There is a couple named David W. Fauvre and Katherine Chernick
Fauvre who've spent the last few decades doing research and
developing their understanding of what they call the Enneagram
TritypeTM. In the Enneagram system (independent of
the Fauvres), the 9 types are divided into groups of three in various
ways. One very important way they are divided is into the three
centers, which go by different names. Types 2, 3, and 4
are located in the feeling, heart or image
center. Types 5, 6, and 7 are in the head or thinking
center, and Types 8, 9, and 1 in the body, gut or
instinctual center. Someone with a core Enneatype of 2,
3, or 4 will be very much concerned with their image/how they are
viewed by others; comparison of self with others, pride, false
representation, and self-consciousness, all based on deep-seated
problems with shame, are some of the large issues that may be
experienced here. A core 5, 6, or 7 revolves more of their
attention around mental activity/figuring out how or what they think
about stuff; whether they realize it or not, these types have
deep-seated issues with fear. Types 8, 9, and 1 don't dwell as
much as other types in either their emotional hearts or logical
heads; they instead tend to be guided more by instincts or gut-level
feelings. These three types have deep issues with rage.
The Fauvres' contribution was to point out that although yes, most
people may tend to be stronger in one of these centers than in the
other two, nevertheless, it's part and parcel of being human to
approach life through all three of these centers! Just
as everyone has a head, a heart and a gut, so everyone has their own
special head-level, heart-level and gut-level ways of responding to
and dealing with life. Our individual tritype is formed when we
select our specific way of approaching the world through each of
these centers, and place these, our three main styles of
interacting with the world, into a hierarchy of how important and
integral they are to us.
This idea means that, far from there being just 9 Enneatypes to
choose from, there are instead 27 Archetypes (combinations of any
three Enneatypes, one from each of the three centers, in various
configurations: e.g., the "125" Archetype can appear in any
of 6 tritypes, namely the 125, 152, 215, 251, 512 or 521), and thus,
there are ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO specific Enneagram tritypes in all!
And this doesn't even take into account the wings on each fix (your
Enneagram type in each center is called a "fix") or the
strength of the lines of connection each of your fixes has to other
types on the Enneagram! In other words, with tritype theory,
the ability of the Myers-Briggs system to categorize you more
specifically is entirely eclipsed, and one can start to see that so
much of the wonderful individuality in our personalities can be
systematically explained using this amazing concept!!!
As I read through a thread on PersonalityCafe.com wherein the
Archetypes (and tritypes) were being described, I felt my excitement
mounting. I love this stuff! Eeek! I
can't stand it, this is SO cool and fun!! I was almost
ready to burst with the thrill of discovery.
Naturally, as I read, I kept an eye out for which of the tritypes
I was reading about might belong to my family members, friends, or
me. I felt sure I had recognized several friends plus my mother
by the time I got all the way through to the end, but I hadn't
recognized myself with certainty in any of the tritype descriptions.
No matter, I thought. I've only just encountered
this concept. There's no hurry! I have plenty of time for
figuring out what my tritype is. I want to savor this
process -- as well as make absolutely sure and certain a conclusion
is correct before I officially come to it.
Little did I know how soon and suddenly I was to figure out what
my tritype was!
To be continued...
'TritypeTM' is a trademark of Enneagram Explorations and can only be used with permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment