to

opening options.

A positive future, an exciting career. At its best,

the adventurous approach conveys

its

enthusiasm to others. As a

self-serving tactic, the attraction to pleasure

from

pain.

is

a

way

to escape

INTRODUCTION

FOCUS OF ATTENTION Stimulation. New and interesting things to do.

stay

Avoiding pain.

high. °

Wanting to

/ 15

Maintaining multiple options. Hedging commitment

to

a single

course of action. Fearing limitation. °

Replacing deep or painful feelings with a pleasant alternative.

Escaping

mental pleasure. Talking, planning, and

to

intellectu-

alizing. °

°

Charm

as a first line of defense. Fearing types

who move forward

into friendly contact with people.

Avoiding conflict by going

through the cracks. Talking one's

way out of trouble.

A way ofpaying attention

and systematizes informa-

commitments come with loopholes and options. This

tion so that style

that relates

of attention can lead

to:

Rationalized escapism from a difficult or limiting commit-

ment or: °

The ability to find connections,

A

Eight

parallels,

and unusual fits.

talent for nonlinear synthesis of information.

The Boss

Expressing love through protection and power. Liking the truth that

comes out

anger. Stand

up

for

Pushing for contact. At ease with

in a fight.

your people. Securing the bunker

at

work.

Gravitating to positions of authority and control, Eights set the rules in love

and business

develops leaders

who

the best defense

a

is

life.

At

its

best, the take-charge stance

use their power wisely. As a power stance,

good

offense.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION Controlling possessions °

and personal space.

Concerned about justice and power. Avoiding weakness. Excessive self-presentation



Impulse control. Needing to °

Difficulty in recognizing

too

much, too loud, too many.

set lim its.

dependency needs and softer emotions.

16 /

SYNOPSIS OF THE NINE TYPES

°

Boundary

issues.

Learning the difference between self-defense

and aggression. °

Denying other points of view

of the "truth. " Confusing

in favor

objective truth with a subjective opinion that serves °

An

own agenda.

"all-or-nothing" style of attention, which tends to see the

extremes of a situation. People seem either warriors or

to

be either fair or unfair,

wimps, with no middle ground. This style of

attention can lead

to:

°

Unconsciously denying personal weakness

°

Exercising appropriate force in the service of others.

Nine

or:

The Mediator

Merging with loved ones, losing boundaries. Taking on their point of view. Sitting

on the fence.

Becoming stubborn instead of getting "I didn't

you." Nines can relate to

all

say no, but I'm not sure sides of

I

angry.

agree with

an argument, which derails

their

own

ion."

"Maybe" possibly could mean "No." At its best, the merging

agenda. "Yes" means "Yes, I'm reflecting your opin-

habit offers genuine support.

As

a protective measure, adopting

many points of view cushions commitment to any one of them. FOCUS OF ATTENTION °

Replacing essential needs with unessential substitutes.

°

Comforting self with unessential pleasures. Avoiding conflict.

°

Ambivalence about personal decisions. "Do

I agree or disagree?"

Seeing all sides of the question. Decisions are easy

when not

personally loaded, for example, emergency actions or political opinions. °

Postponing change by repeating familiar solutions. Acting through habit. Ritualism. There's plenty of time.

It

can wait

until tomorrow. °

Hard to

initiate change. Easier to

know what you

don't want

than what you do. °

Can 't say no. Hard to separate. Hard

°

Damping physical energy and anger.

to

be the one to go.

Diverting energy to

trivia.

Delayed reaction time for anger. Passive aggression. Anger equals separation.

INTRODUCTION Control by going stubborn.

Do

nothing.

/ IJ

Wait it out. Control by

using time. Wait some more.

Paying attention ° °

Difficulty

to other people's

agendas, which leads

The ability to recognize and support what is people's

to:

informing a personal position, but also develops:

lives.

essen tial to other

The Passions and Dynamics of the Types

Several books have recently appeared

that describe the

nine Enneagram personality types in ways that conform to Western psychological thinking/ Each type

is

described in terms of a

mental and emotional habit and the ways in which those habits are acted out.

