Overview
Type 6 is characterized by fear–of danger and the various methods of obscuring or transforming that fear. Some Type 6s present as overtly phobic; they struggle with paranoia, anxiety, and explicit self-doubt. Others who lead with Type 6 are counterphobic and mask their fear by seeking out daring situations in the attempt to display that they are not afraid. The fundamental angst of Type 6 is driven by being out of touch with their direct impulses and doubting their experience, which Type 6s seek to resolve through external security and stability without working with their insecurity.
In healthy expressions, Type 6s can become a deeply dedicated leader and weaver of trusting and enduring relationships. Those who lead with this type can be brilliantly warm, positive, and inspirational. Type 6, when self-affirmed and released from the grips of anxiety, can be a bastion of true courage. At liberated levels, Type 6 is an emissary of a doubtless, fundamentally steady personal will.
Character Traits & Descriptions
Adapted from the work of Russ Hudson and Claudio Naranjo
The Loyalist - "The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious" - Russ Hudson
The Persecuted Persecutor – fear through immobilization, fear before danger, self-invalidation and self-blaming, hyper-alertness (suspicious and over-cautious), never enough certainty, problem seeking as a way to feel safe, seeking and giving warmth, dutifulness.– Claudio Naranjo
Pathways to Essence
Adapted from Keys to the Enneagram and Facets of Unity by A.H. Almaas
Essential Endowment: Personal Will
Personal Will is the solid yet flexible ground of consciousness on the individual level. The direct experience of Personal Will is confidence, stability and resiliency. This quality of authentic spiritual presence allows us to adapt to the unpredictability of life while remaining clear and firm in our individual power. Because it is rooted in the present moment, Personal Will allows us to act in the world without fear, which is typically a product of being in touch with the past or future. The power of Personal Will extends through time as perseverance, persistence, steady determination, and objective, clear discernment. Personal Will is the sustainer of aligned action without striving.
To learn more about the Personal Will, you can explore the "Keys to the Enneagram" course or the chapter on Point 6 in A.H. Almaas’ book Keys to the Enneagram.
Ego Ideal & Avoidance
Type 6 idealizes security, external guidance, and authority in avoidance of feeling fundamentally inadequate, abandoned, and vulnerable to the dynamism of life.
Passion: Fear – Afraid (insecure) of everyone and everything to one degree or another.
Virtue: Courage – Facing what one is afraid of.
Holy Idea: Holy Faith / Strength – "The Holy Idea of Point Six is Holy Faith or Holy Strength. It tells us that implicit in basic trust is the faith or confidence that reality or God will come through, will support us, is fundamentally there for us. Holy Faith is the closest Idea to basic trust itself; it is a differentiated perception of basic trust. As we said, basic trust is not differentiated enough to be a feeling or an idea; when it becomes explicit, we call it Holy Faith." - Facets of Unity, ch. 9. See also chapter 18.
Specific Delusion: Cynicism – Believing all people are motivated by selfishness and a disbelief in human goodness and sincerity.
Specific Difficulty: Inadequacy – Fearful kind of insecurity, insecure and scared at the same time.
Specific Reaction: Paranoia – Always being on the lookout for danger.
Dynamic Core Elements
Adapted from the work of Sandra Maitri
Ego Trap: Security – Wants someone or something to provide security.
Anti-Self Action: Self-inhibiting – Invalidation of internal experience and inhibition of impulse.
Ego Lie: Idealization – Blindly following someone or something whom they perceive as greater than themselves.
Defense Mechanism: Projection – Unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat from the external world.