beyond personality introduction

inner freedom is not guided by our efforts; it comes from seeing what is true.

Buddha

the programs under “beyond personality” will only make sense if you already have a sense of your personality as expressed through the Enneagram. if you find that you don’t understand, please take the time to work through the personality programs in the mindfulness section, including the Enneagram maturing program. also, read through what do we mean by presence?

according to Don Riso and Russ Hudson (Wisdom of the Enneagram), at the lowest three levels of development (levels nine, eight, and seven) we have no real sense of presence and are still stabilizing the ego structures. in the average levels (six, five, and four), we are on the journey to presence. at levels three and two we are beginning to walk the journey with presence, and when we reach level one, we are the journey as presence. you will notice that, at the highest level of functioning (developmental level one) the personality is free from its basic desire and basic fear. we have therefore stepped beyond personality into an ego-transcendent state. these deepening transcendent states represent the holy ideas.

a brief history of the Enneagram

the Enneagram that we know mainly entered the Western realm through the work of George Gurdjieff, a Russian mystic who seems to have learned the system from a secret Middle Eastern school. Gurdjieff did not, as far as known, teach the Enneagram of Personality Fixation, which is currently the most well-known system. the latter was popularized mainly by Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist, who learned it from Oscar Ichazo, a South American spiritual teacher. both Ichazo and Naranjo brought tremendous psychological depth to our understanding of the Enneagram.

from Naranjo’s perspective, the Enneagram diagram is a map of reality that can provide a detailed understanding of any dimension of experience. this map is not limited by the Enneagram of Character Fixation, which forms the basis of modern Enneagram applications. the Enneagram of Character Fixation refers mostly to interior egoic experience, whereas the Enneagram of Holy Ideas refers mostly to essential experience.

Naranjo regarded the personality characteristics of the nine ennea-types (ego-types) as expressions of loss of contact with Being, our essential nature, and so regarded the Enneagram of Holy Ideas as the essential work in finding the way back to Being.

Ichazo’s understanding was that every person develops a style of compensating for the lack of connection with Being; the emptiness that is at the center of the ego. these styles are the Enneagram of Character Fixation. each fixation is a particular style or ego-type. later, Riso and Hudson described the psychological structure of each type in much greater detail.

the Enneagram of Character Fixation reflects the deluded or egoic view of reality, whereas the Enneagram of Holy Ideas expresses the enlightened view.

the layers of ego

the true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.

Albert Einstein

our ego or personality acts like a lens through which we view the world. ego sees itself as a separate and individual being with free will. if another does not agree with its thoughts, feelings, and actions, then they are seen as different; as an other who is possibly an enemy. our task is to become aware of these machinations of ego, and this is only possible through consistent mindfulness and a taming of the mind. Riso and Hudson, in their Wisdom of the Enneagram, outline nine layers of seeing into ego (not to be confused with the nine personality types). in their system, there are nine layers of the lens with which ego looks at reality, from the most obvious and superficial to the most subtle.

1) our habitual self-image
our self-image is made of ideas and images of how we automatically see ourselves. as we’ve discussed in the preceding Enneagram programs, this self-image can be filled with illusion, grandiosity, and self-deprecation. we may happily acknowledge our positive attributes, but when we truly look into our functioning, we notice that we are not as one-sided as we’d like to believe. when we’re functioning in the average to unhealthy range of our levels of development (see our program Enneagram maturing), we will have positive but also negative aspects to our functioning. unless some crisis prompts us to be more self-aware, we’re unlikely to wake up to our own self-image. we are too identified with our beliefs, thoughts, and emotions.

2) our actual behavior
when we begin self-work and learn to stay with the process of self-observation (mindfulness), we may begin to notice that many of our behaviors are actually quite removed from the image that we hold of ourselves. we may discover many shadow-aspects of our personality. at this point, if we utilize resources like studying, therapy, group work, and implementing our reading, our self-awareness slowly increases. we become aware of how necessary it is to live with presence.