An

older approach sees type as centered

on one of

the emotional passions that recur in sacred tradition. In this ap-

proach, the passion feelings, like

is

the central axis that organizes the thoughts,

and behavior patterns that are characteristic of type. Un-

ordinary emotions, which constantly change, the passion

is

the crux of an illusion, a compulsion, the linchpin that keeps the personality in place.

The emotional passion operates about the world. "veil

of illusion."

in fact

our

reality

The

total effect

is

in

is

determined by our

bias.

good news

is

is

missing,

The Pride type Two,

need of help. The Lust type

Eight sees that things are out of control.

something

fixed ideas

We think we're seeing the full 360 degrees, but

for example, sees that people are in

that

tandem with

powerful enough to create a

The Envy type Four

and so on through

all

that we're skillful about dealing with our

of reality. The bad news

is

that we're

boxed

in.

sees

nine types. The

own sector

AND DYNAMICS OF THE TYPES

20 / THE PASSIONS

The Passions of Sacred Tradition Traditionally, there are seven biases or passions, plus

generic tendencies that nine.

The seven

all

types hold in

are widely

vices or deadly sins.

known

common,

two

for a total of

as Christianity's seven capital

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (1872-1949), the

pioneer of the Enneagram in the West, called the bias the chief feature of personality. 9

Knowing your bias, and those of the people to

whom you relate, improves relationships immensely. This knowledge opens a clear view of loved ones as they are to themselves,

own projections; and it puts a great many human difficulties into perspective. What once seemed to be arbitrary and harmful actions take on a new perspective. Arbitrary

without the bias of your

behavior can be entirely logical within a given framework; and the

harm

that people

do

is

largely motivated

by

their

own

pain.

Gurdjieff called the bias of personality Chief Feature.

Always the same motive moves Chief Feature. It is like

It tips the scales.

a bias in bowling, which prevents the ball going straight.

Always ChiefFeature makes us go off at a one or more of the seven deadly

and

vanity.

and

its

One can

discover

discovery brings

it

sins,

tangent. It arises from

but chiefly from self-love

by becoming more conscious;

an increase of consciousness}

Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher of enormous personal

tism, lived

magne-

and taught during the period when Freudian

ideas

about the unconscious were barely being circulated. Stating that he learned the Enneagram from Sufi sources, he introduced the nine-pointed star diagram, including the internal flow pattern that unites the points in specific ways.

The Enneagram diagram in

use today became the signature of his work. 11

Richard Rohr, a Catholic priest and Enneagram author, writes:

The juxtaposition of the passions with tives

has been prominent

in the history

their positive alterna-

of Christian spiritual-

INTRODUCTION

ity.

Geoffrey Chaucer

1340-1400), the greatest English

(ca.

poet before Shakespeare,

/ 21

offers

an

especially interesting

list

in

the Parsons Tale from the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer writes

from

the assumption that there

is

at least one specific virtue as

His ideas are very

an antidote

to

Enneagram

teaching, in that the corresponding pairs of his

"sins"

and

each capital

sin.

close to the

"virtues" are practically identical.

Chaucer designates a remedy, or healing virtue, for each

"sin."

Humility helps against pride, true love of God helps against envy, the

remedy for anger

is

patience, laziness (sloth)

is

over-

come through fortitude, avarice through compassion, gluttony through sobriety and moderation, lechery chastity.

Continuing the concept of passions spiritual liberation, the Christian poet

areas of purgatory in practically the

neagram earthly

studies today. Purgatory

life

is

and the heavenly realms,

ated in preparation for

Type

(lust)

through

12

bliss,

as potential agents

same language used

in

En-

the waiting place between a place

where

sins are expi-

or permanent being.

