Introduction
This
article presents some secondary findings in my
ongoing quest for information as to how the Enneagram
points define themselves by the three instinctual
drives: Self-Preserving, Social and Sexual. For
purposes of this study, I sent out questionnaires
to the Enneagram community, and this article represents
my initial findings on the patterns that emerged
from the contributions received from the participants.
In particular, this article will focus on how the
Enneagram Types by Subtype perceived themselves
and more specifically the Internalized Image vs
the Externalized Image. For example, what the nine
types wished to add to the study of Instinctual
Subtypes from their own internal experience of
type.
Various
authors have used terms such as "instincts," "drives," "subtypes," "instinctual
drives," "instinctual types," and "instinctual
variants" to describe what I will refer to herein
as "Instinctual Subtypes"; and as with the Enneagram
types themselves, there are disparate views among
the authors on the subject of Instinctual Subtypes.
Surprisingly, however, to date very little material
has been published on this subject.
Research
suggests that the study of "instincts" and "drives" was
part of Oscar Ichazo's early teachings of "Enneagons." In
1970, Dr. Claudio Naranjo and others underwent
intensive training with Ichazo in Arica, Chile,
including both the Enneagram and Instinctual Subtypes.
In 1971-73, Naranjo formed the original SAT groups
("Seekers After Truth") in Berkeley, California,
and began incorporating the Enneagram and Instinctual
Subtypes into his own teachings. In 1996, after
more than 20 years, Naranjo again taught the Enneagram
in the United States in Boulder, Colorado, including
an in depth look at his view of the Instinctual
Subtypes.
Overview
It
is my understanding that there are three instinctual
drives or types -the Self-Preserving, the Social
and the Sexual. Like the nine passions of the Enneagram
points, the instinctual drives act as a force underlying
our life strategies - often unconscious yet all-pervasive
- and represent our most fundamental way of being.
The three instinctual drives color the way we act,
think, feel, and ultimately express ourselves.
Each instinctual drive can manifest within each
of the nine Enneagram types (in effect resulting
in a total of 27 Instinctual Subtypes).
Ichazo
teaches that "the instincts are defined . . . as
three fundamental reactions of our organism in
order to sustain life. The interconnection between
them produces a corresponding triad in the higher
psychological levels, and the sensing of these
three organic systems appear as our basic psychological
levels in the form of instinctual centers of attention,
whose demands we cannot ignore because they immediately
threaten our survival."
Naranjo
teaches that " the instinctual type is one of three
sub-personalities that is the "auxiliary passion." He
suggests that outwardly the instinctual subtype
can look positive, like a talent, or something
of which one should be overly proud, but inwardly
is a reflection of unhappiness with a price to
be paid -, e.g., "the oyster is not too interested
in the price of the pearls." He also teaches the
origin and drive of each instinctual subtype: self-preservation
arises in the belly and is associated with protection;
social instinct arises in the tongue, and the desire
to be appreciated; and sexual instinct is genital
in origin and driven by sexuality, oedipal issues."
Palmer
teaches that, "like the nine passions, the behaviors
called 'Enneagram subtypes' act as a hidden focus
of personality type. Once it is discovered through
self-observation, the subtype focus of attention
is revealed as a behavior that is motivated by
instinct (for survival, social relating, and sexual
relating) dominated by the passion of type. The
subtypes name a mental preoccupation in which the
energies of the physical body (instincts) and the
emotional energies of the passions are joined.
Because the subtype focus of attention is an ordinary
behavior, I have found them to be crucial pivots
in the transformation of the nine passions into
their higher opposites."
Condon
teaches, "The original formulation states that
within each style there are three possible suborientations
that people tend towards. The subtype is determined
by whether you are unconsciously preoccupied with
personal survival (self-preservation), whether
you incline towards one-to-one relationships (intimate)
or whether your style of relating includes a lot
of people (social)."
Riso-Hudson
teach that " people can be divided into these three
instinctual types (which they refer to as "instinctual
variants") "simply by knowing the definitions of
these categories, and without knowing the Enneagram
types of the individuals . . . The Instinctual
types can exist as a separate typology, but can
also be combined with the Enneagram types in ways
that explain some of the variations we see in real
people that cannot entirely be accounted for by
wings or Levels of Development."