3) internal attitudes and motivations
when we delve deeper into our psyche, we may begin to notice the attitudes and motives that are behind our actions. we begin to ask ourselves why we do as we do. through this process we become aware of the underlying, previously unconscious drivers of our behavior. we learn about our psychological defenses and cognitive distortions. we also become aware of our learned behaviors and our actual needs. at this point our type’s core — basic desire and basic fear — becomes more conscious and we begin to work with our reactiveness.

4) underlying affects and tensions
now we begin to discover our felt experience. for example, you are having a conversation, and you notice that you are pretending to be interested, but when you look into your internal attitude, you actually do not want to continue the conversation. the underlying affect and tension may be apparent in the agitation you feel in the body. at this point in our journey we are much more aware of the energetic qualities of our emotions, and this makes us want to relax more deeply and stay present to the body and its feelings.

self-knowledge has no end — you don’t come to an achievement, you don’t come to a conclusion. it is an endless river.

Krishnamurti

5) rage, shame, and fear
we now discover our more deep-seated and instinctual emotions, including rage, shame, and fear. we also begin to feel our instinctual drives for self-preservation, sex, and social connection. we are much more aware of emotion, and may become aware of primal emotions like attachment, frustration, and rejection. the conscientizing of these primal energies may make us feel very uncomfortable in ourselves, and a regular spiritual practice becomes necessary to hold these energies and support our path.

6) grief, remorse, and ego-deficiency
this layer is marked by experiencing grief and remorse for how far we’ve been separated from our essence or essential nature. initially we simply feel this as how far we’re removed from peace. this is a place of much conscious suffering, which, at this point, we allow for the sake of progress and truth. we are now deeply aware of the profound sorrow of the human condition. in the spiritual traditions, this stage is referred to as a dark night of the soul.

7) emptiness and the void
this layer is well described in Buddhist literature, and is known as emptiness or shunyata. at this stage personality is realized to be only a temporary fixation, and yet to leave it means stepping into an unknown. this is typically experienced as the void: a space of profound fear or meaninglessness. if we persevere and make the leap, we are surprised to find ourselves still functional. we come to know the void as not only the emptiness of a self but also filled with the emanations of Being; a field of utter potentiality or luminosity. this very Being is our freedom and the source of our life. at this layer there is no longer any duality between observer and observed. they unite as awake observing. experience and experiencer are radically one.

8) true personal Being
our identity is now centered in essence, and our actions guided by direct awareness rather than projects and outcomes. we’ve become an instrument of life. we feel deep gratitude, and become more empowered to allow the embodiment of our essence, or essential self.

9) nonpersonal, universal Being
since this is not really a new state, all we can say of this layer is that everything arises from it. it is simultaneously the unchanging source of Being, and the multitude of forms this Being can take. there is nondual awareness, so that individual and Being are one experience. at this point we are no longer identified with a fixated point in the Enneagram, but rather the expression of Being through one or more of its holy ideas.

the most radical re-mapping or shifting of the [self-] boundary line occurs in experiences of the supreme identity, for here the person expands his self-identity boundary to include the entire universe.

Ken Wilber

terminology and style

we’ve encountered a few terms that need defining. we've discovered that the Enneagram we’re familiar with is known as the Enneagram of Character Fixation. the ego is identified with our type, or fixation. authors who focus on the transcendent aspects of the Enneagram, like A. H. Almaas and Eli Jaxon-Bear, consistently use capitals for terms such as Essence, Holy Idea, and Being. additionally, neither Almaas nor Jaxon-Bear refer to types, preferring to think in terms of nine points on the Enneagram. Being — our true nature and the true nature of everything — expresses through each point, and that expression is the essence of the point. you’ll also come across the word “soul.” in terms of our discussion, soul and essence are synonyms. the only capital we’ll be using is for the word “Being,” to distinguish it from individual being. each point on the Enneagram is associated with a holy idea through which the practitioner perceives reality. Almaas calls this an objective view, meaning it is utterly devoid of the subjectivity of ego. in this state, the practitioner is aware of awareness and its content, but no longer experiences a self. the separate self has been replaced by pure awareness.

