IT’S GOOD TO ACKNOWLEDGE
my special strengths & talents

PREVIOUS : Defenses, #2 

POSTs : Type Defects (7, 8, 9 )
(all in June)

BOOK: The VISUAL Enneagram (pictures)

CORE qualities = our GIFT
● The flip side of each Type’s ‘defect’ is the main characteristic which allows us to self-actualize – our Virtue / Strength. These exist in immature form when we’re born, & are supposed to develop over the course of a lifetime (like an acorn), but can only do so IF planted in good soil – ie. a safe, loving family.
> If Nurtured, the Strength will allow us to grow into something grand
> If Hindered – it will be ignored or used incorrectly, to everyone’s detriment.

We know that a damaging childhood environment stunts the healthy development of our specific core quality – so we can’t turn into a mighty oak . This is what happens to most ACoAs . SO an essential part of Recovery is to find healthy people-places-things (PPT) that help us undo the early damage & allow our precious acorn to unbend & grow correctly. “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood” – NOW.

● The reverse of the “defects” are the 7 Heavenly Virtues:
Charity, Faith, Fortitude, Hope, Justice, Prudence, Temperance + 2.  The coordinating Ennea-Strengths are:  (#1 – #9) : Serenity, Humility, Truthfulness, Equanimity, Detachment, Courage, Sobriety, Innocence, Action
— These positive qualities can be used as PROCESS, starting at #9 -“The Whole”- for planning a trip, making a meal, running a company, pursuing personal growth…

● To find our Type, we start with the exaggerated expression of the self – the defect – & trace it back to its original state. Our harmful ‘Habits of Mind’ (CDs) come from over-using /mis-using the Strengths, which are our most natural positive tendency – what we’re best at & our fundamental way of approaching the world. Therefore, the positive quality hidden in the flaw is our GIFT, with both the characteristics of Divinity & of human personality, which we bring into the world to share with others.

EXP: 🪴 2s love to help people, but damage turns it into co-dependence & people-pleasing.
🪴 Healthy 1s like things to be done right, but damage turns it into judgmental, rigid perfectionism.
🪴 Healthy 5s love to be quiet & study, but damage turns it into isolating themself, or being pedantic (a know-it-all) …..

VALUES
● In his “Types of Men – Psychology And Ethics Of Personality” (1928), Eduard Spranger wrote that people are best understood through the study of their values. In the 1960’s Gordon Allport, father of Personality Psychology, agreed that personal values are the basis of our philosophy of life.
💔 Vulnerabilities come from what caused our essence to be distorted
❣️ Values come from what each Type finds most important & deeply wants

● At the heart of each person’s adaptation to the world are our inborn aptitudes & abilities, present as potentialities in our core self. These energizing talents form our values, which we hold dear, influencing our motivations & perspectives on life.

They orient & focus our vision – identifying what’s important to us, what to organize our life around, what to live for. While we can appreciate & express some of all the 9 qualities, temperamentally we favor a specific one which guides our attitudes, behaviors, emotions, energies & perceptions – expressions of our Essence throughout life.

a. From a spiritual point of view, we are told that human being were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), ie. God’s character & attributes reflected in us, such as compassion, rationality, love, hatred, anger, mercy…..
b. From a psychological view, human nature shows up in differing points of view & their accompanying ways of experiencing, evaluating, perceiving, understanding & responding to the world.

● The Virtues/ Strengths identify the way to reconnect to Essence, out-growths of the spiritual insights called Holy Ideas (Holy = objective spiritual reality, expressed in the higher essential qualities of the human mind). Since our Type’s Ego-Desire is a mix of divine yearning & ego questing – in spite of the distortions – ‘personality’ has a sacred impulse at its core.

NEXT: Enneagram – Type STRENGTHS (Part 2)