Enneagram Holy Ideas: Nine ways to wake up from our ego fixation
One path toward finding psychological health and freedom from ego within Enneagram personality type can be found in the holy ideas.
The Enneagram of Holy Ideas is one of five enneagrams associated with Oscar Ichazo's ego-types (along with the fixations, traps, passions, and virtues). While the traps are the false remedy to the fixations of the Enneagram types, the holy ideas are the true remedy.
The fixation represents ego dominated thought that creates a sense of self separate from the world. The trap seems to be the way to resolve the fixation but only perpetuates it. The holy idea sees through the trap and finds freedom from the fixation by stepping outside of the ego.
Ichazo's original holy ideas
Taken from a book called Transpersonal Psychologies edited by Charles T. Tart, the descriptions of the holy ideas below come from John C. Lilly and Joseph E. Hart who attended the 1970 Arica retreat with Oscar Ichazo.
- Holy Perfection - The seeker for perfection from the outside experiences that his essence is perfect. He can relax.
- Holy Freedom - The experience of the essence forces man from a dependence upon the approval of others, and introduces him to the freedom of living the cosmic laws.
- Holy Hope - The seeker for efficiency, resting in his essence, finds that all things are functioning and will continue to function most efficiently according to the cosmic laws. The continual functioning of the cosmos doesn’t depend solely upon his efforts; there is hope for the future, whatever he does or doesn’t do.
- Holy Orginality - Once he realizes that his essence originates from perfect being, then he knows that he is “really real” now, and not sometime in the future.
- Holy Omniscience - The observer, storing up knowledge of life by viewing it from the sidelines, steps into life when he experiences his essence. Then and only then can he truly have full knowledge of life.
- Holy Faith - For one seeking security, his essence will give him the assurance that nothing from outside him can hurt his essence, not even physical death, and he is truly his essence.
- Holy Work - For the idealistic planner of the future, the touch of the essence will bring him to live and work in the moment, fully and happily.
- Holy Truth - Once the seeker for justice realizes that his essence follows truly the cosmic laws which are imminently true and just, he will be satisfied and at peace.
- Holy Love - The seeker is seeking for someone to truly love him, so that he can feel lovable. The experience of “Holy Love” reveals that his essence is pure love. Then he is both loving and lovable.
The holy ideas and the personality types
Ichazo's holy ideas can seem vague when thought about in terms of the personality types. It helps to restate the fixations, traps, and holy ideas in more precise terms.
The Enneagram fixation is a habit of mind that keeps you stuck in a limited way of looking at the world (obsessive thought). The trap perpetuates that fixation, trying to satisfy the fixation by acting upon it (compulsive response). The holy idea breaks free of this obsessive-compulsive loop created by the fixation and trap by stepping outside of that loop.
Type 1: Holy Perfection is about discovering the perfection of the world as it is instead of trying to impose your own set of standards upon it.
Type 2: Holy Freedom is taking care of your own needs so that you can freely give to others without expecting anything in return.
Type 3: Holy Hope is finding intrinsic value in just being rather than needing affirmation and validation through your accomplishments.
Type 4: Holy Originality involves accepting the common and ordinary in life instead of disdaining it in favor of the unique and special.
Type 5: Holy Omniscience requires participating in life to gain a more complete understanding than can be had by simply observing it.
Type 6: Holy Faith is trusting in yourself and others that you can navigate life in spite of the doubts and questions you may have.
Type 7: Holy Work is following through in the present on what seems uncomfortable or difficult but leads to a deeper satisfaction and joy.
Type 8: Holy Truth is knowing that each person has their own truth to live by and often it won't be the same truth that seems so obvious to you.
Type 9: Holy Love is realizing that love comes to you not by negating yourself for the sake of others but by discovering and pursuing your own path.
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