until we directly experience spiritual transformation, we do not truly understand that this transformation involves such radical changes in our experience of ourselves and our world that it is not a matter of becoming a transformed individual; we recognize, rather, that the reality that is realized is something that cannot be limited by such notions as “individual” and “world.” the very principles and categories of experience that we take to be incontrovertible truths are transformed. what goes through radical transformation is specifically our view of what truly exists, and the mode of this existence.

A.H. Almaas

the table above presents a bird’s eye view which we will fill out as we go along. our first step is to take another look at the ego that stands in the way of experiencing reality as it is, obscuring the suchness of the moment. we overlay this suchness with all kinds of projections and identifications, and then believe that what we see through this tainted lens is reality.

the notion that each fixation is the result of the loss of a particular unconditioned perception of Being implies that ultimate freedom from this fixation is possible only through the experiential realization of the corresponding Holy Idea.

A.H. Almaas

the Enneagram of Character Fixation

the great gift of the Enneagram is that it describes who you are not. it shows the veiling of pure, pristine consciousness by habit of egoic identification… when there is a willingness to confront the basic lies that go into the creation of the ego, the Enneagram is a wisdom mirror, pointing to that which the mind tries to avoid seeing.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

when we see ourselves and the world as it really is we become the fulfillment of human potential. we become truly human. our personality is only the most superficial layer of who we truly are. at our core we are pure awareness, infusing reality with our essence, and experiencing reality as the expression of a holy idea. many of us seldom enquire into who we are. instead, we tell ourselves who we are, and how to better this personality according to our idealization. according to Jaxon-bear, each fixation has its own idealization: an internalized story about reality.

for example, type two has the character of being friendly and giving. however, when we examine the two’s motivation, we see that this character is an ego strategy. the bargain is: “i’ll take care of you, and in return you will love and appreciate me.” this shadowed selfishness is covered over with the imitation of true kindness. true, or essential kindness needs no recognition.

because it imitates the essence of the soul itself, the character fixation can feel like a very real experience of who you are. for this reason, the sacred Enneagram is a ruthless aid in its capacity to penetrate through the trick of mind.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

for Jaxon-Bear, the soul is a storehouse of latent tendencies and unfulfilled desires that takes birth in a new body. it is the soul’s identification with a body that leads to character fixation. the only way in which we can get access to our true nature is through a willingness to change habitual patterns of veiling or character fixation. if we can allow ourselves to remain unidentified in this moment’s experience, soul or essence naturally shines through. enlightenment means realizing that you are immortal consciousness. the universe, world, and soul, are recognized to be One, and the emptiness of all things is realized. the “no-thing” that exists goes beyond description or words. this awakening to our true Being releases us from the trance of our suffering. of course, this is not a once-off recognition that shifts our identity forever. we will need to repeat this insight and its experience many times to undo the years of ego-patterning.

in Sanskrit this real Self is described as satchitananda. the meaning of “sat” is immortal Being, or awareness. “chit” means pure unlimited consciousness, an absolute emptiness beyond space and time. “ananda” means love or bliss. as we get to know the holy ideas, we’ll see how apt this description is.

pure and unlimited Awareness, Emptiness, and Love are the true nature of what expresses itself as I. there is only one I, and this One gives rise to all of manifestation.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

the Enneagram of Character Fixation shows us the exact character that needs to be cut through with the sword of awareness if we are to step into Being. when we stop identifying with the mechanical and predictable patterns of ego fixation, we stop taking life so personally, and our self-caused suffering or reactions to life can come to an end.

when we identify with the physical body, the fixation is anger-based. in the emotional body, it is shame-based, and in the mental body, it presents as fear. the impulse to rage comes up as an animal anger, in the same way that impulsive love comes up in the emotional body, and internal dialogue comes up in the mental body. Jaxon-Bear describes these three bodies in typical psychological fashion. the physical body-types are seen as obsessive-compulsive, the emotional body-types as hysterical, and the mental body-types as paranoid-schizophrenic.

of course, all of us have all three intelligences, but one tends to be dominant. if you are not familiar with yours, go back to personality programs in the mindfulness section and familiarize yourself with the expression of your tritype.

the obsessive-compulsive body types stoically move against reality and people, whereas hysterics move towards people, and paranoids move away from people. the physical body lives in the realm of impulse, moving towards pleasure and away from pain. it is pre-verbal, instinctual, and non-rational. the emotional body sees the world through emotions and waves of feeling, and also does so in non-rational and often pre-verbal ways. feelings center around neediness, gaining approval, and love, and if needs are not met, strong reactions can follow. the mental body is the realm of thought and idea. we experience this as an internal dialogue, usually in the form of deep worry and fear about our relationship with the outer world.

another aspect of the Enneagram (as covered in our Enneagram programs in the mindfulness section) is the three animal drives underlying each personality. these are the instincts— self-preservation, social, and sexual or one-to-one— each of them associated with a passionate drive. the self-preservation instinct is dedicated to the survival of the individual. the sexual instinct is based on reproduction of the individual, and the social instinct gears itself towards social hierarchy and the role of the individual within their social context. as long as life is lived for survival, reproduction, and social status, it is lived for “me”, the separate self. this results in a selfish life of limited fulfilment and pleasure.

remarkably enough, complete fulfilment, deep peace, and true love are found in a selfless life. in a selfless life, true Self is found everywhere. in a life that is lived from an identity that is transcendent of fixation, true bliss, true love, true intimacy, and true fulfilment are discovered to be the natural overflowing of life itself.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

we are going to look at each point in its expression of ego. we will use Jaxon-Bear’s outline of chief feature, passion, idealization, trap, defense mechanism, and avoidance. we will then briefly outline the holy path, the essence, and the holy idea. when we get to the Enneagram of Holy Ideas, we will explore these more deeply.

obsessive-compulsives: the anger points

the body group lives with the mistaken belief that their being (“i”) is limited to the human body. they experience the self as arising from the body, when in fact the body arises in the space of “i am”. Being is confused with body. there is a deep fear of being controlled by others or circumstances, and this fear manifests in point one’s pattern of obedience, point eight’s defiance, and point nine’s entrapment between obedience and defiance.

point nine, the core anger point, forms the root of all the fixations. all fixations develop from “falling asleep” to identification. all the points are different versions of this basic ignorance.

point 9: core anger point

although type nine is the central anger point, its chief feature is indolence. feelings are deeply avoided, leaving the nine ambivalent, with one leg in the nonconformist six, and the other in the conformist three. compliance brings rage, and nonconformism terrifies it. the nine becomes slow to meet any agreement, stubbornly holding on to their way of doing things. unexpressed anger becomes passive-aggressive inaction.

the nine's passion is laziness. this does not mean lazy as in not doing a job, but rather a laziness to work on what is essential, or on themselves. the fixation becomes visible when the nine glazes over or spaces out. as self-esteem is a real problem the nine seldom shows anger, preferring to ensure that they are well-liked. they tend to focus on details rather than seeing the big picture, and this tendency leads to equivocation and seeing all things/sides as equal. it is hard for them to prioritize tasks. nine is the point that can reflect all the other viewpoints, and therefore can take all the positions of the other points.

point nine’s idealization is “i am comfortable.” it is the survivor point of the Enneagram, melting into every situation and settling into a narcotized comfort. their trap is being a seeker — of peace. this seeking happens as self-narcotization, which is their defense mechanism. because of this capacity they can do monotonous work and dissociate for long periods of time. they seek to have their hands busy, whilst checking out of the moment.

