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The transformation of passions into virtues, the qualities of the Awakened Heart, does not occur through the direction of the Ego but rather through relaxing it.  When the personality tries to eliminate the passions, it will simply become a good Ego, and stay stuck in the high-average levels of development.  The ego cannot make itself into something more than itself.  A healthy personality is something more than the ego; it is the ego aligned with and full of Presence. 

As we know through the practice of Presence, the first step in the process of change requires embracing the passions or “vices” in non-judgmental, non-controlling acceptance.  How counter-intuitive and even frightening that can be.  For a One to accept his resentment or a Four to embrace her envy seems all wrong.  Nevertheless, fighting the passions only makes them stronger.  Unveiling the truth of our passions reveals the ways in which we defend against the reality that we are not the Ego that we cling to for identity.

At the International Enneagram Association conference in Philadelphia several years ago, Don Riso taught a workshop about the "pseudo-virtues," those characteristics that are the result of the personality trying to transform itself rather than opening to Presence.  In tracking this process through the types, we can see how the personality deceives itself into believing that it is “good.”  In an earlier newsletter (January 2006), we explored the Spiritual Super-ego, the inner voice that tells us how to behave if we are going to be considered spiritual and, therefore, good.  Now we can see the limitations of following the Spiritual Super-ego by revealing where it leads.

The passion of Type One is resentment, the type of anger that smolders because it is repressed.  One’s are holding a vision of what they believe is perfection, and they resent the thousands of ways in which reality falls short of that perfection.  Raging is not acceptable and the personality believes it will be good if it can subdue the anger or direct it toward the imperfection. However, the challenge is to accept the imperfection.  With that acceptance comes the virtue of serenity, being at peace with whatever is arising in the moment.

Type Two’s passion is pride, “the personality’s investment in itself,” to quote Sandra Maitri.  Two’s are caught in believing that their good works and their good connections with important or valuable people will fill them up.  Pride is the belief that I am enough in myself and I will prove it through sacrificing myself, showing that I have more than enough in my personality storeroom for me AND you.  The virtue of humility emerges when the personality no longer attempts to be anything other than what it is, the vehicle for Being.

Three’s suffer from the passion of deceit, a characteristic that shows up at lower levels as lying to oneself and others about who I am;  at high average levels of development, it is the self-deception of believing that I am only an ego.  Three’s who are trying to be good develop the pseudo-virtue of striving to be appropriate, to prove the value of the ego by doing the right thing.  When the effort is dropped and, instead of image, the heart is revealed, then the virtue of veracity or honesty shines forth.

The passion of envy in Type Four is the result of projecting the real goodness of Being onto others and then feeling threatened because it exposes the deficiency of the ego.  To defend against the pain of deficiency, envy will try to destroy what is good.  When the Four is trying to transform itself, the personality attempts to be sincere in its dealings with the world but remains secretly disdainful.  Only when the projection is brought back into the heart can the Four experience the virtue of equanimity, a peacefulness in the face of all experience because nothing can shake the truth of the goodness of Being that is experienced within.

Five’s suffer the passion of avarice, hoarding energy and resources as protection against the inability of the personality to cope with the demands of the world.  When the Five personality is striving to be good, it moves toward detachment;  who cares, after all, if everything is lost since nothing is permanent and everything will die in the end?  The virtue is not made of this dark cynicism but rather rests in non-attachment, a willingness to experience whatever is occurring because Being is the reliable source of whatever is needed.

The passion of Type Six is fear or anxiety that is built around the belief that the world is a dangerous place and the knowledge that the personality alone is inadequate to face it.  When left to it’s own devices, the personality structure believes that being obedient or dutiful to the stronger Other will solve the problem.  The virtue, however, is courage rather than obedience, an ability to align with the strength of Being rather than any authority in the outer world.

Seven’s gluttony is an attempt to fill the emotional holes in the personality through consuming something:  food, spiritual teachings, or relationships, for example.  When the personality is trying to be good, there is a tendency to stop consuming and to become productive or busy.  However, that is only filling up with work instead of more delicious things.  The virtue is sobriety, the ability to feel the real and direct experience of the moment, even the pain, knowing that direct experience is intrinsically nourishing to the soul.

For the Type Eight personality, lust for intensity and the satisfaction of animal hunger is the passion.  It is the desire to feel deeply, even though the heart is protected, and to keep the heart safe, Eight’s focus is on being in control.  The misguided belief of the personality trying to be good is that devouring life can be replaced by hard work, but it is just another form of control.  The virtue of innocence is experienced when the personality is infused with the life force and we recognize that opening is the only act that is required of us.

Sloth or indolence are the classic words used to describe the passion of Type Nine, but the meaning here is not laziness.  Rather, Nine’s strive to be unaffected by life and are slothful only in their resistance to engaging with reality.  In an effort to deal with reality, the personality structure of Nine turns to stoicism, accepting one’s lot in life without complaint.  The virtue is not acceptance of the grim realities but rather action, a willingness to engage in life, and to remain engaged no matter what may occur.

These short paragraphs offer an opportunity to compare, in each type, the pseudo-virtures that are the result of self-will that is striving to make things better, and the relaxed and flowing nature of trueVirtue.  The beauty of the virtues is that they exist always and everywhere, waiting for us to notice that we are working so hard--and to let go.