gurdjieff

Enneagram – Type STRENGTHS (Part 4a)

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k5941299THERE ARE MANY MORE
pieces to this puzzle

PREVIOUS: Type Strengths (Part 3)

SITE: Ennea Happiness & Strengths (fun)

 

STRUCTURE of PERSONALITY
Claudio Naranjo has united several theories, contrasting Essence to Personality (the conditional Self/lesser mind TO the Real Being/Higher Mind). This chart shows his variation of Ichazo & Gurdjieff’s view of the human psyche, made up of five centers, with the addition of two higher centers of the ‘awakened’ individual.

● It’s based on the current view of optimal mental health that the outer expressions of Personality do not represent the True Self within, but are motivated by a sense of deficiency – the passions/drives repressing, contaminating & replacing core instincts. The Bound (lower) parts include the Enneagram’s Triad of Instincts:
— Self-Preservation, for personal survival
— Sexual, for intimate one-to-one connection
— Social, for connection to the larger world. More in future posts. (MORE…..Chart—>.)

ESSENCE:  Higher Mind drives the automatic orientation toward our specific qualities of awareness – not mediated by every-day thinking.
The Virtues are automatic bodily responses – not directed by personal likes or dislikes.

Although higher mental awareness is different from its counterparts in the Personality, it’s easy to mistakenly assume we are in our Essence when we – think humble thoughts (4s), force ourselves to be brave (6s), feel we’ve been of ‘great service’ (2s)….. These reactions are only indirectly related to being open, undefended & attuned to the environment & other people. Fortunately, each type has the unconscious drive to identify AND the conscious ability to outgrow ‘the trance of type’.

LIBERATION & Presence* (being fully awake)
2 = Humility. By Disinterestedness we can express Altruism
3 = Integrity. By Self-acceptance we gain Genuineness
4 = Equanimity. By Self-renewal we achieve Creativity

5 = Generosity. By Understanding we experience Discovery
6 = Courage. By Self-Affirmation we gain Courage
7 = Sobriety. By Assimilation we experience Gratitude

8 = Subtlety. By Self-restraint we can express Magnanimity
9 = Engagement. By Self-possession we find Fulfillment
1 = Serenity. By Discernment we gain Tolerance

*Presence – the opposite of being trapped in our Enneagram style – when we’re controlled by a younger part of ourselves, habitually acting out of the past as a reflex. When we’re not truly awake to current experiences, our judgments are flawed & our actions inappropriate. Being Present is a spiritual process, & while it’s not easy, it is a crucial requirement for a full life.

Overviews – Holy Ideas are the essential qualities of Reality.
Enn TRIADS + holy IdeasThe left-hand chart shows Universal Reality coordinated with the Enneagram’s Heart, Head, Body.  enn - holy-ideas 2 TRIADS
Use the right-hand chart as the model for the #1-9  diagrams that follow. (All created by P.Ferrieux)

HOLY IDEAS & VIRTUE (STRENGTHS)
#1 VIRTUE: Serenity is the recognition that Reality is inherently perfect. As part of that reality, we are already ‘perfect’ so we can be open & accept the conditions that we are working with, trusting that whatever wisdom we may need will be available in the moment

PERFECTIONISTS are fair, honest, honorable, improvement-oriented, noble, responsible, want equality with a shared purpose and values, can be morally heroic
— They really want to be good people & make the world a better place, to realize all their potentials & help others actualize theirs
— They value/are attracted to Goodness & right-ness

Holy PERFECTION points to the more universal sense of perfection , which we can only uncover in small doses. I see that my purpose is not to achieve some transcendental level but to deal with the imperfect world with acceptance. Everything is already as it should be, so when I’m in “here and now” the moment is always perfect. I can trust the process & bring my support to every situation with compassion.

HIGHER MIND: True Perfection isenn - holy-ideas 1
a balance of positive & negative elements blending together at every moment. Any perfect relationship, event or product has to go through stages, including occasional bad risks or bad timing. So – 1s can benefit by accepting that what can seem like terrible mistakes are connected to an ultimately correct outcome. Their only responsibility is doing the best job they can at any given time

NEXT: Type VIRTUES (Part 4b)

Enneagram – Type STRENGTHS (Part 2)

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ennea strenghI CAN REST EASY
in the castle of my identity

PREVIOUS: Type STRENGTHS (Part 1)

SITE: Buy Profiles of 9 types (BIZ)

BOOK: The VISUAL Enneagram (pictures)

REMINDER: In this context – EGO = FALSE SELF
NOT the same as a HEALTHY EGO, and read “EGO”)

To appreciate the POSITIVES of our Type, it helps to put the work of the Enneagram in context.
Chasing ‘healthiness’ is not the main goal of the Enneagram – but rather to become aware of our unique Role in the larger scheme of life, & experience how it plays out in every-day experience. Our fixation behavior – the acting out of the Defect – is Ego trying to hang on to its particular corner of Reality.
EXP: #5: “I must fill the unfillable hole of not-knowing”.enn HIGHER OCTAVE

● Yet our unconscious pull toward Essence, with its way of higher thinking & feeling, suggests that each Number represents an archetypal energy pattern, a Higher Octave, self-aware of the deeper characteristics of Reality. This awareness can increase self-knowledge & a deeper connection to Spirit. (Enn in Motion)

● When our focus is on being less & less attached to our usual (defensive) way of functioning, it naturally results in healing the split between parts of ourselves, between ourselves & others, & between us & our Higher Power. Transpersonal* experiences allow us to see ourselves as we are meant to be – in our current state, but moving toward being whole.
*Transpersonal means growing beyond narrow or personal needs, from “experiences in which the sense of self-identity extends beyond (trans) the individual, to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos”. (Shakti – 10/16/05)