the main avoidance for type nine is confrontation. their passive-aggression is most visible through avoidance. when asked to do something they may say “yes” on the outside whilst saying “no” on the inside. consequently, they often fail to follow through on their yes’s.

all Nine’s have issues of unresolved rage. it’s always there. quite often, they feel that if the rage was ever allowed to come out, it could become lethal. rather than letting this happen, they go unconscious.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

the path out of egoic unconsciousness is through right action: the action most needed and appropriate to the moment. moving beyond our defenses and personality brings us into contact with our essence, which for the nine is awareness. the holy idea (which we will elucidate in the Holy Ideas program) associated with type nine is holy love.

point 8: the exteriorized anger point

point eight is the exteriorized version of point nine. whereas the nine has no personal opinion, the eight most certainly does, on everything. where the nine turns anger back onto themselves, point eight projects it onto the world. the eight feels justified in their anger. they are the self-appointed blamers of the world. consequently, their chief feature is vengeance.

when their ego misuses the holy idea of truth, it becomes, “don’t give me any of your bullshit. i can detect bullshit. i’m interested in the truth.” yet, they are generally the biggest liars and bullies in the Enneagram.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

point eight suffers from the passion of lust, meaning excess, and not necessarily or exclusively sexual. it is the over-consumption of life and its objects. the rationalization for this excess is “i’m right, even when i’m wrong.” the eight justifies and rationalizes its anger, and its reactions are typically retaliatory.

idealization in point eight takes the form of “i am competent.” the eight considers itself to be “street smart.” they feel they can handle things, and often live on the edge. multi-tasking and thinking big is the eight’s way. their trap is justice. they feel a need to stand up for the underdog, and whilst they may do a good job at this, the need serves their fixation, allowing them to identify even more deeply.

eight’s defense mechanism is denial. this comes in the form of denying responsibility and blaming other people or things. it also manifests as the denial of their own feelings, which they employ as a defense against a hostile world.

the Eight is a tender, sweet, frightened child who has put on a hard warrior mask. the stance of appearing competent, and the denial of emotions or wrongdoing, are both strategies for dealing with terror and rage.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

eights have an almost psychic ability to spot weakness, and they avoid weakness in themselves at all costs. this avoidance plays directly into their denial. we know that the eight is working on itself when they can allow themselves to be tender or vulnerable.

the eight moves beyond personality and ego when it follows the path of innocence. the holy idea associated with the eight is holy truth, and the essence presents as cosmic power.

point 1: interiorized anger point

point one is the only type who has anger as their passion as well as their avoidance. this leads to a lot of emotional repression, so that the one resembles someone who is driving with the brakes on. where nines have lost their personal position, and eights have a strong personal position, ones want to find the correct position, and therefore their struggle is to “do the right thing.”

type one is the home of the judge, and resentment is their chief feature. the one’s driving anger towards perfection is fueled by the terror of being wrong. not-knowing is terrifying and avoided at all costs. resentment towards others builds up because the one judges them as harshly as themselves. ones feel that they are never good enough because they constantly compare themselves to an idealized standard.

at the same time, point one fears their own passion of anger. anger is not seen as perfect or acceptable, so it becomes repressed. even noticing that they are being judgmental can leave the one feeling angry at themselves. this repressed anger leaks out, often as sarcasm and hyper-criticism. it is also visible as muscle tension in the face and rigidity in the body.

anger manifests first as a sensation in the body. this is a body thought. Ones will get angry and then blame themselves. they don’t know how to express anger appropriately.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

point one’s idealization is “i am righteous.” it is an idealized view of perfection that manifests as a strong internal code. it is also this code that leads to their defense mechanism: reaction formation. as an impulse comes up in the psyche, it is repressed and replaced with an opposite, more appropriate response. the one may smile when they’re angry, or work harder when they’re tired.

