This starts off really well, with a clear and, I think, accurate description of the inner type structure, particularly the concept of fear as a mechanism to control the blame and guilt of separation.
The problem is when it moves into behavioral manifestations, it would essentially follow from all these conclusions that the 6 is essentially useless. It can’t think, and it can’t act. So what can it then do? Follow? That doesn’t have any value for the person doing the following.
I unfortunately am one, which - though I am quite the navel-gazer - doesn’t bother me in my everyday life, but it is disquieting when I read about the enneagram. I don’t feel valueless as a person, but I do equate lack of originality with essentially the death of the soul, the ultimate shame. I also generally think everyone should do what they want, and being a lemming is without dignity, strength or purpose. So I don’t objectively understand what the actual value of Point Six would be. If anything, it seems like those of the type have only reached a very crude, basic stage of cognitive evolutionary development. Strange.
Naranjo's presentation of the Enneagram depends on two essential ideas: (1) that our personality structures run automatically on top of limiting stories that are usually unconscious, and (2) that we are more than our personality structures.
With these ideas in hand, the way we embark on the Enneagram journey in books like the one I'm translating is to recognize, observe, and ultimately sever the stories powering our personality structures. So while other presentations of the Enneagram may talk about the gifts of each type (for example, Sixes are often gifted problem solvers, are generous and loyal, are moral and good), for Naranjo the gifts are kind of beside the point. We're trying to overcome the "addiction" of our specific type.
If you recognize yourself as a six, it means you recognize that in some way you are addicted to fear and accusation. The six has a complicated relationship to fear as shown in the subtypes; a social six hides from fear by associating with roles and institutions (duty); a sexual six hides from fear through denying it and making others afraid instead (strength); a self-preservation six hides from fear by cozying up to others (warmth). In all cases the six isn't contacting the deeper layers of fear that they need to in order to simultaneously contact their own profound courage and self-trust – innate qualities that conquer limiting ideas the six has around fear, guilt, and distrust.
In this framing, none of the types have more or less value than the others; none are preferable over the others. Instead, the "point" of each type is basically a spiritual diagnosis of how to do good inner work on yourself to become whole. Naranjo (and my commentary of him) are pretty uncompromising in this, but it's really important that this isn't taken as a description of who sixes are; instead, it's trying to articulate what sixness is.
I hope that's coming through and that this comment clarifies things a bit – it's definitely not my intention to say that sixes are useless people, nor do I believe that! If uselessness comes through here, it's only in the universal way that I don't think any of the Enneagram types have a useful strategy when it comes to becoming awake, joyful, whole people.
This starts off really well, with a clear and, I think, accurate description of the inner type structure, particularly the concept of fear as a mechanism to control the blame and guilt of separation.
The problem is when it moves into behavioral manifestations, it would essentially follow from all these conclusions that the 6 is essentially useless. It can’t think, and it can’t act. So what can it then do? Follow? That doesn’t have any value for the person doing the following.
I unfortunately am one, which - though I am quite the navel-gazer - doesn’t bother me in my everyday life, but it is disquieting when I read about the enneagram. I don’t feel valueless as a person, but I do equate lack of originality with essentially the death of the soul, the ultimate shame. I also generally think everyone should do what they want, and being a lemming is without dignity, strength or purpose. So I don’t objectively understand what the actual value of Point Six would be. If anything, it seems like those of the type have only reached a very crude, basic stage of cognitive evolutionary development. Strange.
Dear Gina,
Naranjo's presentation of the Enneagram depends on two essential ideas: (1) that our personality structures run automatically on top of limiting stories that are usually unconscious, and (2) that we are more than our personality structures.
With these ideas in hand, the way we embark on the Enneagram journey in books like the one I'm translating is to recognize, observe, and ultimately sever the stories powering our personality structures. So while other presentations of the Enneagram may talk about the gifts of each type (for example, Sixes are often gifted problem solvers, are generous and loyal, are moral and good), for Naranjo the gifts are kind of beside the point. We're trying to overcome the "addiction" of our specific type.
If you recognize yourself as a six, it means you recognize that in some way you are addicted to fear and accusation. The six has a complicated relationship to fear as shown in the subtypes; a social six hides from fear by associating with roles and institutions (duty); a sexual six hides from fear through denying it and making others afraid instead (strength); a self-preservation six hides from fear by cozying up to others (warmth). In all cases the six isn't contacting the deeper layers of fear that they need to in order to simultaneously contact their own profound courage and self-trust – innate qualities that conquer limiting ideas the six has around fear, guilt, and distrust.
In this framing, none of the types have more or less value than the others; none are preferable over the others. Instead, the "point" of each type is basically a spiritual diagnosis of how to do good inner work on yourself to become whole. Naranjo (and my commentary of him) are pretty uncompromising in this, but it's really important that this isn't taken as a description of who sixes are; instead, it's trying to articulate what sixness is.
I hope that's coming through and that this comment clarifies things a bit – it's definitely not my intention to say that sixes are useless people, nor do I believe that! If uselessness comes through here, it's only in the universal way that I don't think any of the Enneagram types have a useful strategy when it comes to becoming awake, joyful, whole people.