● The combination of the 9 Types make up a total Microcosm of the human viewpoint. The movement toward Presence (the ‘work’ is to become awake to a Higher Truth) starts at the Mechanical / Automatic way of functioning on the right side – thru #1-the way of the body, #2-the way of love & #4-the way of power, which need to be learned before moving up the left side. Growth proceeds around the Inner Points via the ‘spiritual’ octave Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do, toward full Essence /Consciousness (#9), as taught by Gurdjieff.

being/grace/mercy● The universal principles – Being, Grace, Mercy – also used in Enneagram study,  are divine forces which drive the engine of the universe & function according to spiritual laws in every octave, regardless of ones ‘developmental level’. Cosmic consciousness diversifies naturally into personality types (1-9) according to these principles, as:     Materiality, Desire, Conscious Labor, Power, Being, Intentional Suffering, Purification, Knowing, Essence.  (MORE…)

● As energy circulates around any octave, it is expressed by specific characteristics, depending on its proximity to the Divine. Each octave is a circulatory system with a set enn affirm deny reconciieof specific demands placed on it. These give some basic insight into the nature of Holy Affirming, Holy Denying & Holy Reconciling forces.
PINK = closest to the divine, (“do”, the absolute) are material expressions on the  right & wisdom, on the left.
GREEN = represents the heart, the mediating zone between the most holy at the top – and –
BLUE = manifestations of intelligence and awareness, being furthest from the divine, at bottom. (MORE….)

NEXT: Type Strengths (Part 3)

Enn STRENGTHS 234

Enn STRENGTHS 567Enn STRENGTHS 891

ENNEAGRAM Basics (Part 1)

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ENNEAGRAM

FINDING OUT MY TYPE
makes me squirm

PREVIOUS: ‘Keep the focus on yourself (#3)”

SITEs:
♦︎ Multidimensional Enneagram Immersion  

♦︎ “The Enneagram, Jung & MBTI”

BOOK: “3 Keys to Self-Understanding” – Pat Wyman, combines the MBTI, Enneagram & Inner Child Work

INTRO
Essentially the Enneagram shows us how we CAN BE, at our best, as well as how we ARE – including our weaknesses. It is a merciful delusion-buster that opens us to the truth of our experience by
the use of radical awareness and compassion

• It is a Map of Wholeness. Its primary purpose is to study the universal Human Soul expressed in each of us, to connect us with what is deeper than our outer persona – legitimate but limited – and toward what does not come from our ego-fixations (weakness to be overcome).

QUOTE: “Always remember that it is your birthright & natural state to be wise and noble, loving and generous, to esteem yourself and others, ➡️
The Wisdom of the Enneagram, Riso & Hudson (p 41)

• It’s a “nature/nurture” system, with both social & genetic components for each Type. They are psychological templates tied to brain development, as well as the influences of our environment, & so can be considered ‘programs’ or life-scripts. They also point to Carl Jung’s 9 psychological processes of consciousness & 9 distinct versions of the his Shadow archetypes, all of which makes the Enneagram a powerful system for self-understanding.

• The 9-point diagram gives us nine different sets of values & filters through which we can view the world, a way of describing inner experience as well as conscious self-image. But it goes enn SYMBOLdeeper, indicating unconscious motivations as the source of thoughts, emotions & actions. It can help people recognize & expand the boxes they’re already in, & ultimately be a way to dissolve those boxes.

• The Enneagram SYMBOL is an ancient form to describe the path of self-development. It can be traced at least as far back as the Greek mathematician Pythagoras (c. 500 BC), improved on by Christian & later Sufi mystics (c. 500-1000 AD).
It was re-introduced in the 20th cent, starting with the Armenian mystic George Gurdjieff (a controlling Type 8), the founder of an influential Inner Work school, who drew from Sufi tradition & focused on sacred dance, using musical notes for each type.

• Then Oscar Ichazo, the South American student of ancient wisdom, formed the Arica School, updating the Enneagram by creating a system of Types using Gurdjieff’s ‘chief feature’ as a starting point. More recent writers, including Claudio Naranjo, Don R. Riso, Russ Hudson & Helen Palmer, have developed the Enneagram further, adding a psychological emphasis to its spiritual base.

The symbol is made up of :
♦︎ A circle, representing the whole experience of life & the container within which we live our lives. It’s used AS:
– a Process, when moving around the circumference
– an Experience, if taken as a whole
– a Point in time. It speaks to the cyclical nature of change – death follows life, life follows death – with its progression through time  (CHART  ↖️ )

♦︎ A triangle, dividing the ‘ONE’ into 3 parts, which introduces things outside  influencing the Process (movement), with internal intentions & connections to each other.
The points touching the circle (9, 3, 6) are where external energies provide the fuel needed to drive any procedure, including needed Change. It represents the universal Law of Three (man-woman-child, Body-Mind-Spirit, the physical-emotional-intellectual body)

♦︎ The Six straight Lines show the relationships between the steps in the Process, which overlap & are coordinated. They are the ‘one’ divided by 7, which equals a repeating fraction is .142857142…,**,  not including the triangle points. ➡️ (Chart) scroll down (ALSO…..in Wikipedia).
** The Enneagram has been associated with the invention of the decimal system.

Placing these decimals around the rim form the 6-line web showing the essential internal movement of the universe, & gives us the direction of our personal growth-work as we move around the outer circumference.
The “missing” 7th line is the point in the center of the circle.

EXP: Step 1 is influenced by steps 4 & 7 via their connecting lines (arrows)

NEXT: Enneagram Basics (Part 2)