the trap for point one is perfection. because the personal view is too limited to provide true perfection, the one’s perfection manifests as a desire to tame untamed nature. this becomes a rationale for controlling themselves and others. needing to be perfect leaves the one angry, and they use this anger to find fault with and judge themselves. this dynamic also gets projected onto the world, with the one pointing out all the “wrongs” they perceive.

for point one, moving beyond ego means accepting the path of serenity. the holy idea associated with the point is holy perfection and the essence of the point is purity.

hysterics: the image points

in the emotion center the fixations are solidified around the emotional body and run on emotion. this group is in need of love and approval, and show a perceived inability to be loved for who they are. as we’ve seen, their style is to move towards people. threes want to be loved for what they produce, twos want love for being helpful and caring, and fours long to be loved for their uniqueness.

point 3: core image point

just as there appears to be an absence of anger in the core anger point (nine), the three appears to be less emotional than the other image points. emotion is replaced with action and goals. the three appears to be seduced by the successful images of the world. threes develop the belief that they are loved for their actions, or what they produce, early in life.

the chief feature of point three is their efficiency. though they can be extremely busy, always progressing towards a goal, they can feel empty inside. they are easily recognized by their communication style. they will tell you what they do, who they know, and in which areas they’re achieving.

Threes, like Ones, often have a seamless quality about them; there are no rough edges. unlike Ones, however, everything is right on the surface… it’s unlikely that you’re going to plumb the depths and find more riches through time. everything is already in view.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

the three’s passion is deceit. this does not mean lying, though threes at lower levels of maturity may be willing to do that to cut corners. rather, it refers to being in a role, leading to a lack of authenticity. their identification with what they do can go deep enough to make them believe that they are their role. the three is also masterful in taking on the image valued by society or their audience.

the idealization for point three is “i am successful.” threes see the glass as half full and are quick to point out their successes. every endeavor is turned into a competition, and they see the benefit or opportunity in every experience. the trap of efficiency creates a multi-tasker who is on a ruthless climb to the top. when things go well, the three becomes scared of their emotions and of losing their achievements. point three would rather induce an appropriate response from their audience than go inside their own feelings and authenticity.

point three defends through identification with their role or actions and can propagandize how well they are doing. they avoid failure or looking like a failure. they often have many options operating simultaneously, so that if one thing does not go their way they can switch their energy to another.

the path out of ego for point three is veracity (truthfulness). the holy idea associated with the point is holy harmony and their essence is love and bliss.

point 2: exteriorized image point

point two is the exteriorized version of point three, and like the other image points, suffers from a lack of self-worth, hence the emphasis on their image. this lack of self-worth stems from believing they cannot be loved for who they are. the two responds to this fear by being helpful, attentive, and caring. they become helpers, mothers, and often codependents.

the reality, therefore, is that their help is not selfless, but an attempt to get from others the esteem they don’t have. they have a strong sense of reciprocity and believe that they can and do earn love. this often leaves point two exhausted, with little energy to take care of themselves.

point two’s chief feature is flattery. as they are observant and desire to help, they see the best in others and speak this. they believe that it is important to make people feel good or better. this belief stem from the projection of their own low self-worth.

point two’s passion is pride. this pride is deeply unconscious for most twos, because they are more connected to their resentment or anger. however, the pride is visible in their belief that they can win people over. the other side of this pride is their resentment when their helpfulness is not reciprocated or appreciated.

the idealization of point two is “i am helpful.” they are indeed, but they also accept this role as their being. they become a role—the helper— instead of themselves. and all their helping may not really help, as Jaxon-Bear points out:

one woman reported, ‘i did everything. we were married for eight years and i did everything. i did the books, the advertising, running the business as well as everything at home. i got up at 5:30 every morning to make his breakfast. the man did not do cereal.’