Dante (1265-1321),

Oscar Ichazo,

The Divine Comedy, Purgatorio

The Arica Training, 1970

One

Anger

Meekness

Anger

Two

Pride

Humility

Pride

Humility

Deceit

Truthfulness

Three

Serenity

Four

Envy

Charity

Envy

Equanimity

Five

Avarice

Poverty

Avarice

Detachment

Fear

Courage Sobriety

Six

of

Dante describes the seven

Seven

Gluttony

Abstinence

Gluttony

Eight

Lust

Chastity

Excess

Innocence

Nine

Sloth

Zeal

Laziness

Action

22 /

THE PASSIONS AND DYNAMICS OFTHE TYPES

sites

from the Purgatorio section of The Divine Comedy1 ! are

Dante's articulation of the passions and their higher oppo-

work of Oscar Ichazo,

placed next to the

Enneagram

a seminal

contemporary

teacher. Ichazo initially gave his version of the tradi-

tional passions at a training session held in Arica, Chile, in 1970.

In a brilliant synthesis of traditional ideas, he applied Christianity's capital sins

Dante

to Gurdjieff s nine-pointed star.

and

scribed deceit

fear as states of consciousness,

also de-

and Ichazo

placed them on the Gurdjieff diagram, for a total of nine. 1 ^ Deceit and fear appear at what are called the shock points,

or anchors, of the Enneagram's inner triangle. 1 ^ Three and Six highlight the generic tendencies that

common. According to self

all

types of people hold in

sacred tradition, the personality

is

a false-

system that developed in childhood and eventually overshad-

owed our

"real," or spiritual, nature. Deceit involves identifying

with the contents of our thoughts and

feelings. Identification

THE PASSIONS AND ARROWS

Lust

Gluttony 7

Fear

8

y^

L^^ / \

\r \

6

Avarice

Arrows are added Gurdjieff s nine-pointed

[New York: Harper 1983]).

\

J\

/

5

1

Anger

\ ^"^4

\

to Ichazo's star.

/

4

/ »y

3

2

Pride

Deceit

Envy

placement of the traditional passions on

{Transpersonal Psychologies, ed. Charles T. Tart

& Row, 1975; repr. El Cerrito, CA:

Psychological Processes,

is

a

INTRODUCTION psychological

mechanism

that

is

/ 23

necessary for the formation of

We all identify with the characteristics of our type, but

personality.

through identification we became deceived, or convinced, that our personality

is

People is

our nature.

who

observe that identification with role and image

the chief feature of their psychological

the Three point in the diagram. Their

dilemma of living through

Fear

stories highlight the

a false persona to gain approval

love. Their self-observations

our true or

place themselves at

life

life

remind us

that

we

all

and

have replaced

spiritual nature with the characteristics of type.

the second "generic" quality that factors into the for-

is

mation of type. Sacred tradition reminds us that children are born with physical trust and faith in the goodness of people.

came frightened and guarded when

We all bewas

that original security

in-

vaded by distress and pain. People who identify with fearfulness the major feature of their inner

life

as

place themselves at the Six

point of the diagram. Their self-observations remind us of the fear that underlies the formation of type. first

in oneself and

ronment to

is

is

the major psychological defense

for Six (paranoid style).

We

all

It

also plays

its

part in

all

mechanism

biased percep-

share the generic tendency to look outside of our-

selves to explain

why we

feel

the

way we

do.

project, or look outward, to find a reason for

The

that anxiety arises

find an explanation for an inner sense of threat.

Projection

tion.

They say

then projected outward. They scan the envi-

Our

our

fear

makes us

distress.

generic factor of fear in the formation of type

lighted in the universal fear of change. significant habit,

even

It is

is

high-

very difficult to change a

when we can watch

ourselves act

can have the benefit of support from people

it

out.

We

who love and encour-

age us, yet we still resist change. We stall. We are afraid. We vacillate. We doubt. We look at the problem from any number of angles. We tell

ourselves that the

problem

is trivial.

Most of

all,

we

forget.

Change threatens our personality. We are afraid to change our identity.

To be defenseless makes us feel as vulnerable as children again.

THE PASSIONS AND DYNAMICS OF THE TYPES

24 /

Although they have traditionally been named tive, as vices,

spiritual liberation.

qualities of

in the nega-

the passions are a primary source of energy for

human

aspects of divinity.