In
theory, we are governed by all three instinctual
drives, for they represent our most fundamental
way of being, but one is generally more dominant
and influential in our lives and defines the way
in which we act out the passion of our Enneagram
point.. If all three instinctual drives were in
balance, we could function "perfectly" or "appropriately" to
the needs of each situation. Nevertheless, such
balance is rare, and usually one of these drives
is "damaged" and commands an undue amount of our
attention; and it is a person's most "damaged" instinctual
drive that is overused and becomes dominant. The
resulting imbalance distorts our perception of
our essential needs, and we may find ourselves
living large portions of our lives "in service" to
this damaged drive.
Instinctual
Subtypes
We
strongly identify with one primary drive and with
some secondary traits in another drive. On the
occasion when two of the instinctual drives are
equally dominant, it is noteworthy that the third
drive is usually omitted. This perhaps still demonstrates
the imbalanced use of the three very essential
instinctual drives. The teaching of Instinctual
Subtypes suggests that these fundamental instinctual
drives need to be equally cared for and in balance
in order to harness the energy needed to move toward
transformation. The concept is that the energy
expended in dealing with the instinctual drives'
imbalance diminishes one's access to the energy
necessary to move against fixation and toward transformation.
The
instinctual drives appear to be not only instrumental
in distinguishing the different styles of manifesting
our Enneagram type behavior, but also perhaps the
stronger, more unconscious, yet all-pervasive element
of our personality type. The underlying influence
of the dominant instinctual drive can be quite
powerful. In fact, the instinctual drives of two
people are more apt to determine successful relationships
than their Enneagram points, for a shared instinctual
drive would be a more likely supportive common
denominator than a shared Enneagram type. The reason
is that the instinctual drive is more indicative
of our "animal nature," the one enabling us to
survive, whereas our personality also includes
our essence qualities that we define as "human
nature." These two together create a partnership
that we call the personality or "false self."
General
Findings
It
appears that the degree to which our instinctual
drive's impulses control our lives is subject to
the same kind of energy as our Enneagram point.
For example, we can experience our drives and passions
mildly or intensely; we can feel some sense of
control or very little control at all; and in addition,
we can either embrace our particular instinctual
drive or act totally against it. It is important
to note that whether embracing the drive as an
asset or viewing it as a liability it is still
ever present and influential.
More
specifically, our dominant instinctual drive is,
in actuality, our area of greatest weakness. Thus,
when our sense of "survival" is threatened something
has triggered whatever "button" happens to relate
not only to our Enneagram point but, more important,
also to our instinctual drive. The fixation then
becomes even more severe as we take on the additional
fears of the instinctual drive. The important factor
here is that the triggering element of the fixation
is the instinctual drive's issue. Nevertheless,
the flavor will always be that of the Enneagram
type, as the fixation and the drive are interactive,
linked, and always related to the Enneagram type.
In
the context of the "false self" or personality,
it is the instinctual drive that supposedly protects
the survival of the Enneagram point and is called
to the front lines when in stress. However, since
the dominant instinctual drive is actually one's "weak
link," its entrance in times of stress may ultimately
produce no "protection" at all to one's survival,
and in fact may exacerbate the level of stress
and ultimate fixation.
The
real question is, how do we express anger, fear
and desire? How do we experience illness and what
types of illnesses do we have? How do we act when
we're happy or sad? As an example, ask yourself
how you like to spend your time. Do you tend to
make sure your own needs are met and satisfied
with the essentials of life (self-preservation)?
Or does your attention go to being in the company
of others and, if so, how many others, and/or do
you need to be in service of others (social)? Or
instead do you find that your ultimate expression
of self is linked to the company of one significant
other in an intimate and profound way, and that
no matter where you are or what you are doing,
you are always in search of that beloved special
person (sexual)?
Conclusion
I
found that the instinctual drives appear to be
not only instrumental in distinguishing the different
styles of manifesting our Enneagram type behavior,
but also perhaps the stronger, more unconscious,
yet all-pervasive element of our personality type.
Our instinctual drives motivate us in the ongoing
human struggle to create and sustain relationships,
to aggressively seek what we need to survive, and
to defend what we have and fear losing. Clearly,
the journey toward wholeness might well include
the conscious exploration of these relatively untraveled,
instinctual roads, and thus ultimately lead to
a more balanced and integrated awareness.