Eli Jaxon-Bear

the trap for point two is will. as their own needs are repressed, they take it upon themselves to better the situation of others and satisfy their needs, without reflecting on whether the help is asked for or needed. the reason their needs are so hidden from themselves lies in the two’s defense mechanism, repression. it is through repressing their emotions and needs that they lose connection with them. their only remaining conscious need is to make others feel better. their own needs become their avoidance.

when point two matures beyond ego, it is through the path of humility. the holy idea this point is associated with is holy will. their essence is kindness.

point 4: interiorized image point

point four is the interiorized version of the hysterics. whereas the two has pride in place, the four feels the shame of being out of place. they never really feel at home in their environment.

Fours, like Fives, are at a point at the bottom of the Enneagram where they are aware of a black hole inside. they experience this hole as a wound and a loss, as if something is missing.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

fours feel tragically marked by the loss described by Jaxon-Bear, and consequently feel that they either deserve love for being special, or that they have to be special or unique to receive love. fours are the most creative people in the Enneagram, and their work becomes part of this uniqueness. they are continually trying to improve themselves.

the chief feature of point four is their melancholy. the four lives emotionally and feels emotion deeply. even when there is good, the bad is also present, and it is selectively expressed. the passion of point four is envy. other people are seen to have what the four misses in themselves, triggering envy. for the four there can be a sense of “not enough” and a striving to possess people or things.

the idealization for point four is “i am elite.” in other words, a sense of separateness and specialness. the trap for the four is authenticity. the four is either trying so hard to live up the image they want to portray that there is no authenticity, or authenticity becomes their identification. they play their role perfectly, and at the same time they loathe phoniness.

the defense mechanism for point four is introjection: taking on their parents’ voices or taking on others’ emotions. feeling scarred, they see everything that is “wrong” in their environment, and consequently everything looks broken. this can lead to depression and illness. fours live from their emotional body, and are very sensitive to their physical and emotional environment. their avoidance is feeling lost. point four feels the emptiness inside themselves as a sense of being lost, and can easily feel uprooted or disoriented. the four typically tries to fill this emptiness with relationship.

the path out of ego for point four is equanimity. the holy ideal associated with the point is holy origin and their essence is joy.

paranoid schizophrenics: the fear points

fear is the fixation for the fear points. they live from their mental body. pure intelligence is veiled by the chattering mind. living in the mind is a way of avoiding their fear. this group moves away from people. all fixations, and therefore all points, have an associated internal dialogue, but for this group, it is their deepest identification. sixes are particularly prone, and their powerful mental world prevents them from taking clear and decisive action. they constantly search for a model of correct behavior, not trusting themselves. fives collect knowledge as a defense against the overwhelming outside world, and sevens use lateral connections between unrelated topics to dazzle with mental prowess.

point 6: core fear point

just as we find an apparent absence of anger in the core anger point and an apparent absence of hysteria in the core hysteric point, we also find an apparent absence of fear in the core fear point. sixes are the point on the Enneagram most dissociated from the emotion of fear. unexperienced, frozen terror compels the Six to adopt strategies that create a perception of safety.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

sixes live in their mind as a way of avoiding fear. they try to understand themselves and the world in their head, continually running a commentary on what could go wrong, remaining ever vigilant to possible future threat. due to living in their minds they easily lose contact with the body and emotion. consequently, they may not express fear directly, but it is visible in all the preparations they make for what could go wrong. whilst they can do well within the structure of an organization, the six generally mistrusts authority. all of this leads to the six’s chief feature, which is paranoia. their deepest fear is to be alone and to have to “do it myself.”

point six’s passion is doubt, not only of the world but also of themselves. this results in a constant inner commentary of anger and sadness, both of which the six is typically more aware of than their fear. doubt also plays a major role in their procrastination.

the passion of doubt manifests in the Six’s belief that there is a hidden meaning behind what is apparent. by constantly looking for the hidden, they doubt the obvious.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