They are the raw material, the compost, the nature that can be transformed to become

It

should also be pointed out that the Ennea-

gram names only those nine facets of higher being that can be experienced by transforming negative emotional energies. Joy, for example, does not appear as one of the higher aspects of type; neither is there mention of emptiness or bliss. The model is focused on the passions as agents of change from ordinary to higher consciousness and deals only with the specific facets of being that are produced by transforming negative emotional energy.

The Arrows

A From

great deal of the

power of the diagram

lies

in

its

the system of interlocking lines, predictions can be

shape.

made

about changes in personality during times of personal security as well as times of risk or stress.

A secure situation,

such as a good

job or a promising relationship, causes us to relax our defenses. Risk mobilizes us for action. Following the flow pattern of the arrows, in risk situations one

is

likely to

move with

the arrow and

adopt characteristics of the type ahead of one's own. In security

one moves against the arrows into behavior patterns of the type behind.

Inner Centers of Perception Gurdjieff embedded his thoughts about the passions (Chief

model straight out of sacred tradition. His model humankind as three-brained beings. The three brains

Feature) in a describes

refer to three kinds of ordinary intelligence: mental, emotional,

physical. From this perspective, the incomprehensibly vast number of ways in which people can express themselves depends

and

on only three kinds of awareness. There

are exactly three input

INTRODUCTION

/ 25

channels that support the utterly unique expression of an individual

life,

but the ways in which the input of thoughts,

feelings,

and sensation can be acted out are myriad.

The passion

is

emotional.

and physical sensation. To

get

It

acts in concert with thoughts

beyond

feelings are quieted

and awareness

emotional center.

When

tive reality, or essence. Objective

They

from what

sions conveyed

called objec-

are not projections.

They

are views of the

grace, or impres-

from the realms of essence.

This perspective practices that

is

perceptions are not distorted by

The activated inner centers are receptive to

real.

and

mental and

successfully activated, the inner, or

"higher," centers convey impressions

the bias of type.

personality, thoughts

shifted to a higher

is

recommend

entirely compatible with meditation

the quieting of thought and emotions

gurdjieff's three "brains, "or centers of intelligence

Mental

Emotional

Bodybased

(Michael Waldberg, Gurdjieff, ledge

& Kegan Paul, 1973], 112).

An Approach

to

His Ideas [London: Rout-

THE PASSIONS AND DYNAMICS OF THE TYPES

26 /

The deeper study of

so that higher aspects of being can emerge.

Enneagram concerns

the

ing the

"setting the personality aside"

by quiet-

When

ordinary

mind and awakening

the inner observer.

thoughts and emotions are quiet enough, the higher mental center (vision

and knowing), and the higher emotional center

and knowing), are receptive

ing

(feel-

to grace.

Grace works on nature. The Enneagram approach prepares one's nature to receive the grace of higher forces in a

way that ac-

cords with other spiritual traditions.

When lected,"

and

the three physical energies are balanced

through meditation practice, they produce an

awareness that

is

located in the belly. 1 "

variously called the

"col-

intelligent

The abdominal center

is

Hara (Zen Buddhism), the Kath (Sufism), its

own

culturally correct description of the mental, emotional,

and

and the TanTien (Taoism). Every mystical

tradition has

body-based centers. The abdominal center can be physically at the place in

This center

is

felt

your belly where your attention and breath meet. attuned to

its

own

range of perceptions about the

objective reality of essence.

When rise as ter.

1 '7

the three energies are

one force to

fully consolidated, they

mental and emotional cen-

The consolidated abdominal center

physical site at is

more

activate the higher

is

the

power pack, the

which energy that usually supports the personality

transformed to feed the higher centers of perception.

The word

higher can be disturbing because

the special few," and for that

touch upon inner

faculties

I

it

implies "for

apologize. All mystical traditions

of intelligence or knowing. They are

attainments that occur through a combination of effort and grace,

and they are

different

from psychological

gifts.

For pur-

poses of discussion, Gurdjieff s model of two "higher" centers will

we are all affected by we know it, and whether or not

have to do, with the addendum that

essence, or grace, whether or not

we meditate.

INTRODUCTION

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