Directions
of Integration (Security) and Disintegration (Stress)
As we have
seen with the Levels of Development, the nine personality types of the
Enneagram are not static categories: they reflect our change over time.
Further, the sequence of the types and the arrangement of the inner lines of
the symbol are not arbitrary. The inner lines of the Enneagram connect the
types in a sequence that denotes what each type will do under different
conditions. There are two lines connected to each type, and they connect with two
other types. One line connects with a type that represents how a person of the
first type behaves when they feel more secure and in control of a situation.
This is called the Direction of Integration or the Security Point. The other
line goes to another type that represents how the person is likely to act out
if they are under increased stress and pressure— when they feel they are not in
control of the situation. This second line is called the Direction of Stress or
Disintegration. In other words, different situations will evoke different kinds
of responses from your personality. You will respond our adapt in different
directions, as indicated by the lines of the Enneagram from your basic type. Again, we see the flexibility and
dynamism of the Enneagram.
The Direction
of Stress or Disintegration for each type is indicated by the
sequence of numbers 1-4-2-8-5-7-1. This means that an average to unhealthy One
under stress will eventually behave like an average to unhealthy Four; an
average to unhealthy Four will act out their stress like an average to
unhealthy Two; an average to unhealthy Two will act out under stress like an
Eight, an Eight will act out under stress like a Five, a Five will act out like
a Seven, and a Seven will act our like a One. (An easy way to remember the
sequence is to realize that 1-4 or 14 doubles to 28, and that doubles to 57—or
almost so. Thus, 1-4-2-8-5-7—and the sequence returns to 1 and begins again.)
Likewise, on the equilateral triangle, the sequence is 9-6-3-9: a stressed out Nine
will act out like a Six, a stressed out Six will act out like a Three, and a
stressed out Three will act out like a Nine. (You can remember this sequence if
you think of the numerical values diminishing as the types become more stressed
and reactive. For a longer explanation and examples, see Personality Types, 47-52, 413-8.) You can see how this
works by following the direction of the arrows on the following Enneagram.
The
Direction of Disintegration
1-4-2-8-5-7-1
9-6-3-9
The Direction
of Integration or Security is indicated for each type by the reverse of the sequences for disintegration.
Each type moves toward integration in a direction that is the opposite of its
unhealthy direction. Thus, the sequence for the Direction of Integration is 1-7-5-8-2-4-1:
an integrating One goes to Seven, an integrating Seven goes to Five, an
integrating Five goes to Eight, an integrating Eight goes to Two, an
integrating Two goes to Four, and an integrating Four goes to One. On the
equilateral triangle, the sequence is 9-3-6-9: an integrating Nine will go to
Three, an integrating Three will go to Six, and an integrating Six will go to
Nine. You can see how this works by following the direction of the arrows on
the following Enneagram.
The Direction
of Integration
1-7-5-8-2-4-1
9-3-6-9
It is not
necessary to have separate Enneagrams for the Direction of Integration and the
Direction of Disintegration. Both directions can be shown on one Enneagram by
eliminating the arrows and connecting the proper points with plain lines.
The
Direction of Integration
The
Direction of Stress
1-7-5-8-2-4-1
9-3-6-9 1-4-2-8-5-7-1
9-6-3-9
No matter
which personality type you are, the types in both your Direction of Integration and your
Direction of Stress or Disintegration are important influences. To obtain a
complete picture of yourself (or of someone else), you must take into
consideration the basic type and wing as well as the two types in the
Directions of Integration and Disintegration. The factors represented by those four types blend into your total
personality and provide the framework for understanding the influences
operating in you. For example, no one is simply a personality type Two. A Two
has either a One-wing or a Three-wing, and the Two's Direction of
Disintegration (Eight) and its Direction of Integration (Four) also play
important parts in his or her overall personality.
Ultimately,
the goal is for each of us to "move around" the Enneagram,
integrating what each type symbolizes and acquiring the healthy potentials of all
the types. The ideal
is to become a balanced, fully functioning person who can draw on the power (or
from the Latin, "virtue") of each as needed. Each of the types of the
Enneagram symbolizes different important aspects of what we need to achieve
this end. The personality type we begin life with is therefore less important
ultimately than how well (or badly) we use our type as the beginning point for
our self-development and self-realization.