“i am loyal” is the idealization of point six. sixes are team players and family creators. they find a sense of security in knowing that everyone will pull together. at the same time, when they feel betrayed, they can justify betrayal in kind. the trap for point six is security. their need for security may keep their life small and their world without adventure. their need for a safe future cuts them off from their intuition and instinct. their projection of all possible futures leads to a paralysis of action.

the six defends through projection. their own interior unacknowledged feelings are seen in others, which leads to a confirmation of their doubt. for example, when they’re angry, but unaware of it, they will accuse others of visible anger, and the perceived anger of the other will be interpreted as the cause of the six’s anger. to compensate for their own distrust, hostile motives are projected onto those around them, further maintaining their anxiety.

the six avoids deviance. they have a deep fear of their own primal energies and see the manifestation of these energies as deviance. as a counter to their fears and this inner primal energy, some sixes (the countertype) express themselves in extreme sports or acts of bravery.

it is through the path of courage that the six moves beyond ego. the holy idea associated with the point is holy strength, and their essence is emptiness, or pure intelligence.

point 7: exteriorized fear point

these are the charmers, con artists, and cosmic travelers of the Enneagram. for the Seven, searching on the outside for the new and the different veils the essence of inner absorption. this is the home of magical thinking.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

point seven is the externalized fear point. they use their intellect to ensure a life that is adventurous and entertaining. this leads to planning being their chief feature. this moment’s possible pain is pushed away by making sure there is an exciting future.

the passion for point seven is gluttony. this is not necessarily gluttony for food, but rather for experience. the seven fears missing out, and is typically full of options, making it difficult to commit to a choice. what the seven needs to learn is that, in the end, there is only one true choice: the choice to be free of the bondage of identification with a body and particular fixation style. sevens feel they are part of a divine plan, and that consequently they have to keep their options open.

point seven’s idealization is “i am okay,” (i only have to look out for myself). the trap for point seven is idealism. they see themselves as the goodwill ambassadors of a new age. consequently, their avoidance is pain. this leads to the seven having a life that is filled to the brim, but always on the surface. they avoid depth because they fear uncovering potential pain and discomfort if they scratch beneath the surface. the pattern is also visible in the point’s defense mechanism, which is rationalization. the seven adapts their reasoning to deflect their plan, interpreting reality according to their needs and expectations.

to move beyond this egoic existence, point seven has to travel the path of sobriety. the holy idea associated with the point is holy wisdom and their essence is inner absorption.

point 5: interiorized fear point

as the interiorized form of the six, the five unwittingly covers up true peace by trying to create peace through exclusion of the outer world. this gives expression to the chief feature of withdrawal. fives loves knowledge and consider it a further safeguard against a reality that is too demanding. they use their knowledge as a defense against the emptiness they feel inside.

Fives are some of the most deeply sensitive people on the Enneagram. their problem is they do not have much of a defense against the outside world. they retreat into a rich, phantasmagoric inner life, leaving an almost invisible apparition in the room with the rest of us.

Eli Jaxon-Bear

the passion for point five is avarice. they hold on to their few belongings and their time. as true minimalists, they go through life carrying little and using their privacy as a way to be left alone. isolation becomes their defense against an overwhelming world, against which they develop a withholding self.

the idealization of point five is “i know.” they don’t only know the superficial story, but will also know the story behind the story. the five’s trap is being the observer. staying disengaged from life, they become attached to nonattachment. true nonattachment means the realization of oneself as pure consciousness, where there is nothing to withdraw from.

the defense mechanism of point five is isolation. feeling drained from interacting with the world, they withdraw into their own space. isolation is also visible in their thinking, where they neglect emotional information and prioritize intellectual information. the avoidance for point five is emptiness. the five does everything to avoid the sense of emptiness that they feel inside. they counter this experience with knowledge.

for point five, overcoming ego rests on traveling the path of true nonattachment. the holy idea associated with the point is holy omniscience. their essence is true peace.

in the next program, we’re going to look at the movement beyond ego, before we begin our journey into the holy ideas.