EACH OF US
has our own talent

PREVIOUS: Type Virtues & Holy Ideas (Part 4a)

SITE: “How Each Types Sees Their Every-day Life” (scroll to page 21-22)

REMINDER – use Blue-&-White chart in part 4a as reference (by P.Ferrieux)

HOLY IDEAS & VIRTUES / STRENGTHS – Cont.
#2 Virtue: Humility overrides Pride as we come to truly see & accept that we’re not indispensable, & that everyone is equally important & needed
● HELPERS are affectionate, altruistic, caring, communicators, emotionally connected, familiar, popular, unselfish, warm
— They really want to be loving, to nurture others & encourage relationships & making the world a more loving place to live in
— They value / are attracted to Love

Holy WILL : I acknowledge that there is only One Will, with a Purpose beyond the self-centered motive of feeling important to & being needed by others. I am aware that Reality flows with a certain force, & the easiest way to ‘live well’ is to move with it. Freedom is the feeling of openness when I experience the unfolding of Divine Will.

HIGHER MIND: Freedom comes when 2s are able to recognizing their own needs, by not compulsively helping others & regularly paying attention to themselves. Withdrawing their focus on others interrupts a negative habit 2s usually depend on for emotional security. This frees them to provide self-care.
✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥

#3 VIRTUE: Truthfulness/Integrity comes easily when our True Self is accepted. Packaging & selling of ourselves becomes unnecessary when we have no reason for a deceitful appearance (False Self).

ACHIEVERS are admirable, attractive, authentic, competent, energetic, high achievers, inspirational, self-accepting, successful
— They really want to make the world a cosmos – a more efficient, organized, productive, smooth running harmonious & orderly system
— They value/are attracted to Competence, industry, productivity

Holy HARMONY corrects the false perception that the ego is the source of doing & functioning. It means the universe as a whole already functions in efficient harmony & I doesn’t need to compete with that in order to prove myself. I fully realize & surrender to the knowledge that I am not separate doer, & that all experience is part of the great Reality.

HIGHER MIND: Hope – anxiety drops away when 3s truly believe that each stage of work leads to a correct conclusion. Then they feel alive in the middle of activity, & become skilled at sensing energy requirements of different jobs. Healthy 3s say it’s like floating on a wave of inexhaustible energy
✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥

#4 VIRTUE: Equanimity comes when we see our positives & negatives equally. The half-truth of envy loses its validity when we stop comparing the positives of others with what we think we don’t have.

INDIVIDUALISTS are accepting, communicators, compassionate, creative, emotionally honest & deep, idealistic, inspired, good listeners
— They aspire to be special – really wanting to be unique & to put their personal touch on everything they’re involved in, to make the world more beautiful
— They value/are attracted to originality & beauty.

Holy ORIGIN tells us that ‘being’ is the source & origin of our true identity. I see that I am not separate from everything, that all parts of the universe express the Great creative intelligence. Since I am an aspect of that creative flow I cannot be otherwise. My life will unfold in unique ways, & finding my authentic self comes by being ‘in the flow’.

HIGHER MIND: Originality – 4s want to be unique so they resist being re-shaped into an ‘ordinary’ happy person. Actually, their attitude is not ‘just in their head’ but a legitimate need, and their tenacious resistance to conforming remind the rest of us to connect to our own higher awareness
✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥

#5 VIRTUE: Detachment from vulnerability & over-protection comes when we no longer feel in danger of being overwhelmed by emotions, & learn that the world is better understood by participating in it. Greed for alone-time makes us less prepared to live in the world, not more.

INTELLECTUALS are intense, involved, non-intrusive, perceptive, scholarly, self-reliant, visionary pioneers, have wonder
— They really want to make the world a more enlightened place by discovering what is real & true, & making it more understandable.
— They value/are attracted to Knowledge, truth, understanding, wisdom

Holy OMNISCIENCE is the direct knowing of Essence, which includes all that exists in its various manifestations, yet does not negate Unity. When I abide in my True Nature I know the Great Intelligence, & my minds is clear – I see that feeling safe in the world comes from participation & experience, rather than watching from the sidelines in the hope of understanding it before jumping in.