When pioneering any new area of study, there is always
the possibility of controversy, risk, mistakes,
misunderstanding, and misrepresentation, and this
was no exception. With this study, I found that
responses from each Enneagram point gave insights
that deeply broadened my world view.
A special note of appreciation:
As a student of many teachers and many teachings I wish
to acknowledge the works of Ichazo, Naranjo, Speeth,
Palmer, Daniels, Riso, Hudson, Hurley, Dobson, Condon,
Wolinski, Jaxon-Bear, Rohr, Linden, Olson, Forster, O'Hanrahan,
Dentai, Keyes, Becker, Spalding, Shane and the study
participants)
Enneagram Instinctual Subtype and Pair Bonding
Interrelationship of Instinctual Drives
A noteworthy point of interest with respect to
the Enneagram Instinctual Subtypes is that the dominant
instinctual drive (self-preserving, social or sexual)
will shift to the other two subtypes as needed to ensure
its influential role in this trialectic instinctual system.
The way in which the dominant subtype employs the other
two appears to be very specific and predictable. The
dominant drive maintains the role of the commander in
chief and the other two are channeled through its lens.
Generally, this is very primal and often unconscious.
This is especially apparent with respect to the human
drive to seek a mate and pair bonding, but applies to
all areas of life. If a relationship displays conflicting
instinctual needs the dominant drive perceives it as
a threat to security and acts accordingly. Confusion
about the manner in which the instinctual drives manifest
to create and maintain a sense of security is often the
root of misunderstandings. Such disturbances in the instinctual
drive are often the catalyst for seeking counsel or therapy.
Self-preserving moves to Sexual For example, the self preserving subtype considers
a mate as an essential need to maintain and insure security.
Therefore, when in search of a mate the self-preserving
subtype will feel anxiety and suspense until a mate is
secured. In order to attract a mate, the self-preserving
subtype will shift to their respective sexual instinctual
drive to accommodate this fear. Outwardly the self-preserving
subtype will behave like the sexual subtype, pay more
attention to their desirability and will be sensual or
flirtatious. At first, the self-preserving subtype
will spend more time one on more with the possible mate.
Once the mate is secured, the self-preserving subtype
will return to basic routines that ideally would
include the mate. An area of pain and disappointment
for this subtype is when they have a mate that is unwilling
to pay attention to issues of security and disrupt their
need for inner calm.
Social moves to Self-PreservingThe social subtype will
think in terms more indicative of the self-preserving
subtype when selecting a mate. This is very important
to insure the desired security that rank and social
status can provide. The social subtype seeks a
mate with a shared social vision and similar values. This
is necessary to fulfill the desire for a mate that will
join them in their activities. Therefore, a secure social
position is essential. Much attention is paid to the
potential mate?s connections, rank and ability to provide
financial security. This subtype enjoys bringing others
together, feeling that ?the more the merrier?. They are
often adept at creating the center stage and often use
their home for social events, gatherings and causes. At
first the social subtype will spend more time one on
one with the potential mate. Once the mate is in place,
the social subtype will return to outside interests,
groups and/or activities, ideally, this is with their
mate. An area of pain and disappointment for this subtype
is when they have a mate that is unwilling to pay attention
to their need for people, activities, causes and unwilling
to share their interest in others.
Sexual moves to Social The sexual subtype (one on one) will seek the
greater world or social arena to find a desired mate.
The sexual subtype is normally happy tucked away in a
secluded setting with one significant other. However,
when alone or in search of a mate, this subtype will
behave much more like the social subtype. One must
be with others to find ?the other?. Once the mate
is selected, the social activity will be replaced by
the dominant drive for time spent in union with the other
one on one. At first the sexual subtype may spend time
with the potential mate in the company of others. They
become a pair even in groups. Then when the passion for
deeper connection is ignited the sexual subtype will
want to bond totally with their desired other. When the
mate is determined, the sexual subtype will return
to one on one style of relating. Ideally, this
is intense time spent with the desired other or mate.
An area of pain and disappointment for this subtype is
when they have a mate that is unwilling to pay attention
to their degree of connection and intimately share their
deepest and innermost thoughts.
?1996 Katherine Chernick-Fauvre