HIGHER MIND: All-Knowing becomes available when in a non-thinking state of mind – which is the opposite of trying to find out every tiny aspect of a given subject. Rather – it’s being able to engage the Inner Observer that allows its own awareness to merge with impressions of the past, present & future possibilities & events.

NEXT: Type VIRTUES (Part 4c)

I HAVE SO MANY OPTIONS 
for escape!

PREVIOUS: Defense Mechanisms (#1)

SITE: “Types & Uses of Defense Mechanisms”

ALL DEFENSES are used to avoid some form of anxiety
Acting out – coping with stress by taking actions, instead of actually feeling one’s emotions about the situation
Affiliation – compulsively turning to others for support, instead of being in charge of their life

Aim Inhibition – settling for a modified version of their original goal (as in “Those who can’t – teach”)
Altruism – gaining satisfaction by self-sacrificing service to others, or participating in beneficial social causes

Asceticism – the moral renunciation of certain pleasures, to avoid the internal conflict associated with impulse-gratification
Avoidance – refusing to deal with or face an unpleasant person, object or situation

Compensation – trying to make up for what one sees as personal deficiencies
Conversion – a repressed mental conflict turned into a physical symptom

Denial – unconscious need to refuse acknowledging important parts of oneself, of ones own experiences or of external reality, even though these things may actually be known or perceived
Displacement – shifting emotions or mental conflicts about one person or situation onto another. It’s ‘dumping onto’ one person what one feels towards someone else (kicking the dog instead of the boss)

Fantasy – a retreat into a dream world, mental drifting back to ‘better times’ or to an ideal place…. when concrete, adult action is needed OR when the current situation is experienced as completely hopeless
Idealization – making up a fantasy image of PPT (people, places, things), rather than seeming them realistically,
to deny aggressive or competitive feelings towards someone they love or are afraid of  (Enneagram defenses ↗️ )

Identification: model oneself on another’s persona, in place of developing a ‘Self’ of their own
Intellectualization – warding off unacceptable emotions & desires by only thinking about PPT rather than experiencing them directly

Introjection – imprint onto oneself another’s whole personality, (psychologically absorbing another person into the developing Self) to avoid directly expressing powerful emotions such as love, rage, hate, envy….
Isolation (not isolating) – cutting off from memory painful emotions caused by a distressing situation or trauma, so no longer trigger anxiety

Projection – attributing to others ones own unacceptable but unconscious thoughts & emotions. Disowning unwanted parts of oneself by only seeing them in others, & then hating that person or quality
Rationalization – use convincing ‘logical’ reasons to justify an idea, emotion or action, to avoid recognizing the real but unacceptable underlying motive for ones bad behavior (like getting defensive)

Reaction formation – compulsively saying & doing the extreme opposite of what one really wants, but is afraid of (violently preaching against lust, while not admitting to being filled with sexual longing)  (CHART INFO ⬇️ )
Regression – unconsciously retreating to the actions, feelings & beliefs of an earlier developmental phase when feeling threatened (tantrums)
Repression – keeping unwanted thoughts & emotions out of awareness, which can include forgetting actual painful or traumatic events, or those associated with painful emotions

Reversal – turning a feeling, attitude or behavior into its opposite
EXP: when masochism is replaced by sadism, love into hate….
Simple denial: unpleasant things are treated as if they don’t exist

Splitting – characteristic of borderlines, it’s the inability to hold in ones conscious mind both positive & negative qualities of the Self or others in a realistic whole (like loving & hating the same person or thing)
Somatization – when intolerable impulses or conflicts are converted into physical symptoms (suppresses rage into an auto-immune disease)

Sublimation – redirect id impulses (a socially objectionable desire or goal) into socially acceptable activities, while still retaining the original goal of the impulse. It’s considered the most “mature” defense. (Play football instead of fighting, make art instead of adultery)
Suppression – painful emotions & events are consciously ‘stuffed’ down.
Undoing – involves symbolically nullifying or voiding an unacceptable or guilt-provoking act, thought, or feeling

NEXT: Enneagram Strengths #1